When my husband says "This is the best Chicken I have EVER had", I beam! This dish was a winner and I loved it too! There is a story behind this dish, so bear with me as I tell it first, or please scroll to the middle of the page for the exact recipe.
When shopping a few weeks ago I came across an unusual looking chicken which I was completely unfamiliar with and decided to try it out. The bird was skinny, had a different over all look about it and it was packaged completely, Feet, Neck and Head. It was called Loong Kong Chicken, the price was right so I purchased two of them.
After I got home and put the groceries away, I looked up the name of the breed on the internet to get some information. It was an Asian breed, though bred and raised in the province of BC.
The label did not say Organic or Grain fed but I thought I would try it out, it didn't look like the typical fryers that you buy at a grocery store today. I've read enough about food and changes to the breeding of chickens that I recognized the bird was not a hybrid variety that is raised today. I was quite curious about the taste as I understand the poultry in today's grocery stores have less flavour then the breeds from 75 years ago.
FYI - A heads up on the images, Twenty years ago I would not have been able to look at this bird much less cook it. It still had the head, neck and feet attached, I rarely cooked meat back then and I couldn't (wouldn't) roast a whole chicken because of how it looked. You can read about that HERE. I did get over that but some readers may find the image of the chicken repulsive and may not want to cut through the breast bone. It doesn't look like a TRADITIONAL ROAST CHICKEN . The taste however is wonderful!I baked the first Chicken with some base spices to get an idea of it's flavour. The texture was slightly different, more dense and the taste was deeper then a regular Fryer chicken. Since the breed is also known as "Hong" or "Lung" Kong Chicken, I decided to try a play on a Sweet and Sour Chicken which I remembered from living in Ontario, but using the ingredients I had at hand.
Rather then roasting the Chicken as I normally would, I Flattened it and Baked it due to it's size, it would cook faster. I was also playing with an idea for a Halloween meal when I created the glaze for the chicken, which I will explain further on in the post. Let's get to the recipe.
Recipe for Sweet Citrus and Savoury Chicken
I'll start with the Glaze on this recipe, the flavours are similar to a Peking Duck Glaze but with a big hit of Garlic and fewer Asian Spices. It has many uses and can also be used as a marinade or Glaze on Duck, Cornish Game Hen or cut the ingredients in half and use to glaze a couple of Breasts or Chicken Legs. Best used on a cut which has the skin left on so it will crisp up.
Sweet Citrus and Savoury Glaze1 TBSP Tomato Paste
1 TBSP Finely Diced Garlic (1 large clove)
1 TBSP Diced Ginger (1 Thumb from the Ginger Root)
1 TSP Red Pepper Flake
1 TSP Oregano
1/2 TSP Thyme
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 TBSP Honey
Lemon Juice - 1/2 a Lemon and Zest
Blood Orange Juice - 1/2 a Blood Orange and it's Zest
1/2 TSP each of Salt and Pepper, or to taste, but watch those Salt levels!Peel the Garlic and the Ginger and Dice
In a small to mid size bowl, add all of he ingredients above and stir well. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
HINT:Use Half of this glaze on the Chicken at first. Reserve half for additional glazing and basting as it cooks, to keep it moist.
The next portion of this post is about the how to cook a Flattened Chicken. You can use this Flattened Baking idea with a basic Barbecue Sauce, Asian Glaze such as Teriyaki or many other glazes and sauces. If you are simply seasoning it, you can cut the cook time a bit as you may not want charred skin.
Flatten and Baked Chicken
The next step to this recipe is simple and can be used with any small Chicken Fryer or other types of Fowl. Cooking times will change based on the size. I cooked this bird a little longer to get the blackening on the glaze and the temperature when finished was 180 F. That's more than safe and it was still very juicy.
Note: I have seen and tried some Chicken recipes where the cooking temperatures are 400 F and the Set time is 20 to 25 minutes. The interior of the chicken was still pink. It may be the altitude I live at, but regardless please use a Meat Thermometer to be sure it is cooked through.* Temperature at the thigh should be a minimum of 165 F *
General Guideline for Cooking Poultry:
Pounds - 10 minutes per pound at 325 F
Kilograms = roughly twice the cooking time per kilogram...like I said, use that thermometer if in doubt.
Preheat your oven to 350 F
Wash and prepare your chicken. Remove Giblets, Neck and Feet if they are there.(I've kept the feet on for this recipe but will explain later on in the post)
Take your poultry and slice down the side of a Breast, following the Cartilage until you hit the Bone.
Slice firmly down through the Bone to separate the Breasts.
Place the interior side of the Chicken down onto a Deep Baking Tray or Roasting Pan.
Brush the Glaze liberally over the skin, reserve half of the Glaze for Basting as it cooks.
Cover the bottom of pan with water to help keep the chicken moist.
At 20 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and add a quarter of the glaze.Safety First - use a clean, washed brush or spoon to do so.
Once the chickens temperature has reached 165 F, baste again and place back in the oven until the glaze and skin reach your desired crispness.
As long as the temperature is a minimum of 165 F - your desired result on the skin is up to you. I took it out as soon as it began to blacken, and it was perfect!
You can portion out the Chicken into pieces, slice it up and plate it or simply leave it as is and have people help themselves to their portioning. Add a little water to the glaze and serve up as a dipping sauce.
Now, as an aside and as an option to a Halloween meal for the Family - You can definitely have some fun with this dish. I will post on the idea for plating and side dishes with this idea in future. I may not have kids, but I still know how to have fun.
Please enjoy!
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