Roasted Chicken with Bourbon Pear Butter Glaze
- 4 cups unsweetened pear sauce (like applesauce, but pear)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Juice of 2 lemons (save the rinds for the chickens)
- Two 3- to 4-pound chickens
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bulb fennel, quartered, fronds reserved for garnish
- 1 bulb fennel, shaved on a mandolin (or sliced very thinly), fronds reserved for garnish
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the pear butter glaze: Combine the pear sauce, sugar, bourbon, cardamom and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it reduces by half, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the glaze to slather on the chickens as they cook, and the rest for serving.
- For the roasted chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Pat the chickens dry and sprinkle liberally all over with salt and pepper.
- Divide the rosemary, lemon rinds and fennel between the cavities of both chickens.
- Tie the legs with butcher's twine and tuck the wings under the chickens.
- Place the chickens in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and slather the chickens generously with the reserved pear butter glaze.
- Roast until the juices run clear when pricked, 15 to 20 more minutes.
- Let rest for 5 minutes to allow for carryover cooking.
- For the fennel salad: Meanwhile, toss the shaved fennel with the lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste and place on a platter.
- Slather the chickens generously with more of the pear butter glaze and put the chickens on top of the shaved fennel salad.
- Garnish with fennel fronds.
- Serve with the remaining glaze.
pear sauce, sugar, bourbon, ground cardamom, lemons, salt, rosemary, fennel, fennel, lemon, olive oil, salt
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/damaris-phillips/roasted-chicken-with-bourbon-pear-butter-glaze.html (may not work)