Maple Butter Roasted Chicken

This glossy caramelized chicken is simple enough for a weeknight dinner and delicious enough for a special occasion. The maple butter ensures a perfectly tender chicken, while its natural sugars caramelize and turns the skin a nutty brown. It’s sweet and savoury and smells so good while baking.

There are so many ways to roast a whole chicken and if you are like me I tend to stick to very similar flavours. It’s not because I’m not adventurous but sometimes you just need dinner In the oven and don’t have time to mess about with plenty of other ingredients or flavours. When I have a spare moment I do love to try new flavours and this one is favorite in our house right now. It’s a recipe from NY Times and i have had it bookmarked for a very long time. I finally tried it and we all loved it. The original recipe called for rosemary but I only had thyme on hand. Both herbs work really well with this recipe so feel free to use both or a combo of both.

I served this chicken with some roasted veggies that are also roasted with a little maple syrup and they were wonderful. You can definitely serve this with a salad or a side of buttery rice or veggies. I had some butternut squash and decided to do a roasted veggie medley. It works well with the roasted veggies but it’s also wonderful served on its own with a green salad and crusty bread to sop up all the pan juices. Enjoy!

Recipe

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 (3½ pound) whole chicken
• Salt and Pepper
• 4-5 sprigs of thyme, plus 2½ teaspoons finely chopped thyme
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

For the veggies

• 2 cups butternut squash peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced into wedges
• 1 lb brussels sprouts if small left whole, or cut in half if large
• 4 large shallots peeled and quartered
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 whole carrots
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp Maple syrup

Directions

For the chicken

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Pat the chicken dry and season it well with salt and pepper, both inside and out. Place the chicken breast-side up in a 10-inch cast-iron or ovenproof skillet and stuff the thyme sprigs into the bird’s cavity.

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the chopped thyme and the maple syrup, and cook together until the thyme is fragrant and the mixture has thickened slightly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon all of the mixture over the chicken, covering it evenly.

3. Roast the chicken, basting with the pan juices every 15 to 20 minutes or so, until the chicken is glossy and golden brown and registers 165°with an instant thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste again. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with remaining pan juices

For the veggies

1. Prep veggies and place in medium sheet pan or roasting pan.
2. Drizzle the veggies with oil and maple syrup and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss.
3. Place in oven and roasted next to chicken for the hour.
4. If the veggies aren’t quite browned enough when the chicken is done leave them in the oven for up to 10 minutes allowing them to brown while chicken rests.