Roasted Orange Rosemary Honey Glazed Chicken

This is always a hit when I make it for dinner parties and Boxing Day dinner because the chicken is always fall-off-the-bone juicy and people love the glaze. People always go for seconds! You may quarter 2 chickens instead if you aren't able to get just legs from your butcher, but I find the legs are juicier and save money. Serve this dish with fragrant rice and dilled carrots or roasted asparagus.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 2 hr 20 mins
• Calories: 777 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (Optional)
• 2 oranges, zested
• 8 large chicken legs
• 1 cup orange juice with pulp
• 7 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

Sprinkle chicken with salt and place in a large glass or plastic bowl.

Step 3

Whisk together honey, orange juice, butter, rosemary, orange zest, and garlic. Pour orange mixture over chicken; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Step 4

Place chicken legs in a single layer in a roasting pan; pour orange mixture over chicken.

Step 5

Roast for 30 minutes in the preheated oven; reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Baste chicken with pan juices every 20 minutes until chicken is a deep orange brown color, no longer pink at the bone, and juices run clear, about 90 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).