Sometimes, you just need to go all in on a recipe. This garlic and apple roasted chicken recipe looks incredible when it's all said and done, and it tastes even better. This one will require some extra work in the kitchen, but it will all pay off in the end! Also, you can learn more about garlic in our featured ingredient article written by dietitian Maddy Ancalade.
Garlic and Apple Roasted Chicken
By Chef Trula Hepner
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
½ cup pecans, finely chopped
2 tablespoons honey
16 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped + a few unchopped leaves
4 teaspoons fresh thyme, stems removed
1 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 whole chickens, about 3½ pounds each
3 heads of garlic (approximately 40 cloves), peeled
4 Granny Smith apples, quartered and cored, peels left on, divided
1 stick of unsalted butter
5 cups apple cider
1 white onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 cups dry white wine
Sea salt, to taste
Fresh black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Place a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans and honey. Cook until toasted and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove pecans from the skillet and spread out on a plate in a single layer. Let cool.
In a small bowl, mix the mascarpone cheese, chopped pecans, sage, and thyme. Set aside.
Rinse the chickens inside and out. Pat dry. Generously salt and pepper the inside of the chickens. Stuff the cavities with the garlic and one quartered apple each. Slide your hand between the meat and skin of the chicken, then carefully stuff the cheese mixture under the skin, pushing it as far back as you can without ripping the skin.
Rub the chicken all over with olive oil and then sprinkle generously with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
In a large roasting pan, add the carrots, celery, onion, and remaining apples. Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Add a few fresh sage leaves and any remaining mascarpone cheese.
Place both chickens on top of the vegetables. Cut the butter into small pats and place around the chickens with the white wine.
Place the chickens in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
While the chickens are roasting, add the cider to a medium size pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until it thickens and is reduced by half.
After 30 minutes of roasting, baste the chickens with half of the cider.
Continue cooking for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Take temperature between a leg and thigh, at the thickest part of the chicken without touching the bone. About 5 minutes before the chicken is done cooking, brush it again with the remaining cider.
If desired, reserve some of the reduced cider and place into a blender with the roasted vegetables. Blend until smooth. Serve on the side with the chicken.
Allow the chicken to rest for 10-20 minutes before serving.
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