Cuisine: Whole Roasted Citrus Chicken

I was inspired to make this recipe on a whim. I ran to the produce stand and saw a lot of fresh citrus. The colors of the oranges and key limes called out to me begging me to buy them. As I was heading back out into the rain and cold, I wanted to be swept away to someplace tropical, as tropical as the oranges and limes in my bag.

As I walked home from the market, I started brainstorming a recipe. This is what I came up with.

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You will need:
1 whole chicken
6 oranges
8 key limes
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp spicy paprika
1/4 tsp ground star anise
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla

What to do:
Peel skin away from chicken. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, black pepper, sweet paprika, and tumeric together. Rub all over the chicken making sure to also rub it underneath the skin. Poke about 10 holes into the skin of the chicken. Two should be where the thigh connects to the body, and two should be where the wing connects to the body.

Combine the juice of the oranges, key limes, 1 tsp salt, spicy paprika, star anise, cumin, ginger and vanilla.

Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan breast side up. Sprinkle the chicken with some of the juice. Pour the rest of the juice in the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil. Place pan in the oven and bake covered for 20 minutes. Then, baste with the liquid. Add a little water if needed. Flip the chicken and baste again. Cover and bake for another 15 minutes. Uncover the chicken and baste, adding water if needed. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken and baste again. Bake for 15-20 more minutes.

Enjoy with citrus bean salad and garlic green beans.