PEANUT CHICKEN

Peanut Chicken
Adapted from A Southerly Course by Martha Hall Foose

5 tbsp. creamy peanut butter (use natural if possible)

3 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

1.2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 green onions, chopped, divided

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled

2 garlic cloves

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Stir together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, cayenne, and half the green onion in a small bowl. Spread half the paste under the skin of the breasts of the chicken. Spread the remaining paste all over the outside of the chicken. Stuff the remaining green onion, the ginger, and the garlic into the chicken’s cavity.

Place the chicken breast-side-down in a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and flip the chicken over. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the thigh reads 165°, 30 to 40 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the oven, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.