This is the perfect fall-themed dinner. There is nothing like a home-roasted chicken!

This chicken is marinated in an apple cider brine, and then basted during the roasting process with some apple cider that has been reduced to a syrup. Doesn’t that sound amazing?

Fall arrives (very) soon, and you’re going to want to get out all the apples and maple and pumpkin and start cooking. Add this cider roasted chicken to your dinner making bucket list.

HOW DO YOU ROAST A CHICKEN AT HOME?

We’re so spoiled these days because it’s so easy to pick up a chicken (already roasted) at the store. In fact, I’m going to guess that grabbing a roasted chicken from the store is quite often on most family’s “easy dinner” lists.

I’d love for the world to know just how easy roasting your own chicken can be (with delicious results!) It’s really not difficult to roast your own chicken, and I suggest you try it sometime for a Sunday night dinner.

In this recipe, you make a quick brine for your chicken. A brine is a soaking liquid that will help the chicken to maintain maximum juices while roasting. So make the brine in the morning, and then let the chicken soak in the brine much of the day (or you can do this the night before).

Then you’re going to dry off the chicken, add onions/garlic/parsley to the cavity of the bird, and pop it into the oven to roast for 1 1/2 hours. While it’s roasting, you’ll reduce 2 cups of cider into a syrup by boiling it on the stove. Then you can go about your business until the chicken is done roasting.

The last step is pulling it out of the oven, slipping off the skin (unless you prefer to leave it on), and then basting the chicken with that delicious cider syrup. It goes back into the oven for 10 minutes, then one more baste before carving this cider roasted chicken and serving it.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Marinating time: 8 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 344


INGREDIENTS

3 quarts water
1 quart apple cider
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 6-pound chicken
2 cups apple cider
1 large onion, peeled & halved
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
4 cloves garlic, peeled

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat; cool completely. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat. Pour the brine into a 2- gallon zip-top plastic bag. Add the chicken; seal. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring 2 cups of cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until the cider has thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Set aside.

Remove the chicken from the bag; discard the brine. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the onion halves, parsley and garlic into the cavity of the chicken. Lift the wing tips up and over the back; tuck under the chicken. Tie the legs. Place the chicken on the rack of a broiler pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer registers 175°. Remove from the oven (leave oven on). Carefully remove and discard the skin. Baste the chicken with half of reduced cider; return to 400° oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; baste with the remaining cider reduction. Transfer the chicken to a platter.

Place a zip- top bag inside a 2 cup glass measure. Pour the drippings into a bag; let stand 10 minutes and fat will rise to the top. Seal the bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain the drippings into a small bowl, stopping before the fat layer reaches the opening; discard the fat. Serve jus over chicken.

RECIPE NOTES
Nutritional information on this one may not be perfectly accurate due to the brining method and the fact that dark meat and breast have varied calorie count.
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS per serving (1/8th of the chicken):
Freestyle SmartPoints: 1, Points Plus Program: 5, Old Points Program: 5