Orange-bacon-tea roasted chicken

Orange, bacon, tea. Huh? We're half-way to breakfast. But then this recipe takes a right-hand turn and these ingredients are turned into...a glaze? for chicken? Weird, right? I was intrigued by the original recipe (no sign of bacon, just tea and oranges). 

Anything I can't conjure in my mind, I immediately want to make. I'll spoil the ending and tell you it was very good although my decision to substitute PC's bacon marmalade for the regular marmalade mostly masked the tea flavour so I can't really speak to it. If you don't have PC products at your grocery store, I'd just sprinkle cooked bacon bits into your marmalade. Close enough. Anyways, here's my version, with includes a couple of my other tweaks along the way. 

To prepare glaze:

Squeeze the juice of 2 oranges into a small saucepan, then cook over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, until reduced by half. Cut the orange halves into quarters and reserve. In a separate cup, pour 1/3 cup boiling water over 1 Orange Pekoe tea bag and steep for 5 minutes. Remove bag and add tea to orange juice. While still hot, stir in 1 cup bacon marmalade.

To prepare chicken:

Remove giblets, wash and dry 1 whole trussed chicken, then sprinkle pepper inside cavity. Gently loosen the breast skin. Stuff the chicken cavity with the orange quarters, onion slices from one small onion, a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme. Divide the glaze in two equal portions - one for rubbing and basting and one for serving after the chicken is cooked. Rub some of the rubbing and basting glaze onto the chicken, over and under the breast skin.

To cook chicken:

Place the chicken in a roasting pan fit with a wire rack. Surround with halved new potatoes. Cook at 375 for about 1 hour 20 minutes (my oven tends to cook slowly; you may not need as much time), basting the chicken with its juice and extra glaze every 20 minutes. Once cooked, remove everything from the chicken cavities, cut string, and let the chicken stand for 10 minutes before serving. Top with reserved glaze and serve with potatoes and a vegetable. For a learner version, serve chicken without the skin.

 Source: adapted from Reader's Digest's Cook Smart for a Healthy Heart cookbook