Noble House Salt-baked Chicken

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 tangerine peel, dried (approx. 1x2-inches)
• 1 (5 lb) roasting chickens
• 5 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided
• 1/4 cup shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine or 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• garlic chives (garnish)

Recipe

• 1 combine boiling water and tangerine peel in a bowl. cover and let stand 30 minutes. drain, reserving liquid and peel.
• 2 remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. trim excess fat. starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat.
• 3 rub 1 tablespoon salt under skin and let stand 5 minutes. rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
• 4 place chicken on the rack of a roasting pan and let stand 1 hour at room temperature, covered with saran wrap.
• 5 preheat oven to 425°f.
• 6 remove saran wrap and transfer chicken to a work surface. combine remaining salt, shallots, ginger, wine, soy sauce, oil, and honey in a small bowl. rub 3 tablespoons shallot mixture inside cavity of chicken. place onions and tangerine peel inside cavity. rub remaining shallot mixture under loosened skin.
• 7 place chicken, breast side up, on the rack of a roasting pan which has been coated with cooking spray. pour reserved tangerine soaking liquid into a shallow roasting pan and place rack in same pan. bake at 425f for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer registers 165f and skin has turned a dark golden brown color. let stand 15 minutes.
• 8 you may discard skin or not. slice and serve. garlic chives make a wonderful garnish.