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Home » Recipes » Christmas

Published: Nov 29, 2022 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Roast Christmas Chicken With Orange-Ginger Glaze

Jump to Recipe
The Christmas chicken on a platter with fresh rosemary and orange slices and text overlay on top.

Prepare a memorable holiday dinner the whole family will love with this roast Christmas chicken with an orange-ginger glaze! After rubbing the whole bird with a medley of warm spices, we cook it to perfection to make the most tender, juicy roast chicken. Best of all, this easy roast chicken requires less than 30 minutes of hands-on preparation time to make holiday entertaining simple as can be.

The roast Christmas chicken on white platter with rosemary, orange and cranberries decorating the chicken.
Jump to:
  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • What to Serve on the Side
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Expert Tips
  • Perfect Pairing
  • Get More Holiday Dinner Ideas
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Holiday flavor in every bite: No bland chicken here. Between the flavorful dry rub and spiced orange glaze, you won’t find a more flavorful chicken. You'll want to enjoy this chicken all holiday season long.

Makes a beautiful presentation: A whole roasted chicken always looks impressive on a serving platter to elevate your Christmas celebration. A special occasion calls for a meal that turns heads.

Uses a world-renowned chef’s roasting technique: Thomas Keller, the eight-time Michelin-starred chef of Napa’s famous French Laundry, has a simple roasting method that gives perfect results every time with minimal effort. We simply dry brine the bird and then blast the chicken at one high temperature — no basting and alternating temperatures required to make an ultra juicy, moist chicken. 

Easier than you’d think: Roasting a whole chicken can seem a bit intimidating the first time, but once you do it, you’ll see it’s truly not a difficult process. We’ll walk through the directions step by step to show you how to master roasting a chicken.

Related: For more Christmas dinner ideas, try my smoked turkey thighs or meatball lasagna.

Ingredients

The roasted chicken ingredients on a textured white board with black and white labels by each food.

Here, the pictured ingredients are for both the glaze and Christmas chicken. Besides the chicken, the aromatics, olive oil, salt and dry rub are for our roast while the other ingredients are for the glaze. Now for a few notes to set you up for success. 

Whole chicken: I like to use a chicken that’s about 3 to 4 pounds. Smaller chickens are known for having more tender meat. That said, sometimes the grocery store may only have a 5 or 6 pound chicken, and that will still work. Just know that a larger chicken size will require additional cooking time.

Aromatics: We use these to stuff the chicken cavity. For this recipe, we use a combination of orange wedges, onion wedges, thyme, rosemary and sage. We’re looking for fresh herb sprigs here, not dried herbs.

Dry rub: This includes a blend of brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. We’ll also use a touch of that cinnamon for the glaze.

Orange juice: While you can certainly use freshly squeezed orange juice, bottled juice works well here too.

Maple syrup: You’ll love the depth of flavor this gives the glaze. Make sure you use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.

Ginger: We want to grate the ginger here. If you can plan ahead, I like to first peel the ginger with a spoon and then freeze it. Frozen ginger grates even easier than fresh. In fact, I always keep frozen ginger on hand, so it’s ready to go for any occasion.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Orange-Ginger Glaze

I like to start with the glaze first. We can make it ahead of time, so we don't have to fuss with it while hosting. Of course, if you don’t have a chance to take care of it before serving time, you can make it while the chicken cooks. 

Step 1: We begin by stirring together the orange juice, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium heat (photo 1).

Combining the orange juice and other ingredients in a stainless steel saucepan before adding the cornstarch.

Step 2: While the mixture heats, we stir together the cornstarch with a splash of water to make a slurry. Once the orange juice mixture is near a simmer, we stir in the cornstarch slurry and bring it to a simmer until it’s thick enough to coat a wooden spoon like so (photo 2). We turn off the heat and stir in some fresh orange zest.

Stirring together the orange juice and other glaze ingredients with a wooden spoon in a stainless steel saucepan.

Roast Chicken

Step 1: We prepare our chicken by removing any innards from the cavity, patting it dry with paper towels and generously sprinkling it with coarse kosher salt (photo 3). Now we stuff the cavity with the orange and onion wedges and fresh herbs and tie the legs together tightly (photo 4). I find the legs stay together better if we tie them at this stage.

We now place the chicken in the refrigerator uncovered to dry brine. Plan for at least eight hours, but it’s even better if you can give it 24 hours. 

  • Brushing the chicken with olive oil on a brown wooden cutting board before seasoning.
  • The chicken stuffed with the aromatics and the legs tied on a brown wooden cutting board.

Step 2: After the chicken has a chance to dry brine, we remove it from the refrigerator and brush it with olive oil (photo 5). 

Brushing the chicken with olive oil on a brown wooden cutting board before seasoning.

Step 3: For our next step, we stir together the spices and rub the mixture all over the chicken. Make sure you gently lift the skin and rub some spices on the meat as well (photo 6). 

The chicken covered in the dry rub on a brown wooden cutting board before roasting.

Step 4: To ensure we roast our chicken to perfection, we insert a leave-in meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh like so (photo 7) and place the roasting pan in a 450-degree F oven. 

The chicken on a wire rack in a roasting pan with a leave-in thermometer before cooking.

Step 5: When the internal temperature of the chicken reaches about 130-140 degrees F, we brush the sticky glaze on top of the chicken and return it to the oven to finish roasting (photo 8). The chicken is finished when the thigh reaches 165 degrees F.

Tip: Spoon some of the glaze into a small bowl for this first round of brushing. This avoids cross-contamination. 

Brushing the skin with the orange-ginger glaze on a wire rack during the cooking process before it finishes roasting.

Step 6: Now we remove the chicken from the oven, brush with glaze again and let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes (photo 9). This resting phase allows the juices to redistribute to the meat and gives the internal temperature time to rise another 10 degrees or so.

While the chicken thighs are safe to eat at 165 degrees F, they’re even better around 175 degrees F. White meat cooks faster than the legs and thighs, so that section should be fine by the time the dark meat finishes.

Brushing the chicken skin with the orange-ginger glaze on a white serving platter before carving.

For a lovely presentation on your Christmas table, I like to surround the chicken with fresh rosemary sprigs, orange slices and whole cranberries. A few cinnamon sticks would also make a cute touch. Feel free to get creative here.

All that’s left is to carve and serve this beautiful roast Christmas chicken! It's truly the perfect meal to spread holiday cheer. If you have extra glaze, you’re more than welcome to spoon some on the side for dipping. 

What to Serve on the Side

My absolute favorite side dish is this ultimate smoked mac and cheese. The smoker adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the mac and cheese, and since the smoker does the work, your oven is free for this chicken. If you don’t have a smoker, the recipe includes oven directions, and you can bake it as the chicken rests.

For more side dishes for your holiday menu, you’ll love these family favorites.

  • Croissant stuffing 
  • Smoked mashed potatoes
  • Green bean casserole
  • Sweet potato soufflé
  • Crispy fingerling potatoes
  • Brandied cranberry sauce
  • Brown butter mashed potatoes

Recipe FAQs

How do you truss a whole chicken?

Place the chicken breast-side up with the neck away from you. Then, place a long piece of kitchen twine under the neck area and pull the twine toward you while tucking the wings under the twine. Criss-cross the string on the left side under the right leg, repeat on the other side, and pull tightly.

I like to wrap the twine around the legs a few times to ensure it’s nice and tight. If you’d like a visual reference, here’s a quick guide on how to truss a chicken.

For an even simpler preparation, you can tie the legs together, and then tuck the wing tips under the chicken leg quarters. The wings won't be quite as close to the body, but this method still works if you have trouble with the more traditional method.

Do you have to brine chicken?

I highly recommend brining the chicken for best results. With the dry brining method, the salt first draws the moisture from the skin and meat. Over time, the moisture dissolves the salt back into the chicken to make for tastier, juicier meat. This process also makes for crispier skin.

A wet brine involves boiling together water, salt and desired aromatics and then soaking the chicken. I use a wet brine for my smoked turkey legs, which works beautifully with that recipe, and you can certainly use that method if you prefer. But dry brining is quicker, cleaner and still results in perfect roast chicken. If you do use a wet brine, dry the skin well before roasting.

How long does it take to roast chicken?

Expect a 3- to 4-pound chicken to take about 50-60 minutes with the caveat that every piece of meat cooks a bit differently. This is just a guideline. Of course, if you have a larger chicken, you’ll need to add more time — plan for about 15-20 extra minutes per additional pound.

What’s the best temperature for roasting chicken?

This method from Thomas Keller calls for roasting chicken at 450 degrees F the whole time. While this is hotter than some methods that start with high heat and then finish with a lower temperature, there’s no need to worry about dry meat. Between the dry brining and monitoring our internal temperature, the meat is juicy perfection. Plus, bone-in, skin-on chicken stays moister than boneless chicken breasts.

How do you store leftover chicken?

As long as you keep the cooked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it should last for three to four days. You can also freeze the chicken for up to four months for best quality.

An aerial view of the roast Christmas chicken on a white serving platter with rosemary, cranberries and oranges surrounding it.

Expert Tips

Fully thaw your chicken before brining: If the bird is still frozen, it won’t let the brine work its magic to get that wonderfully flavorful, juicy chicken. 

Line the roasting pan with aluminum foil: This makes cleanup quick and easy. After all, you don't want to spend Christmas Eve scrubbing pans.

Only use the orange zest, not the white of the orange peel: The white pith can make the glaze bitter. We just want the fresh orange peel. To get the peel, you can use a zester or microplane grater.

Get extra crispy skin: The glaze will soften the skin a bit. If you want to maintain the crispy skin, only lightly glaze it right before serving and serve extra on the side.

Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before roasting: This helps take the chill off the chicken to cook more evenly.

Perfect Pairing

If you’d like to pair a beer with your Christmas meal, try a Belgian witbier. This effervescent sipper shows off citrusy orange notes to complement both the chicken and the glaze, and you’ll love how the clove-like yeast matches the warm dry rub spices. 

Gewürztraminer is wonderful if you prefer a wine pairing. The floral, honey and ginger undertones of the wine blend beautifully with the cinnamon, allspice and cloves. A dry riesling is also a nice option with its zippy acidity. 

Maybe you’d like a cocktail. My French 76 is a vodka-based Champagne cocktail with a touch of fresh lemon juice that’s perfect for sipping with just about anything. Besides, who doesn’t love a little bubbly for the holidays? My cranberry mule is also a festive option and goes well with the glaze.

For a lovely holiday dinner, I hope you try this roast Christmas chicken. With the tender, juicy meat and delightful citrus glaze, you’ll love every bite. Have a very merry Christmas feast.

Cheers!

An angled aerial view of the roast Christmas chicken on a white platter with rosemary sprigs all around it.

Get More Holiday Dinner Ideas

  • Christmas Roast Duck With Cranberry-Orange Glaze
  • Juicy Smoked Tri Tip
  • Smoked Whole Chicken on Pellet Grill
  • Smoked Duck With Spiced Pomegranate-Maple Glaze

If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

The roast Christmas chicken on white platter with rosemary, orange and cranberries decorating the chicken.

Roast Christmas Chicken With Orange-Ginger Glaze

Prepare a memorable holiday dinner the whole family will love with this Christmas roast chicken with an orange-ginger glaze! After rubbing the whole bird with a medley of warm spices, we roast it to perfection to make the most tender, juicy roast chicken. Best of all, this roast chicken requires less than 30 minutes of hands-on preparation time to make holiday entertaining simple as can be.
5 from 68 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Brining Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 9 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 587kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Kitchen twine
  • Roasting pan with rack
  • Aluminum foil

Ingredients

Orange-Ginger Glaze

  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 garlic clove grated or minced
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • Splash of water
  • Pinch of fresh orange zest optional

Roast Christmas Chicken

  • 1 whole chicken thawed and innards removed
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ orange cut into wedges
  • ½ yellow onion cut into wedges
  • Several sprigs fresh rosemary
  • Several sprigs fresh sage
  • Several sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

Orange-Ginger Glaze

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together orange juice, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a near simmer.
  • In a small cup, stir together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the orange juice mixture and cook until it's thicken enough to coat a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and stir in the orange zest if desired. Set aside.

Roast Christmas Chicken

  • Pat chicken dry with paper towels, including the cavity. Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt. Fill the cavity with the orange, onion, rosemary, sage and thyme. Tie the legs together with the kitchen twine. Place in the refrigerator uncovered to dry brine for at least eight hours, preferably up to 24 hours.
  • Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Brush with olive oil.
  • Stir together the chili powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Rub all over the chicken skin as well as the meat underneath. Let the chicken sit in room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Place chicken on a greased wire rack of a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Insert a leave-in thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone to avoid an inaccurate reading. Place roasting pan in the oven uncovered.
  • When the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 130-140 degrees F, brush with the glaze. Continue cooking until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 165 degrees F.
  • Remove the chicken from the oven and brush with the glaze again. Allow the chicken to rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute into the meat. Carve and enjoy!

Notes

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container for three to four days. The chicken can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to four months for best quality.
  • Fully thaw your chicken before brining. If the bird is still frozen, it won’t let the brine work its magic to get that wonderfully flavorful, juicy chicken.
  • Only use the orange zest, not the white of the orange peel. The white pith can make the glaze bitter. We just want the fresh orange peel. To get the peel, you can use a zester or microplane grater.
  • The glaze will soften the skin a bit. If you want to maintain the crispy skin, only lightly glaze it right before serving and serve extra on the side.
  • The cayenne pepper and chili powder give this chicken a light kick that's lovely with the warm spices. However, if you're sensitive to heat, feel free to reduce the amount by half. 
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25chicken | Calories: 587kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 1899mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 956IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

More Christmas Recipes

  • Smoked Prime Rib (Standing Rib Roast)
  • Christmas Cranberry Moscow Mule
  • Gingerbread Mule Cocktail
  • Smoked Leg of Lamb
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    Recipe Rating




  1. Allie says

    December 25, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe honestly blew me away! This is the first ever review I have left on any recipe because that is how determined I am for the world to try this. It’s a fair bit of prep with the spices but you can’t miss one. I think the dry brine made the difference because I had doubts leaving the chicken uncovered while cooking, but wow did it ever come out moist. We used a convection over at 430 F and it cooked great. It could be on the sweet side with the glaze for some, but we think it complemented the all spice and savoury bits very well. I did forget to put brown sugar but we realized we didn’t need it in the end once we tried it. It reminded me a bit of a mulled nutty cider in meat form. Thank you for this spectacular recipe. I would not change a thing because it turned out better than I could have dreamed.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 25, 2022 at 7:20 pm

      Thank you so much for the kind words! You made the holiday even brighter, and I’m so glad you loved it. Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  2. Tayler says

    December 20, 2022 at 8:21 am

    5 stars
    I made this chicken for a dinner party over the weekend and everyone raved about it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 21, 2022 at 6:16 am

      Yay! Thanks very much, Tayler.

      Reply
  3. Jessie says

    December 20, 2022 at 8:19 am

    5 stars
    So excited to have found this recipe! Our families always do ham or prime rib at holidays but I just don't love those cuts of meat - super happy to be able to make this chicken recipe this year but still have it feel really festive.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 21, 2022 at 6:15 am

      Hope you enjoy, Jessie!

      Reply
  4. Dana says

    December 20, 2022 at 7:51 am

    5 stars
    Love everything about this meal! The cozy holiday flavors, the presentation, and how approachable it is. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 21, 2022 at 6:15 am

      You're welcome, Dana!

      Reply
  5. Toni says

    December 20, 2022 at 7:48 am

    5 stars
    The flavor combination of this recipe is amazing!! I will definitely make it again!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 21, 2022 at 6:15 am

      Great to hear! Thanks, Toni.

      Reply
  6. Gina Abernathy says

    December 20, 2022 at 7:29 am

    5 stars
    So pretty and so tasty! The crispy skin is always my favorite!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 20, 2022 at 7:31 am

      Same! Thanks so much, Gina!

      Reply
  7. Dannii says

    December 20, 2022 at 7:23 am

    5 stars
    This is a much better alternative to turkey at Christmas. So much flavor, especially with that orange glaze.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 20, 2022 at 7:31 am

      Thanks, Dannii! I really love what it adds.

      Reply

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A headshot of Amanda, the owner of Burrata and Bubbles, holding a beer.

Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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