Ingredients
-
1 cinnamon stick, chopped in pieces
-
8 whole cloves
-
1 teaspoon cayenne
-
1 teaspoon fennel seed
-
1 teaspoon coriander seed
-
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
-
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
-
1 teaspoon brown sugar
-
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
-
1 lemon, halved
-
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro
-
2 garlic cloves
-
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
-
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Rinse chicken with cool water, inside and out - then pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine the cinnamon stick, cloves, cayenne, cumin, fennel, coriander and paprika in a dry skillet over low heat and toast for a minute - just to release the fragrant oils - shake pan so spices don't scorch.
- In a clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together with the sea salt and brown sugar.
- Massage the chicken skin with the spice rub, making sure you don't miss any spots.
- Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the lemon halves, cilantro and garlic into the cavity of the chicken.
- Place the chicken into a roasting pan, fitted with a rack, and fold the wing tips under the chicken and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
- Drizzle oil all over chicken. If you have the time, let the chicken sit for 30 minutes to really let the flavors meld into the chicken.
- Roast the chicken for one hour, then check with an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh - if it reads 160 degrees F, then it's done!
- Take the chicken out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before carving - so the juices can settle back into the meat.
- Squeeze the lemon halves that have cooked inside the chicken over the meat for added wow.