Roasted Pecan Chicken
Submitted by ms61948
Roasted whole chicken stuffed under the skin with a pecan-goat cheese spread, baked on a bed of onion and lemon slices with white wine and broth for rich pan gravy.
The star of this roast chicken is a bold spread of toasted pecans, creamy goat cheese, garlic, and lemon juice that gets tucked right under the skin. As the bird roasts, the cheese melts into the breast meat while the pecan oils baste it from the inside out. The result? Juicy, nutty, tangy chicken with impossibly crispy skin.
Working the spread under the skin takes a gentle touch. Start from both the neck and cavity ends and ease your fingers along without tearing. The skin acts as a sealed pocket, trapping all that flavor against the meat.
Roasting on a bed of sliced onions and lemon with white wine and broth means your pan drippings practically turn themselves into gravy. The wine reduces, the lemon brightens, and the onion adds sweetness. Strain, skim the fat, thicken with a quick cornstarch slurry, and you’ve got a sauce worth pouring over everything on the plate.
Pro Tips
- Bring the chicken to room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting. Cold chicken straight from the fridge cooks unevenly.
- Secure the loosened skin with wooden picks after spreading the filling. This keeps it from pulling back and exposing the cheese layer.
- Baste every 20 minutes with the pan juices. If the skin darkens too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last stretch of roasting.
Variations
- Blue cheese and walnut: Swap goat cheese for crumbled blue cheese and pecans for walnuts. Stronger flavor, still pairs beautifully with the lemon pan sauce.
- Herb-forward: Add fresh rosemary and thyme to the pecan spread for a more herbal, Provençal character.
Ingredients
Directions
Cheese Spread: In a food processor combine pecans, goat cheese, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and pepper to taste.
Process utnil mixture forms a paste.
Roast Chicken: Preheat oven to 400=F8F.
Carefully loosen skin on chicen breast by gently working fingers under the skin starting from both the neck and body cavity ends.
Be careful not to pierce or tear the skin.
Spread cheese mixture in an even layer in chicken breast underneath the skin.
Pull skin back ove cheese layer and secure with wooden picks.
Tie chicken legs together.
Arrange chicken in a 13×9×2” baking pan on a bed of onion and lemon slices.
Add wine and ⅔ cup broth. Roast, uncovered, at 400=F8F for 1¼ to 1½ hours until thermometer inserted between leg and thigh registers 180=F8F. Baste occasionally with pan juices during baking. If necessary, tent with foil toward end of cooking to prevent overbrowning. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Strain pan juices, discarding lemon and onion slices. Skim fat from pan juices.
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