Chicken
Merguez Spiced Roast Chicken
- Prep time 30 minutes
- Cook time 1 hour
- Serves 4 - 6
Author Notes
Several years ago, for various reasons, I was unable to buy Christmas gifts for my two sisters so instead I gave them a dinner each month for a year. That has since become a regular event on every third Sunday of the month. I usually find an intriguing recipe and prepare that, but this time I found a preparation method that I liked, but the seasoning didn’t excite me.
So I punted…
I love Merguez and sometimes make my own sausage. I thought that flavor would work with chicken, but I couldn’t find anything that combined merguez seasonings with anything other than ground meats.
The recipe below slightly modifies the spice mixture from Christine Benlafquih’s recipe and combines it with a roast chicken prep from Alison Roman. The bird was tender, Juicy from breast to drumstick, and perfumed with the wonderful scents and flavors of those merguez spices!
You will have considerably more spice mixture than you need, place it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to six months, and make you own merguez sausage!
—Phildup
Ingredients
-
2 tablespoons
fennel seeds
-
2 tablespoons
cumin seeds
-
2 tablespoons
coriander seeds
-
1/4 cup
paprika
-
2 tablespoons
coarse sea salt
-
1 teaspoon
cinnamon
-
1/2 teaspoon
ground chipotle pepper
-
3/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
-
3 - 4 pounds
whole chicken
-
2
lemons, quartered
Directions
- 1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
- 2. Toast the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, about a minute, then grind them in a spice grinder into a fine powder.
- 3. Combine everything but the chicken in a bowl.
- 4. Spatchcock the chicken. ( see How to Spatchcock a Chicken (or Turkey))
- 5. Dry the bird with paper towels and liberally sprinkle the spice mixture over the inside of the bird and pat or rub it in. (Don’t completely cover the meat, but make sure that there is a good amount)
- 6. Flip the bird skin side up onto a rack set into a rimmed sheet-pan and again liberally sprinkle the spices onto the skin and rub that in.
- 7. Rub the cut lemons in the spices that have fallen off the chicken or sprinkle the spaces over them and add to the sheet-pan.
- 8. Place the chicken into the oven and roast until an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 160°F and the lemons are jammy. About an hour. (My oven is convection and that timing worked, conventional ovens may take a bit longer)
- 9. Once the roasting is done, rest the bird for 10 to 15 minutes before carving and serving with the roasted lemon wedges.
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