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How to Cook with Saffron and Roast Chicken with Saffron Butter

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This roasted chicken gets it’s golden color and fragrant flavor from baking in a saffron butter glaze.

How to Cook with Saffron and Roast Chicken with Saffron Butter by FamilySpice.com

Have you ever cooked with saffron? Most of us would answer, no. I remember when I was single, working in Miami and wanting to make some basmati rice with saffron. I didn’t have any saffron in my pitiful bachelorette kitchen, so I went to the Whole Foods Market next to my place to buy some.

My eyeballs popped out of my head when I saw a small jar with like 10 threads of saffron selling for $20! Luckily, my mother ended up giving me some saffron the next time I saw her, but I will never forget that day in the market.

Saffron Threads by FamilySpice.com

Did I buy the saffron? No, I did not. I wasn’t making enough money at the time to splurge $20 just for a spice. That was my weekly grocery budget!

Today, I am lucky to have a cupboard filled with saffron. My main source of saffron is from family and friends who visit us from Iran, bringing small gifts of this glorious spice. I learned early on how to cook with saffron.

But for those of you who are rightfully intimidated with this expensive spice, I have these pointers for you.

Saffron Threads Steeped in Hot Water by FamilySpice.com

How to Cook with Saffron:

  1. If you can, use only saffron threads and grind it yourself using a mortar and pestle. Already ground saffron typically has additives mixed in and uses cheaper quality saffron.
  2. Keep your saffron in a sealed container and store in a cool dark place.
  3. A little bit of good quality saffron goes a long way!
  4. Add your ground saffron to a hot liquid and steep to develop it’s rich orange color. You can add it to hot water, hot oil, melted butter or any other warm liquid.

Take an ordinary roast chicken and make it extraordinary. Grind a little saffron, add it to melted butter, brush it over your chicken and you end up with a very special golden bird.

Saffron Recipes by FamilySpice.com

Saffron isn’t just for paella. Add it to your ice cream, your cookies, your cake, your potatoes, your fish, and even your rice. You can learn more about saffron here. 

You can buy premium grade Persian saffron here on my blog! Whether you purchase .5 grams to 3 grams, shipping in the US is free. So what are you waiting for?

Yield: serves 6

Roast Chicken with Saffron Butter

Roast Chicken with Saffron Butter

This roasted chicken gets it’s golden color and fragrant flavor from baking in a saffron butter glaze.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 TBS unsalted melted butter
  • 1/2 tsp ground saffron
  • 4 lb whole roasting chicken
  • 1/2 onion, quartered
  • 1 sprig of rosemary, fresh
  • 1/2 lemon, quartered
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/8 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine butter and ground saffron. Let it steep and reserve.
  2. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
  3. Remove giblets and neck inside chicken cavity and place on a roasting pan with rack.
  4. Season cavity of chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper..
  5. Stuff onion, rosemary, and lemon inside the cavity of the chicken.
  6. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs of the chicken together (optional).
  7. Brush the entire chicken with the golden saffron butter, brushing under the skin of the chicken breast, as well.
  8. Season the entire chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
  9. Roast chicken for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350ºF.
  10. Roast chicken until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170ºF, approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.
  11. If chicken starts to brown too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.
  12. Tilt chicken to allow juices from cavity to run into roasting pan.
  13. Transfer chicken to platter, cover with foil and let stand for 10 minutes, allowing internal temperature to rise.
  14. Spoon and discard fat from surface of pan juices. You can also use a fat separator.
  15. Serve chicken with pan juices on the side.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

4 oz meat
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 763 Total Fat: 45g Saturated Fat: 14g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 26g Cholesterol: 276mg Sodium: 570mg Carbohydrates: 2g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 1g Protein: 83g
© Laura Bashar | Family Spice
Cuisine: Persian / Category: main course

This Giveaway is now CLOSED!

And now, let’s talk about FREE SAFFRON!

I am giving away 5 packages of  Top-Grade Iranian ‘Sargol’ Saffron (5 grams each) to 5 lucky readers! I was sent some Sargol Saffron from The SaffShop to sample. It was inspected and sniffed by my mother-in-law, a few aunts and some cousins. In fact, we had a nice 1 hour discussion about saffron. They all agreed that this really is top-quality saffron. The threads are dark red, the aroma is AMAZING, and 5-grams is plenty of saffron to keep you busy for all of 2013! This giveaway is open to U.S. and international residents alike!!!

What do you have to do?

1. Leave a comment below telling me what you would make with your free saffron.

For additional entries to win, please do the following:

2. Like the Saffshop on Facebook, and tell me in a comment here.

3. Follow the Saffshop on Twitter, and tell me in a comment here.

4. Tweet about the giveaway: 5 lucky winners can win 5-grams of saffron from @saffshop and @familyspice!!! http://su.pr/2rFAFQ ***Be sure to tell me about your tweet in a comment here.***

 

Happy holidays and good luck to you all!

Disclosure: The SaffShop sent me 5-grams of Sargol Saffron to review and giveaway on my blog. Contest ends 12/31/2012 and winner will be announced 1/1/2013.  I was NOT compensated in any other way for this post and the opinions I expressed here are mine. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t blog about!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Toby @ Plate Fodder says

    One of my favorite things to do with it is a saffron and chicken panade that my mom used to make when we were kids. Such a wonderful warming soup for the upcoming cold weather

    Reply

    • Yuriy says

      I would defnitely make a special chicken rub with it..

      Reply

  2. Jaime says

    What a fabulous giveaway!! I adore cooking with saffron but do not do so as often as I’d like because they are so dear. Every once in a blue moon, I spruce up boring old boiled rice by cooking it with saffron seeped in spiced milk. I also love a saffron roasted chicken but if I won this brilliant prize, I would love to try and use this beautiful ingredient in a sweet as I am currently training as a pastry chef and expanding my baking horizon. Thank you for the opportunity x

    Reply

  6. Heather says

    I’ve had a recipe for saffron gelato bookmarked for a long time…

    Reply

  8. Lara says

    I would love to try it on chicken! And maybe even on icecream!

    Reply

  9. Fatima says

    I would make some zereshk polo with chicken. That is my go-to recipe for company.

    Reply

  10. Kristina says

    I would make my favorite tea… one of the main ingredients is saffron and it is so, SO good.

    Reply

  12. Joan Nova says

    Coming from Spanish ancestry, saffron is familiar to me (although dear). My favorite use of saffron is in making Empanada Gallega (a codfish, peppers and onion savory pie).

    P.S. Love your saffron butter!

    Reply

  15. Kat says

    Wow that chicken looks delicious, think I would have to make that first. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply

  16. Kate | Food Babbles says

    I’ve never cooked with saffron before, much of the reason being the cost as well as my lack of knowledge on how to use it. But if I were to win, I think I would try to make ice cream. I saw your picture at the top and I’m so intrigued by it!

    Reply

  18. Sara P. says

    I would make a vegetarian risotto!

    Reply

  19. Deanna Segrave-Daly says

    Ooh, what a super fun giveaway! I would make paella and would love to try that saffron gelato as well. I’m drooling over these photos and this post!

    Reply

  21. Suzanne Perazzini says

    LIke Jen, I would make paella. I have tried a few different recipes but none have come to the level of the wonderful paellas I ate in Spain. I have to keep experimenting.

    Reply

  22. Zan says

    I have long wanted to cook with Saffron. I would make the chicken you described in your blog.

    Thank you for the giveaway offer!

    Reply

  24. john@kitchenriffs says

    Really good chicken picture. Chicken can be surprisingly unphotogenic, but you did a good job. I’ve never tried saffron butter on chicken before – it sounds like a terrific idea. I wonder what the butter would taste like with lobster? I’ll bet it would be a wonderful match. Although one of my favorite ways to use saffron is in paella. Although with 5 grams of saffron? That’s a lot of saffron! I’d have to feed the entire street. 😉

    Reply

  29. Lia Simpson says

    I like Saffshop on Facebook

    Reply

  30. Lia Simpson says

    I Follow Saffshop on twitter @liasim

    Reply

  31. Lia Simpson says

    I tweeted about your giveaway @liasim

    Reply

  32. Eha says

    I was oh so fortunate to win this giveaway some six months ago: have used the beautiful quality spice very carefully on so many occasions and there is just enough to make my favourite saffron rice for Christmas. I wish you all lots of luck and happy Yule preparations!

    Reply

  33. Deb says

    I have been wanting to try a savory version of shortbread cookies flavored with saffron. The color would be stunning!

    Reply

  34. Aly says

    Oh wow! I am inspired by your suggestion of ice cream. I think I would like to try it that way somehow. Maybe with vanilla?

    Reply

  35. Joanne says

    I would make an ice cream that my best friend’s father grew up eating and making in Iran — vanilla ice cream, softened, with chunks of frozen cream, saffron water, and a hint of rose water mixed into it, before it is all frozen again into one cohesive treat. Delicious!

    Reply

  36. Varda says

    I’d make a huge gorgeous paella over an open fire in a real paella pan and invite all the neighbors for a taste!

    Reply

  39. Ali says

    I LOVE saffron chicken, and would probably make that first, but I would also love to try my hand at making saffron bread! I have a lot of dietary restrictions, and food has become very boring for me. I have been looking for a way to bring a little flavor back into my life, and I think this would be a wonderful start!

    Reply

  40. Donna says

    I love adding saffron to rice cooked with chicken stock.

    Reply

  45. Marnely Rodriguez-Murray says

    I’d love to make some saffron butter sauce!

    Reply

  46. Marnely Rodriguez-Murray says

    I follow on FB

    Reply

  47. Marnely Rodriguez-Murray says

    I tweeted

    Reply

  48. Marnely Rodriguez-Murray says

    I follow them on Twitter

    Reply

  49. Carrie says

    Mmm, I would make my favorite seafood chowder from my favorite fishmonger–Monahan’s saffron-rice (with a little tomato) seafood chowder.

    Reply

  51. Tiffany says

    I’m following them on Twitter.
    and you may also find interesting in my blog

    Reply

  52. Jordie says

    I love the idea of saffron in roast chicken, it would make it divine! It would be the first thing I’d make with some free saffron. And after that, I’d make a massive range of delicious Christmassy, Scandinavian meals and desserts like St Lucia buns and honeyed saffron cake and also proper lasagna and Persian ice cream… Mmm… my mouth is watering already! :d

    Reply

  55. Jackie Spurlock says

    I would make adas pollo, with lentils and rice. I am vegan, but I LOVE Persian food and am still able to enjoy many of my favorites by leaving out the meat.

    Reply

  56. Carol says

    I would make Saffron Halibut Packets, a dish I have wanted to make for a dinner party with friends.

    Reply

  57. Sunithi says

    I would make saffron almond milk with some honey. My fav way to use saffron 🙂

    Reply

  67. Sondra says

    One of my best friends makes chicken & rice with saffron and I love her recipe so I’d make that if I won.

    Reply

  68. Jen H says

    I had a similar eye-popping experience years ago when attempting to purchase saffron for a wonderful saffron rice recipe that I have. Thankfully I had a friend at the time who owned a restaurant, and was willing to keep me stocked! That was forever ago, but I am still too thrifty to buy it on a regular basis. I’ve never used it for cookies or other sweets, but that sounds interesting!

    Reply

  69. becky says

    Oooh, that sounds nice! We’ve had saffron in our house, but I have to admit we don’t use it a lot. I love chicken, so I think I’d try something with that and see how good it tastes with really nice spices! 🙂

    Reply

  71. Julie says

    I have a sopa de mariscos (seafood soup) recipe that calls for a tiny bit of saffron but I haven’t added it because it’s too expensive to buy! I’d love to win some. 🙂

    Reply

  72. NancyF says

    Ooh…what a wonderful give-away! I always add a few threads to my homemake chicken stock. However, an incredible fish soup will be the first thing on my list to make if I win this wonderful give-away!

    Reply

  76. Carolyn G says

    Like saffronshop on FB: carolyn gozalez

    Reply

  77. Carolyn G says

    like saffshop on twitter: carogonza

    Reply

  78. Aneesa says

    I would use it in a Moroccan lamb tagine I make!

    Reply

  79. Aneesa says

    I liked the Saffron Shop on Facebook (Aneesa Bint Lewis)

    Reply

  80. Aneesa says

    I follow the Saffron Shop on Twitter (@AneesaLewis1)

    Reply

  81. April says

    In paella, I’ve been wanting to make some for a long long time! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  85. Daniel says

    I’ve not cooked with saffron, like many because of the expense, but I’d love to. If I won, I think I’d make some sort of simple bisque where I could really show it off and not let a bunch of other ingredients get in the way of the flavor.

    Reply

  89. Cheryl W. says

    Oh my goodness, I just thought of the perfect thing to use the coveted said saffron. I have a bit of an obsession lately. It is to pickle, marinated and brine anything and everything. I am moving onto garlic cloves soon, and was wondering what uniqueness could I bring to these pearly nuggets. Saffron! That would be genius. Just steep a pinch in with the brine. I can see the magic now. The rich color and flavor it would impart. So excited by the possibilities. Thank you so much for the opportunity to enter my name.

    Reply

  90. Cheryl W. says

    I like the Saffshop on Facebook (Cheryl HeartnSoulmom)

    Reply

  91. Cheryl W. says

    I follow the Saffshop on Twitter @HeartnSoulmom

    Reply

  93. Maggie says

    I tweeted and liked. 🙂

    Reply

  94. Deborah says

    I would love to try many things. I cannot have gluten or milk so food gets very bland tasting. I’ve had saffron rice made by one of my daughters friends before and it was amazing. I’d flavor rice , cookies , chicken, soups, tea, you name it. Thank you for the drawing. I love you site. Liked Saffshop on Facebook as well.

    Reply

  95. PJ @ Indiaphile.info says

    I love to cook with saffron. Saffron and pistachio ice cream is my favorite! I also love saffron rice. 🙂

    Reply

  96. runinboise says

    That roast chicken with saffron butter looks totally yum! I would make that! running. in. boise@ gmail. com

    Reply

  99. zosia says

    I like the Saffshop on Facebook!

    Reply

  100. zosia says

    I’d like to make Polish yeast bread with the saffron – according to tradition, this adds an earthy taste, as well as a lovely golden colour!

    Reply

  101. Catherine says

    I’d make paella! And probably try my hand at that saffron ice cream…

    Reply

  102. Sarah says

    I’d first make some paella with the saffron, but then I guess I’d have to research more recipes! Yum!

    Reply

  103. Alicia K says

    I would definitely make a paella! I have always wanted to but could never due to the saffron expense!

    Reply

  104. Alicia K says

    I am following Saffshop on twitter

    Reply

  105. Alicia K says

    I liked Saffshop on facebook…. Really glad you have this posting because I know finding good quality saffron is hard. Now I know where to buy it!

    Reply

  106. Alicia K says

    I tweeted about the giveaway!

    Reply

  107. Kathy says

    I would try your chicken recipe. Looks yummo!
    I have NEVER purchased saffron. Talked about it with friends and agree it is toooooo expensive.
    I would love to try it as I love trying new things.

    Thanks for a great give-a-way.

    Reply

  108. jacquie says

    i have long wanted to cook w/ saffron but could not afford to purchase it so would love to have the opportunity to try. i was going to say those saffron cookies that you have pictured about but then saw recipe for the rice and cabbage and as i have been on a cabbage binge of late might go w/ that 1st.

    Reply

  111. Marie from maries-cuisine.com says

    I have never had the chance to taste saffron even though I was always curious about it. I could never justify spending that much money on something that I had never tried. Of course, if I was to win I would try your Roast Chicken with Saffron Butter recipe.

    Reply

  116. Mandy says

    I’d definitely make your roasted chicken and saffron butter recipe!

    Reply

  117. Mandy says

    Oh, and I liked The Saffshop on facebook.

    Reply

  118. Delight Meanor says

    I have never made anything with saffron, but I am so eager to try it. I am way up in years and I love to try new recipes. My son-in-law and daughter have told me about saffron and how they would love to use but quite expensive. Hope to have the chance to try it . Thanks for giving us this opportunity.

    Reply

  119. Barb says

    Wow – I love saffron so much! Thank you so much for this opportunity. I would make my mother’s Arroz con Pollo recipe as well as expand out into some of the yummies on this site. How exciting. 5 grams is so much! Good luck to everyone! Thanks for this opportunity.

    Reply

  120. Chaya says

    I really love safron! I would simply make a rice with peas dish. See how it turned out and then get adventurous with other dishes.

    Reply

  121. Chaya says

    I clicked on Like on your FB page…and Tweeted it!

    Reply

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