Roasted Chicken with Apples, Cider and Wild Mushrooms
Ronnie's Notes
What a festive dish this is! Serve it with a green vegetable such as sautéed spinach or steamed green beans and some cooked white rice or egg noodles.
Prep time: less than 30 minutes
Region: Northwest
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and dry the chicken.
Rub the skin with the softened butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan.
Add shallots and garlic to the pan.
Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and roast chicken one hour, basting occasionally with the apple cider.
Turn the chicken breast side up.
Add mushrooms and apple chunks to the pan.
Continue to roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160-180 degrees.
Baste occasionally with pan fluids until before you expect the chicken to be done.
Remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest before carving.
Reduce oven heat to 140 degrees.
Remove vegetables and apples with a slotted spoon and keep them warm in the oven.
Add Bourbon to the roasting pan, stir and bring the liquid to a boil.
Cook over high heat for or until the sauce has reduced to the consistency of heavy cream.
Add the cream, stir and keep warm over low heat.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
Carve the chicken and place the pieces on a serving dish surrounded by the vegetables and apples.
Pour the sauce over the vegetables and serve.
HOT TIP: The USDA recommends cooking chicken to 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.
At 160 degrees the meat is juicier.
For those who prefer to follow the more conservative USDA guidelines, we have given an alternative temperature.
In either case, be sure to follow safe food handling basics: wash hands and wrap, refrigerate and defrost the meat properly to keep pathogens away.