by Matt Gruber
With the dawn of the new year, my favorite month is upon us: discounted chicken month. I could talk about our chicken until my jaw fell off: locally farmed, air chilled, pasture raised and all around delicious. Weekly it’s always one of our bestsellers, and we always love to chat about new recipes.
For 2023, I am really leaning into my love of flavors from across the world. A great Japanese proverb that sticks with me is, 七転び八起き (nana korobi ya oki) , which translates to “Fall seven times, get up eight.” I want to challenge myself and take my cooking curiosity to its limits this year, mess ups and all. No matter how many times I cook a dish I will always look to refine and tweak it. Gravitating towards depth of flavor, freshness, and my love of all things umami, I wanted to see how many ways I could cram our black garlic molasses into my weekly menu. The Japanese syrup is made from 100% fermented garlic, but don’t let that scare you. The flavor is nutty and rich, but also surprisingly tangy. Landing on a whole chicken (duh, its January), I decided to try out a glaze for the poultry.
Knowing the sugar in the molasses would burn too quickly if applied at the start, I figured a glazing at the finish would be perfectly timed. To cut down on the thickness and intensity of the black garlic I cut it with some fantastic ponzu (a traditional sauce, typically sold in America as a mixture of soy and citrus)—it complemented the intense garlic flavor of the molasses quite well. Paired with, honestly, any of your favorite roasting veggies this dish will totally shine. I picked onion, snap peas, and celery (gotta clear out that produce drawer) and it accompanied it wonderfully.
Enjoy on its own with the veggies or over rice—heck, eat a leg like you are at the renaissance fair! Cheers to a wonderful year of cooking and good food.
Ingredients:
1 whole 3-4 lb chicken
1/3 cup Black Garlic Molasses
2 tbsp ponzu or soy sauce
1 yellow onion
1 lemon
Your favorite roasting veggies
Salt, to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°
Halve the lemon and the onion. Stuff one half of each into your bird.
Slice your roasting veggies into uniform pieces. Toss them in oil and salt. Lay veggies on the bottom of your roasting pan. Top veggies with your whole chicken.
Pop roasting pan in the oven and cook for 40-50 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the black garlic molasses and ponzu/soy. Zest the remaining lemon half into the glaze. If using soy, juice the lemon half into the mixture as well.
When your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 150°, apply the glaze to the skin and cook for an additional 10 minutes at 450º. Remove from the oven, and rest 5-10 minutes. Ensure that the final temp reaches 160º.
Enjoy!
