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ROAST CHICKEN with APRICOT HABANERO GLAZE Adapted from Adventures in Cooking

APRICOT HABANERO GLAZE
2 tablespoons apricot habanero jam
2 tablespoons avocado oil
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

• Mix together all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
• et aside.

CHICKEN
1/4 cup apricot habanero jam
3 tablespoons avocado oil
1 tablespoon FRESH thyme leaves
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 pound apricots halved and pitted
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced
3-5 pound roasting chicken
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 cups water

• Preheat the oven to 425°.
• Adjust rack to lowest position.
• Mix together the apricot habanero jam, avocado oil, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
• Place the apricot halves and sliced onion in a roasting pan and toss with the jam mixture until coated.
• Spread the onion slices out so that they make a layer on the bottom of the pan and arrange the apricot halves around the edge of the pan.
• 
Generously rub the outside and inside of the chicken with the apricot habanero glaze, gently edging your hands underneath the skin of the chicken breast to get the mixture underneath the skin as well.
• Place in the center of the pan.

• Stuff the cavity with the sprig of rosemary and tie the legs together using a piece of cooking twine.
• Pour the 2 cups of water into the pan around the chicken.
• Tent the pan with tin foil, ensuring that it is secured and closed on all four sides, but poke a small 1 inch hole in it to allow excess steam to escape.
• Make sure the tent does not touch the actual skin of the bird! This step is VERY important, because if you do not tent the bird with tin foil, it will brown too quickly because of the high sugar content of the glaze, and while the inside of the bird will still be moist and tasty, the outside will look *quite* crispy.

• Roast for 1 hour, basting halfway through.
• At the 40-minute mark, remove the tin foil, reduce the oven temperature to 375 and cook another 15 minutes or so until the thigh joint measures 165°.
• Remove from the oven and allow the juices to cool for 15 minutes before serving so that the chicken retains more moisture. If you carve it right away the juices will drain out of the meat too rapidly.
• Enjoy!