Molasses Brined Roasted Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add kosher salt and molasses. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes or until salt and molasses dissolve. Transfer to a very large bowl, add ice and next 4 ingredients. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes or until mixture cools to room temperature. Cover and chill 30 minutes to 1 hour or until cold.
• 2. Submerge chicken in cold brine. Cover and chill 6-8 hours.
• 3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from brine; rinse and pat dry. Sprinkle with garlic salt.
• 4. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a 14-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 unpeeled garlic cloves, 1 thyme sprig, and half of chicken. Cook 5 minutes or until skin is browned and crisp (the molasses in the brine will brown the skin quickly). Turn chicken and garlic, and cook 5 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken and place on a wire rack in a jelly-rolls pan. Wipe skillet clean. Repeat with remaining oil, chicken, garlic and thyme.
• 5. Bake chicken, skin side up, at 400 degrees for 10-20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 165 degrees (breasts will cook faster than legs, so check for doneness after 10 minutes). Cover with foil. Let stand 10 minutes before stirring. Serve with Roasted Chicken jus,, if desired.
• 6. Substitutions: 8 chicken leg quarters or 8 chicken breasts may be substituted.
• 7. To make roasted chicken jus: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop each carcass into 4 pieces; place in a lightly greased jelly-roll pan. Roast, turning occasionally, 35-45 minutes or until browned.
• 8. Cook onion and next 3 ingredients in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. (Do not overcook).
• 9. Add white wine to onion mixture, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, 3- 5 minutes or until wine is reduced by three-fourths. Add carcass pieces and water to cover by 2 inches. Return to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours.
• 10. Pour sauce through a fine wire mesh strainer into a small saucepan, discarding solids. Let stand 10 minutes, and skim fat from sauce. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat.
• 11. Whisk together constarch and 1 tbsp. water. Whisk constarch mixture into sauce. Return to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat or to a desired consistency. Stir in parsley and chives; add salt and pepper to use.
• 12. Substitution: 2-3 lbs. chicken backbones or wings may be subsituted.

Steps:

• The day before you want to cook the chicken, remove the wingtips by cutting through the first wing joint with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Reserve for stock. Season chicken generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.
• Stir 2 tablespoons kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. (If the chicken won't fit in a gallon-size bag, double up 2 plastic produce bags to prevent leaks and tie the bag with twine.)
• Seal the bag, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. If you're so inclined, you can turn the bag periodically so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but that's not essential.
• Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. Heat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the center position.
• Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tightly tie together the legs with a piece of butcher's twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a shallow roasting pan.
• Slide the pan all the way to the back of the oven on the center rack. Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing toward the center of the oven. (The back corners tend to be the hottest spots in the oven, so this orientation protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done.) Pretty quickly you should hear the chicken sizzling.
• After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting for 10 minutes.
• Move the pan so the legs are facing the rear right corner of the oven. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh. If the skin is getting too brown before it is cooked through, use a foil tent. Remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

Steps:

• For brine, combine the first seven ingredients in a large kettle. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until salt is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature., Remove giblets from chicken; discard. Place cold water in a 2-gal. resealable plastic bag; add chicken. Place in a roasting pan. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, turning several times., Discard brine. Rinse chicken with water; pat dry. Skewer chicken openings; tie drumsticks together. Brush with oil. Place chicken in a roasting pan. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 80-90 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°, basting occasionally with pan drippings (cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly)., Remove chicken to a serving platter and keep warm. Pour drippings and loosened browned bits into a measuring cup; skim fat and discard. Add enough broth to measure 1 cup. , In a small saucepan, combine flour and broth mixture until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with chicken.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish.
• Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Arrange in the prepared baking dish.
• In a bowl, mix the molasses, vinegar, and mustard.
• Bake chicken 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Coat chicken with the molasses mixture. Continue baking 20 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear.

Steps:

• Remove chicken from packaging, remove giblet packet from cavity, and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Place in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Mix salt, orange zest, rosemary, and thyme together in a small bowl; rub 3/4 of the mixture all over outside of chicken; rub remaining mixture inside cavity. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove plastic wrap from chicken.
• Bake chicken in preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, 2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on size. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove chicken from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 20 minutes before carving.