Back from Vacation and Oven Roasted Thai Chicken

We’re back! Still working on digging ourselves out of our suitcases, but I’ve just finished editing and uploading photos, so a vacation recap is on its way. Suffice to say we had a BLAST and we’re already thinking ahead to next year’s ski season! For now, let’s get to some eats!

For far longer than I care to admit, I’ve been intimidated by the idea of cooking a whole chicken. I don’t know why, just another one of my silly fears. I think my scrambled logic came down to a) I thought it’d be too difficult to handle and prep and b) a whole chicken would just be way too much food for Neil and I. So I played it safe, bought my little boneless, skinless breasts and lived in complete denial. It took going Paleo and being in Grad school for that to change, and now we’re cooking a whole chicken at least once a week, sometimes two, because it is just that easy and SO good!

The options are endless, but this Thai version is probably our favorite. If you like sweet and spicy, then it will probably be at the top of the list for you as well.

Ingredients:

1 whole fresh chicken
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup jam (I used some leftover cranberry BBQ sauce I made around xmas)
2 teaspoons pepper
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 teaspoons soy sauce
1/8 cup coconut milk (optional)
juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients (except) chicken stir thoroughly, seasoning and adding additional of any to taste. You may have to add additional or even double the recipe if you have a larger chicken. Ideally you want enough sauce to thoroughly drizzle and coat chicken. This can all be prepped ahead of time.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. Salt and pepper chicken and chicken cavity thoroughly.
4. Rub, drizzle or brush chicken with sauce until it is thoroughly coated.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes per pound of chicken, basting with remaining sauce halfway through cooking.
6. Let stand 15-20 minutes before serving.

The sauce…

I love when the chicken starts to blacken on top, the flavors and textures become amazing! On average, a whole chicken feeds us for about 4 meals when served with ample sides of whatever veggies we come across at the store. Lately our favorite has been the fresh green beans. Even though they aren’t “perfectly Paleo,” I love them snipped and steamed with a little balsamic and pepper.

A few tips and tricks we’ve picked up as we’ve gone along:

• Place chicken on a bed of veggies and roast them for a side dish while you’re cooking the chicken.
• Line your baking dish with foil, it will save you hours of scrubbing or soaking in the sink to clean-up later

Enjoy!