We love our roast chickens over right here. My husband and I’ve been having them since we have been newly married and our kitchen was a tiny galley-type in our first condominium. We now have two youngsters and a barely larger kitchen (emphasis on the marginally) and our love for good previous roast hen continues. Now my youngsters wait patiently (typically not too patiently) for me to take the hen out of the oven…and I reduce selection bits to pop into their ready mouths and fingers…and am endlessly thrilled after they approve.

We’ve got, in reality, only recently graduated from a one-chicken household to a two-chicken household! Sure, the one roast is not sufficient for us 4…and naturally, there should be leftovers for lunch the subsequent day! And if I’m fortunate, just a little bit extra to scrape collectively some hen salad unfold (which I like). The carcass then will get tucked away into the freezer for future hen inventory.

There’s all the time one thing so satisfying, and even celebratory, about bringing an entire roast hen to the desk. Sweat on forehead, fingers in oven mitts firmly holding the baking dish, triumphant smile as you see eyes mild up…

“Dinner’s on!” “Make house! Make house!” “Cautious, it’s sizzling!” “Mmmm! Smells good!” “I need a leg!”

These are the reminiscences I hold with me and I hope my youngsters hold with them.

I bear in mind my mom making hen at residence once I was a baby. Whether or not entire, or in items, I may all the time see the acquainted Magnolia wrapper in our freezer (in addition to all their ice cream! Does anybody bear in mind taste of the month??). Do you know that their chickens are freed from hormones and steroids? I definitely didn’t know this once I was youthful (and stuffed with hormones myself…wait, did I simply say that???) however as a mother this stuff turn out to be extra vital. Not that I can say that our lives are completely all-natural freed from the odd chemical…however I do my finest to hunt out choices which might be higher for us (and the remaining I simply select to not really feel responsible about).

So. Anyway. Once they approached me to do one thing for them, the wheels in my mind instantly began turning. Do I do one thing previous and acquainted? Or one thing new and completely different?

I made a decision to perform a little of each…turning our beloved adobo right into a basic roast hen, and nonetheless retaining every part we love about consuming adobo.

The concept right here was to have the hen adobo-flavored, however dry-heat-cooked like a standard roast, BUT even have a sauce to take pleasure in with rice as with common adobo. I used all the standard flavors of adobo right here (soy, vinegar, black pepper, garlic, bay) however utilized them in numerous methods and at completely different phases of pre-cooking/cooking. And what you get is that this hen.

Roast Hen Adobo

Brine:

• 6 cups water
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (I used sukang sasa)
• 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns

Pan sauce/Baste:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons kecap manis (candy soy sauce)
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 cup water
• Beneficiant grindings of freshly cracked black pepper

Roast:

• 1 entire Magnolia hen
• 4-5 entire heads of garlic, unpeeled and sliced in half on the equator
• 10-12 small purple onions, peeled and halved
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Canola oil (or any mildly flavored vegetable oil), for basting

– The night time earlier than you plan to prepare dinner, brine your hen: mix brine elements in a deep bowl or plastic container that may match each the brine and the hen. Combine effectively and let sugar dissolve. I do that whereas the hen defrosts. I place the brine within the fridge to maintain it chilly and by the point the hen is defrosted the sugar is dissolved. May be price mentioning right here that I solely use water that I’d use to drink (so on this nation’s case, meaning no faucet water). When the hen is defrosted, pat effectively with a paper towel and submerge into the brine. I place the hen within the brine final thing at night time, proper earlier than I am going to mattress.
– Once you get up the subsequent morning take away the hen from the brine and pat dry. Proceed with recipe or, if you’re cooking the hen later within the day, retailer it within the fridge.  Discard brine.
– Combine all of the elements for the pan sauce/baste completely. Put aside.
– Stuff your hen with 2-3 garlic head halves, 2-3 onion halves, 1 bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon black peppercorns. Tie the legs along with a kitchen twine.
– Place the hen in a baking dish and encompass with the remainder of the garlic, onions, and bay leaves. Crack black pepper over every part.
– Pour about half of your pan sauce over the hen. Shake the pan a bit so the sauce is evenly distributed. Save the remaining sauce for basting.
– Place the hen in a pre-heated 400F oven and roast for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour half-hour, or till hen is finished (when juices run clear if pierced within the thigh close to the bone…test tip beneath for absolutely cooked thighs***!). Whereas the hen is roasting, baste it 3-4 instances with the oil and reserved sauce. This can assist infuse much more taste, hold it most, and provides it a stunning bronze coloration. I wish to baste the onions and garlic as effectively whereas I’m at it.
– When the hen is finished, let it relaxation for quarter-hour earlier than carving. Serve with the pan juices and roasted onions and garlic.

Tip***: If it’s been an hour and a half already, and there may be nonetheless a little bit of blood within the thigh juices, I wish to splay the hen. Minimize the thighs away from the physique, simply sufficient so the leg and thighs unfold open, however not sufficient to totally detach them from the physique. Pop it again within the oven and prepare dinner only a bit longer till the thigh is cooked via. With the legs unfold open like this, it is not going to take lengthy. This permits your thighs to prepare dinner quicker with out overcooking the breast. This isn’t the prettiest factor so if presentation is a priority then skip this and simply prepare dinner till juices run clear. Or carve the hen earlier than serving so nobody is the wiser.

This looks as if a protracted and sophisticated recipe however it’s, in reality, nothing of the kind. The brine is tremendous simple to throw collectively after which all you want to do is plonk the hen within the night time earlier than. The following day it’s only a matter of stuffing chicken and pan with the very merely reduce (simply halved all!) veg. The pan sauce can be a breeze to place collectively…combine, pour, and baste.

That is my first time to brine a hen and I’m now a covert! I’m likewise loving this mix of brining and basting. Brining infuses the hen with taste and likewise retains is moist. So does basting. Doing each, doubles your probabilities of a scrumptious, tender, and juicy roast hen. And I’m all the time one to hedge my bets when ready.

For this adobo roast I needed each the brine and the roast itself to have adobo flavors. I tailored my brine from this one by Trissalicious. I then made a pan sauce based mostly by myself adobo recipes. The hen absorbs the flavour from the brine and the basting, and a scrumptious sauce develops when your adobo-pan-sauce combines with the hen juices throughout roasting. The onions and garlic go candy and gentle within the oven, and are scrumptious mashed into your rice after you’ve generously spooned on some sauce. That is nice with some atsara or any type of native pickle (right here I’ve served it with ampalaya pickle, however I feel some pickled labanos can be nice too).

When you’ve got leftovers, shred the meat and fry it together with a number of the leftover garlic and pan sauce to make adobo flakes. You’ll be able to have this with garlic-fried rice and a fried egg for breakfast, whilst you reminisce the fantastic hen dinner you had the night time earlier than.

What’s your favourite roast hen reminiscence? What are your foolproof roast hen suggestions? I’d love to listen to them!

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