C Wilson from Durham said:
Great site with some great tips. We all need to do more.
Clay Pot Aromatic Honey and Ginger Baked Chicken
The succulent taste of a chicken cooked in a brick is wonderful. There is no need for other pots and pans to clean. All the vegetables are cooked around the chicken so they absorb the flavours. This can be put together in the morning and cooked as soon as you get home.
Ingredients show imperial units
Serves 4
- 2 kg whole chicken or chicken portions
- Salt
Salt
Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.
Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.
- Black pepper
Black peppercorns
Best used as a condiment.
They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.- Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
- Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
- Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
Cinnamon
Great in buns, cakes, and puddings.
- Add to baked apples or apple pies.
- Break the stick and add to poaching syrup for fruits like pears, plums or bananas or use to infuse wine or punch.
- Zest of one orange
- 2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3cm piece of root ginger, peeled and grated
- Mix of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, butternut squash
- 1 head garlic, whole
-
3 tablespoons Honey
Honey
Enjoy it over ice cream, yoghurt or pancakes or spread onto toast or croissants.
- Honey is also an ancient remedy for the treatment of infected wounds.Manuka Honey has recently been ‘rediscovered’ by the medical profession, particularly where conventional modern therapeutic agents are failing.
- If it gets too cold it will crystallise. Just put the pot in a microwave for 30 seconds and it will return to its normal state.
Instructions
- Before using, soak both the pot and cover in water for 15 minutes. Drain.
- Season the chicken and place the crushed garlic, cinnamon sticks and half the orange zest into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs together and place in the bottom of the pot on top of the chopped onions.
- Rub the honey, pepper, grated ginger and the rest of the orange zest over the chicken.
- Place the butternut squash, new potatoes, whole garlic head and other vegetables around the chicken. Cover the pot and place in a cold oven. Bake at 230°C (450°F) mark 8 for 1 hour 45 minutes. Take the vegetables out and pour the pot juices into a saucepan for making gravy. Then return the pot and chicken, without lid, to the oven for browning.
