Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken – Easy

Orange and maple glazed chicken is succulent and loaded with flavour. The breast stays gloriously moist under the bacon, which slowly bastes the breast and adds its smoky goodness to the meat and flavours the juices for an outstanding gravy.

 When you’re looking for an impressive centrepiece for your meal, whether you’re using a large chicken, whole turkey, turkey crown or turkey buffet, Orange maple glazed chicken really delivers big time.

The bird is marvellously golden brown with the bacon, and glistening with a delicious maple, orange and dijon mustard glaze. Perfumed from inside with the flavours of onion and thyme that add to the gravy juices. 

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken

Brining option

We have a post on how to brine a turkey or chicken that delivers a supremely moist, plump and perfectly seasoned bird How to Brine Chicken or Turkey that you will need to start a day or two earlier.

It may seem like a lot of pfaffing about when really the brine does all of the work, so we feel it’s a step worth doing to deliver a bird that’s the talk of the table, and let’s face it that’s our aim. 

You can still go ahead and roast the chicken without this step but check it out and at least give it a test run to see the difference. Amazing!

How to prepare Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken

First up you are going to prepare a simple but delicious glaze made up with maple syrup, fresh orange juice and dijon mustard that you whisk together and that job is done. 😍

Next prepare your bird by placing a generous amount of fresh thyme stems and quartered onion into the interior of the bird – really any combination that floats your boat could be used, think garlic, sage, rosemary, lemon or orange slices even a drizzle of beer has been known to find its way into the bird, use your imagination.

Truss your bird (see notes below) and place an onion that has been sliced into discs about 1cm (1/2 inch ) thick to act as a trivet for your bird to sit on. The onion almost melts into the pan juices adding to the amazing flavour.

Layout a sheet of baking paper and lay strips of bacon closely together the width of the birds breast and sides. Proceed to weave the bacon across the strips until you have a woven layer of bacon – see video for instructions

Place onion slices in the bottom of the pan, or frypan and pop the chicken on top.

Bacon Tip

Laying the bacon weave on paper alows you to easily lift the bacon and place it over the bird. Tuck the bacon into the creases of the wings and legs so its secure. To prevent the bacon from curling while cooking secure the ends of the bacon weave with toothpicks. – Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before serving 😂

1. Prepare the glaze by combining the maple syrup, orange juice and dijon mustard, reserve enough to glaze the chicken before serving.
2. Onto a piece of baking paper lay the bacon pieces and weave them together. The bacon weave should be wide enough to cover the breast of the chicken.
3. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with fresh thyme sprigs and onion wedges.
4. Truss the chicken with string or skewers to hold the wings and legs snuggly agains the frame of the chicken.
5. Lay the woven bacon on the breast of the bird and secure with tooth picks to prevent the bacon from curling. Don’t forget to remove all of the tooth picks before serving. 😂
6. Place thick onion slices around the base of the pan. Using onions on the base prevents the bird from sticking to the pan and the onions also add another flavour layer to the pan juices for the gravy.
7. Lay the prepared chicken on the onion bed and place in a preheated oven.
8. Bake for approximately 30 minutes and then begin to glaze the chicken every ten minutes or so until the bird is golden brown and cooked.

Calculate the cooking time for the Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken

The cooking time is calculated at 25 minutes for every 500gm (1lb 1oz) that the bird weighs.

If you had a bird that weighed 1.5kg or 3lb 3ounces the calculation would be as follows:

1.5kg divided by 500gm = 3 (3.3lb divided by 1.1 = 3)

Now multiply the divided answer in this case 3 x 25 minutes = 75 minutes cook time 

 Using the thermometer pierce the chicken in the thickest part of the birds breast, also the chicken thigh and the fattest part of the wing, the temperature should be above 74c (165f)

If using a fork or skewer pierce the chicken in the thickest parts as mentioned above, if the juices run clear the bird is cooked. However, if the juices run with a pinkish blush continue to cook the bird longer.

Why Do You Truss A Chicken For Roasting?

A properly trussed bird keeps the legs and wings tucked in and gives the bird a compact shape.

The intended purpose for trussing is to help the bird cook more evenly and stay juicy. When you cook a bird without trussing it, the legs and wings are further away from the body, which allows more air to circulate around them cooking the legs and wings before the breast meat.

Side Dishes That go With Chicken

Who doesn’t love a roast chicken served with potatoes. Here are some of our favourite potato sides to serve with this glorious chicken.

• Crispy Roast Potatoes | Easy
• Easy Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
• Whipped Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Crispy Smashed Roast New Potatoes | Easy
• Pommes Anna – Potatoes Anna – Easy

And Don’t Forget The Gravy

Gravy is such an easy addition to any roast, especially when you consider that the flavour base is all ready and waiting for you at the bottom of the pan.

We like to give our pan juices a helping hand by adding thick onion slices to the pan and then resting the roast on the onion. During the cook the onion slowly caramelises and marries with the pan juices, this adds a wonderful depth of flavour for very little work.

How To Make Gravy – From Pan Drippings

1. Over a medium heat warm the pan drippings.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the warmed pan drippings.
3. Using a fork or whisk mix the flour into the drippings.
4. Once the flour is mixed with the pan drippings gradually add the stock
5. Stir constantly to prevent lumps, until the gravy is smooth.
6. Allow to simmer gently for several minutes to cook the flour and thicken the gravy. Try adding some thyme or rosemary at this point and let it gently cook with the gravy to create another flavour layer.
7. Strain the gravy and discard the remaining solids in the strainer.
8. Keep the gravy covered and warm until serving. Enjoy!

Can I Make Chicken The Day Before?

Yes, you can. Go ahead and put the onion and thyme into the chicken cavity then truss the bird. Layout the bacon and cover the chicken with bacon and season then refrigerate covered.

Take a minute to mix the maple syrup, orange juice and dijon mustard in a bowl and cover. The onion can be peeled and pre-sliced ahead then refrigerated covered.

When you’re ready to bake take chicken from the refrigerator pop the onion on the base of the pan and pop the chicken on top and you’re good to go.

Watch How To Make Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken

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What Is The Best Pan To Bake Chicken In

Hot Tip – Selecting A Pan To Cook Your Chicken In

Use a baking pan, or frypan that the chicken fits snugly into. The idea behind this is by reducing the surface area that’s exposed to the heat you reduce the evaporation of the wonderful pan juices.

Remember pan juices make great gravy!

Don’t forget to rate this recipe and let us know what you thought when you make this fabulous Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken in the reviews below. 

Continue to Content

Yield: 6 serves

Orange And Maple Glazed Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Golden brown chicken that's moist, succulent and glorious to look at along with a delicious glaze of maple syrup, orange juice and dijon mustard and a gravy that's so full of flavour it's ridiculous. Enjoy.

Originally published September 2020

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Ingredients

• 1 fresh chicken or turkey weighed and cooking time calculated - our chicken weighed 1 1/2 kg (3.3 pounds)
• 2 medium onions
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 12 pieces short end bacon or more to cover the bird
• 125ml maple syrup (4.2 fluid ounces)
• 60ml fresh orange juice (2 fluid ounces)
• dijon mustard to your taste - about a tablespoon or so
• 1 - 11/2 tablespoons plain (all purpose) flour depending on how thick you like your gravy
• 2 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 1 fresh chicken (ours weighed 1 1/2kg / 3.3 pounds) if you're brining your bird beforehand you'll need to calculate how long to brine for - click on this link..... How to Brine Chicken or Turkey
2. calculate the cooking times - see calculate the cooking time above
3. select a pan or frypan that the bird fits snugly into
4. preheat oven to 180c (360f)
5. mix maple syrup, orange juice and dijon mustard in a small bowl and separate enough of the glaze in a separate bowl to do a final glaze
6. cut 1 onion into quarters and place in the cavity of the chicken along with the thyme sprigs
7. truss the chicken with string - check out our video above if you're not sure of how to truss.
8. lay a sheet of baking paper on the bench and lay half of the bacon pieces so each piece touches the other.
9. weave the remaining bacon across the strips till you have a sheet of woven bacon - see video
10. season chicken with salt and pepper
11. lift the paper and cover the breast and sides with the woven bacon
12. tuck the bacon between the body of the chicken and the legs and wings then using toothpicks pin the ends of the bacon to the bird to prevent the bacon from curling up - see video
13. cut the second onion into discs 1cm (1/2 inch) thick and place on the base of your cooking pan to act as a trivet
14. place the chicken on top of the onion slices
15. bake chicken and halfway into the cooking time begin to baste the chicken with the glaze and repeat this every ten minutes or so
16. bake till juices run clear depending on the cooking calculation you did earlier
17. remove chicken from the oven and brush with the reserved glaze using a clean brush or ladle to stop any cross-contamination from raw juices, then transfer to a serving platter and cover with foil while you make the gravy.
18. if the chicken was small and had a short cook time you may need to turn the grill on for a couple of minutes to achieve the deep golden colour - don't walk away and leave the chicken as it will only need 2-3 minutes
19. leave the onion slices in the pan and over a medium heat add the flour and whisk till you have a paste and the flour has taken up the juices in the pan - see video
20. add chicken stock and whisk to incorporate the flour paste
21. allow the gravy to bubble over a medium heat and continue whisking for a few minutes to cook out the flour and season to taste
22. strain gravy and discard the onion
23. serve with the glorious chicken and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 970Total Fat 62gSaturated Fat 21gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 39gCholesterol 208mgSodium 2979mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 21gProtein 69g

Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.