Roast Pomegranate Chicken Recipe | Tasting Table
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
1 hour, 25 minutes
Servings:
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
  • ½ tablespoon caraway seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom seeds, pods discarded
  • One 3-to-4-pound chicken
  • 2 sage sprigs
  • ½ lemon
  • ½ onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 1 thyme sprig
  • Butcher's twine, for tying
  • 1½ cups pomegranate molasses
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Pomegranate seeds, for garnish
Directions
  1. Make the spice rub: In a small sauté pan, heat all of the spices individually until evenly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes each. Allow the spices to completely cool. Grind the spices individually in a mortar and pestle so that no whole seeds remain, but the mixture is still coarse; set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400º. Pat the chicken dry and stuff the cavity of the chicken with the sage, lemon, onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Tie the drumsticks with butcher's twine and place the chicken on a wire rack-lined sheet pan.
  3. Brush the chicken completely with the pomegranate molasses mixture and season with salt. As the chicken roasts, baste it with more pomegranate molasses every 7 to 10 minutes for 1 hour. After 45 mins, cover the chicken completely with the spice mixture and roast in the oven until it reaches 165º, 15 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes, carve and serve with fresh pomegranate seeds.