Five-spice Roast Chicken (tom Douglas)

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3 star anise
• 1/2 dried chipotle chile, stem and seeds removed
• 1/2 cinnamon stick, broken up into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon hulled cardamom seed
• 1 tablespoon peeled grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (3 -3 1/2 lb) whole chickens, wing tips trimmed
• 1/4 orange, cut into wedges, plus extra orange wedges for garnish
• 3 star anise
• kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or 2 tablespoons bacon fat, melted

Recipe

• 1 make the paste: add the star anise, chile, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, and cardamom in a small pan over medium heat; toast for a few minutes until aromatic, shaking the pan.
• 2 let cool, then grind toasted spices in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder.
• 3 transfer ground spices to a small bowl.
• 4 add in the ginger, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
• 5 gradually add the oil, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to make a smooth paste.
• 6 trim the excess fat from the chicken and clean out the cavity.
• 7 rinse under cold water and pat dry.
• 8 use you hands to rub the spice paste all over the skin of the chicken; set the chicken on a rack over a baking pan and place it, uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight.
• 9 the next day, preheat the oven to 425°; put the ¼ orange and star anise in the cavity of the chicken, season the bird with kosher salt, and place it on a rack in a roasting pan.
• 10 *for easier cleanup, line the roasting pan with foil because the spice paste that drips off may burn.
• 11 using a bulb baster instead of a brush, so you don’t disturb the spice crust, baste the chicken with the melted butter or bacon fat and put the bird in the oven to roast.
• 12 baste the chicken with the fat collecting in the bottom of the pan every 20 minutes.
• 13 the chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 175° and the juices run clear, about 1 ¼ hours.
• 14 remove the chicken from the oven and let rest 5-10 minutes before carving.
• 15 to carve the chicken, cut off the legs and separate into leg and thigh.
• 16 using a knife or poultry shears, cut out the backbone, then separate the breasts by cutting through the breastbone.
• 17 cut off the wings, then cut each breast into 2 pieces.
• 18 you should have 10 pieces—2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 pieces of breast, and 2 wings; pile the chicken pieces on a large platter and garnish with orange wedges.