Fig Roasted Chicken

My girlfriend Tash and her family came over for a Sunday lunch… a big deal since Tash HATES driving long distances; she lives in Mississauga and I’m out in the boonies. Tash and I spent two days a week together every week for about nine years while I was making TV. Now we have to make a date to see each other: life is busy. Especially when you have two wee ones as Tash and Kirk do. So I pulled out all the stops. I made this chicken along with mushroom risotto and it was AMAZING. The following weekend Kirk called me for the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 

Fig Roasted Chicken

1 Whole Chicken
1/2 cup Balsamic Glaze
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
3 Sprigs Rosemary, destemmed and minced
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/4 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Fig Compote


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine softened butter, garlic rosemary, salt and pepper.
Split the chicken along the backbone and then flatten it out in the pan. The flattened or butterflied chicken roasts in a lot less time and is referred to as being “spatchcocked.”
Rub the butter mixture between the skin and the chicken breast meat. Be careful not to tear the skin.
In a small saucepan, combine the fig compote with ¼ cup water to create s syrupy glaze.
Put chicken in the pan breast down and baste with ¼ of the balsamic glaze. Roast that way for about 15 minutes.  Then flip the chicken so it is sitting breast side up and baste with remaining glaze. Roast bird for 30-40 minutes until done.
Baste chicken with the fig glaze (from droppings in the pan) and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.