Roasted Chicken with Herbed Butter and Soy Glaze

In this meal the spice infused softened butter is spread under the chicken skin prior to cooking then the chicken is cooked for 15 minutes in Convection Mode at 400 degrees. The temperature is then lowered to 350 and the chicken cooked for another 35- 45 minutes and brushed with the soy glaze while it is resting for 15 minutes before carving. The sweet potatoes only take 25 minutes to cook and the kale can be added in for the last 10 minutes so the vegetables only need to be added to the oven at the very end of the cooking time.

Ingredients

4 - tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 - teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder

½ - teaspoon Trader Joe’s Multi-Purpose Umami seasoning

1 - 4lb chicken

2 - tablespoons vegetable oil

Soy Garlic Glaze

½ - cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 - tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 - 2” piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

2 - tablespoons sugar

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Kale

3- medium sized sweet potatoes, orange or white fleshed

1 - bunch Dino kale

2 - cloves garlic minced

3 - tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation

Take the chicken out of the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking, it will be easier to spread the butter under the skin if it’s not too cold.

Mix the softened butter with the 5 spice powder and Umami seasoning in a small bowl.

With the tip of a sharp knife carefully separate the skin from the breast, then with a small silicone spatula spread ½ of the butter mixture over each of the breast halves. Once you have the butter under the skin you can use your fingers on top of the skin to spread the butter evenly over the breast meat.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees in the Convection or Convection Roast mode.

Place the chicken on a rack in a shallow pan and give it a good coating with the vegetable oil.

Roast for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 and cook for 35 - 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and immediately brush it with the glaze and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.  Once carved the chicken pieces can be brushed with any remaining glaze, mixed with the juices from carving the chicken it makes a wonderful sauce.

Soy Garlic Glaze

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves and the glaze thickens.  Set aside and reheat gently if needed before brushing over the chicken.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Kale

Most of the orange flesh sweet potatoes can be peeled and cut in advance of cooking, some of the white fleshed ones tend to discolor if cut too far in advance of cooking. Peel the potatoes, and cut in half lengthwise, then cut each half in lengthwise again and cut each quarter into 1” thick slices. 

Place in a bowl and drizzle with some oil to coat and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Spread on to a large rimmed baking sheet and cook on a rack underneath the chicken for 25 minutes.

Kale

Wash the kale and remove the center rib, dry the kale and cut into 1” thick pieces.

Place in a bowl and add in  the garlic and a light coating of the oil and massage the garlic and oil into the kale.  

The kale will only take 10- 12 minutes to cook and the oven temperature can be increased to 400 degrees if a crispy finish to the kale is preferred.