Thai Roasted Chicken
Thai Roasted Chicken is simple to prepare, full of flavor, super moist and juicy. Make one for a family meal and you’ll have leftovers or for a crowd. It looks delicious too! I like to slice the breast meat and pull it apart and off the bones for serving. It makes it easier when you have a crowd to portion out how much light or dark meat you want. Leaving the drumsticks intact and some of the skin on the breast meat looks yummy on the platter too.
Simple Preparation
Combine the ingredients for the marinade. Next, get into the chicken’s business. Pour the marinade under and on top of the chicken as evenly as possible, on all sides. Try to push the pieces of garlic and ginger as far under the skin as possible. This will help to distribute the flavors all around the meat.
Oven Temps
Roasting the chicken at a higher temp to start the roasting process will encourage the fat under the skin to render (melt) and the skin to become browned and crispy. Then you lower the temp to allow the chicken to continue cooking without drying it out. However, if the chicken browns too quickly, simply cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and continue roasting. The best way, in my opinion, way to ensure a perfectly roasted chicken is to use a thermometer. I insert an oven-safe thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and set the timer to alert me at 165 degrees. Then I let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into it. It turns out perfectly every time!
Birds of a Feather
Check out these side dishes that pair well with Thai Roasted Chicken: Spaghetti Squash with Asian Sauce, Coconut Rice, Harissa Maple Glazed Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower Fried Rice or Browned Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes. I almost forgot! Roasted Green Beans or Roasted Broccoli would be awesome too!
Thai Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-5 Lb whole chicken roaster
- 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger (adjust amount to taste, I use 2 Tbsp)
- 2 large cloves fresh garlic (thinly sliced)
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
- 1 lime (quartered, rinds and juice)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Prepare chicken by removing neck and giblets (if needed) from the chicken and discard (or freeze if you’d like to save for making gravy). Rinse chicken, inside and out, under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a casserole dish or rimmed baking sheet large enough to leave at least an inch around the chicken on all sides and tall enough to catch juices from the chicken as it bakes.
- In a small bowl combine the ginger, garlic, oil, soy sauce and juice squeezed from the lime. Place the rinds from the lime inside the cavity of the chicken.
- Pour the marinade mixture under and on top of the skin. Try to push the slices of garlic and bits of ginger under the skin on all sides of the chicken to evenly distribute the flavors. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper all over the chicken as well.
- Place the chicken, breast side up in the dish and put it in the preheated oven. Feel free to tie the legs of the chicken together with kitchen twine for better presentation if you wish. I didn’t do this because I planned to cut it apart for serving. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn the temp down to 350 degrees and continue baking for 70-80 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees.
- The final amount of timing will depend on the size of the chicken. Check for browning after 45 minutes and place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top of the chicken if it is browning too quickly for your taste.
- Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting & serving.
