Ginger-Lime Tube Pan Roast Chicken {Naptime Everyday}

What’s Going on Today: Parent-Teacher Conference Day!

Naptime Goals: Prep chicken, work on a few fun writing assignments!

Tonight’s Menu: Ginger-Lime Tube Pan chicken, long grain wild rice, arugula salad.

When a craving for roast chicken grabs hold there is nothing I can do to stop it. A moist bird with crispy skin is all I can think about eating until I make one for dinner. For my most recent roast chicken I decided to have some fun and experiment with cooking style. I’ve been fascinated by all the recent recipes I’ve read touting roasting the bird standing up in the tube pan. Everyone says it produces a gorgeously crisp chicken and the drippings are conveniently caught at the bottom of the tube pan ready to be made into gravy. Since I just happened to a new tube pan on hand, and hate owning baking pans that serve only one purpose, it seemed like the perfect time to try a new technique for this tried and true dish.

While my daughter was napping I scoured the fridge and fruit bowl to come up with some new flavors for our meal. Inspired by a recent dish I ate at a local Thai restaurant I decided to give the bird a spicy-sour twist with lemons, limes and ground ginger. After bathing — and I mean literally, near drowning — the bird in olive oil I covered it in a paste of kosher salt, the juice and zest of lemons, limes and a generous does of dried ground ginger. Then I stuffed the cavity with a lemon and lime half and let it rest in the fridge for the afternoon.

Come evening I placed the whole bird feet side down on the tube of the pan and placed the pan in a baking dish. My daughter got a huge laugh out of the chicken which appeared to be dancing as it went into the oven. As it roasted I turned the pan a couple of times to make sure it browned evenly. I also noticed the the bottom of the chicken toward the feet end didn’t get quite as dark as the top, but it didn’t affect the flavor or texture. After an hour the chicken emerged deliciously golden with a spicy-sweet flavor from the marinade. I found the technique produced similar results as a regular roasting pan, though the cooking time was reduced and the breasts were very moist. The best part was how the chicken browned evenly all the way around, not just on the top like it does in a traditional roasting pan. We firmly believe that increasing the ratio of crispy skin to moist meat is always for the better. As for the new technique we loved it and deemed it worthy of a repeat. I am sure my craving will strike again soon and I know what exactly what to do.