Apple-Peach Roasted Chicken

Recipe: Apple-Peach Roasted Chicken苹果桃烤鸡

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 cornish game hen / chicken, 500g ¼ lemon ½ cup apple juice Ingredients A 1 yellow onion (cut into chunks) 2 garlic heads 1 Gala / Honey Crisp apple (peeled or unpeeled; sliced) 1 can sliced peach in syrup (medium or large; drained) 1 to 2 TBSP olive oil pinch of salt pinch of ground black pepper pinch of dried oregano pinch of fresh thyme leaves

Ingredients B 3/4 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. to ½ tsp. ground black pepper ½ tsp. dried oregano 1 to 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves Ingredients C 2 TBSP butter (thinly sliced) 1 small slice of lemon

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400oF. Chop off about 1/2-inch of the bottoms (root end) of garlic heads and discard. Break garlic heads into halves or quarters.	2. Lightly grease a 9"x9"x2" baking pan with olive oil. Mix all ingredients A in greased pan until incorporated.	3. Thinly slice butter and set aside.
4. Clean chicken. Pat dry chicken inside out with paper towel.	5. Put chicken onto the baking pan in step 2. Rub chicken all over with a bit of olive oil. Then, rub ingredients B one by one, from inside out, all over the chicken.	6. Arrange butter slices on top of the chicken. Squeeze lemon juice over chicken and ingredients in the pan. Then, place chicken in pan into preheated oven and roast/bake at 420oF for 35 minutes.
7. Add apple juice into the baking pan. Discard any excess oil from the pan before adding juice.	8. Turn chicken upside down with a tong. Then continue to roast chicken at 400oF for another 30 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned and cooked. Thermometer should register at about 350oF. Turn off the heat when done.	9. Immediately, pour all gravy into a bowl. Then, return chicken into the pan and pop it back into the hot oven. Season gravy with salt to taste if necessary. Allow chicken to sit in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
10. Place chicken on a serving platter. Garnish with fresh fruits or/and vegetables. Carve chicken before serving or leave to carve while serving. Serve chicken warm with gravy.

Notes

If you have a bigger chicken, gradually reduce heat to 350oF or 300oF and continue to roast until chicken is cooked after the first hour of roasting. Roasting time varies depending on the size of chicken and oven temperature. To thicken gravy, gradually heat gravy in a pan over medium heat, stir in ½ TBSP to 1 TBSP flour, keep whisking until gravy comes to a boil and no visible powder.