Apple Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

Marinade

• 12 oz applesauce
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole chicken, thawed

Stuffing

• 1/4 small sweet onion, unsliced
• 1/2 slightly tangy red apple, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (recommended ambrosia or pink lady)
• 2 large garlic cloves, cracked
• 15 peppercorns, cracked
• butcher's twine for trussing

Baste

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp sage

Preparation

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Wash the chicken inside and out and place into a plastic bag with the marinade for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of overnight. Flip once.
3. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare stuffing. Put the onion into the cavity first, followed by garlic/peppercorns, then apple cubes. Optionally, put some of the applesauce from the bag into the cavity. Optionally, leave the applesauce on the skin for a sweeter gravy, or remove for a more savory gravy. Truss the chicken and place into a roasting pan. Put in oven.
4. Baste with butter/sage mixture 1/2 hour into bake. Repeat with drippings every 1/2h until the last 1/2h of the bake process or you have based 3 times total, whichever comes first.
5. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2h*, until a thermometer placed in the leg reads 165F and in breast reads 180F.

Notes

1. I never plan for eating the stuffing in this case, so I do not check for the temp of the stuffing. However, safe consumption guidelines indicate that the stuffing should reach 165F.
2. Typically a chicken roasts for around 20-30 minutes per lb + 15 minutes until it reaches the right temperature.

Non-recipe note: Needs review.