Amazing, Crispy, Roasted Chicken with Apples, Dates, and Bacon

Giving Chicken as much love and respect as traditional Turkey gets

"If you can roast a chicken you can roast a turkey too."

Or backwards in this case, lol

The Joy of Cooking

This fantastic, crispy, roasted chicken stuffed with apples, dates, and bacon is a new take on the fall season and Thanksgiving.

The tradition of Thanksgiving started as a celebration of perseverance and gratitude. Gratitude to the natives who aided the colonizer in their heroic expedition of settling "uncharted" terrain, and gratitude to the grace of God for providing for them through the endeavor. For many centuries we have followed the tradition of Thanksgiving meals. We experience the pressure of buying an oversized turkey. Making five to ten different side dishes. Not to count about the same amount of desserts.

The fantastic, crispy, roasted chicken stuffed with apples, dates, and bacon is a recipe that takes on those traditions and turns them around. Suited more for people with fewer mouths to feed without relegating the season's flavors.

Some backstory

Blasphemy might be the first thought that comes to mind when cooking anything other than turkey for Thanksgiving, but let me explain my circumstances. For many years I have been the family member that bounces from house to house. As a divorced parent, I had to take my children to their grandparent's homes for the celebrations. A bit frustrating because I could not express my cooking energy at the Super Bowl of cooking holidays. Still, every year without delay, I would bundle my babies and head out early in the morning to grandparent number one. Spend a few hours there and then head out to grandparent number two. Food coma was not an option since I still had to bundle up my babies and take them back home.

As the children grew older and I ended up moving back to Florida, there was no more bouncing, and we resumed the traditional big turkey party of twelve-plus guests. The only caveat, Puerto Ricans LOVE pork! So not every Thanksgiving was turkey. The new other situation was that my brother was also making a turkey, and my sister would make a ham. Now we had enough meat to serve a party of thirty! While my mom was still alive, we discussed the thought of the overabundance of food. We both agree that Thanksgiving is also a celebration of the harvest and the plenty. But when the plenty becomes frozen leftovers two weeks after the celebration, we need to start trimming somewhere.

To turkey, or not to turkey; that is the question

Yes, I bard this dilemma. Sometimes, we get stuck in what was and fail to see what is. The turkey has been the centerpiece of tradition, not because it was the only bird available to eat on the first Thanksgiving, but only because of the sheer size of the bird. That is to say, if we are serving 18 people, then a turkey might be the best source of protein for this occasion, but if only four people attend, a chicken will work just as well. To me, this is a question on logistics. How many people will I serve, and how much can I afford?

Second to turkey in the traditional meal components is the stuffing. I view stuffing the fowl as a flavoring agent, in this case, chicken. I usually use the stuffing I put inside the bird for gravy or a sauce and make a different stuffing as an accompaniment. A traditional mirepoix consists of onions, carrots, and celery. These vegetables infuse the chicken with flavor from the inside out. I replaced the carrots with apples and added dates for this particular recipe. I want to infuse the chicken with seasonal flavors to celebrate the time of the year. The onions and celery will accentuate savory flavors without diminishing the sweetness of the apples and dates. Thyme is another sweet-smelling herb that will not overpower the other flavors while steeping a floral bouquet.

Finally, bacon. I have decided to render the bacon fat and mix it with melted butter to get the crispy skin on the bird. I will use the bacon pieces used for rendering in the sauce. As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe. This recipe could be easily adaptable for turkey. Just scroll down toward the end of the recipe card to see turkey notations.

I served this chicken with smashed baby Yukon potatoes, but it goes great with my Pretzel Stuffing and grilled sweet potatoes!!