Saffron Chicken

Take your weeknight roast chicken to new heights with this fabulous saffron chicken recipe. Infused with the golden hues and aromatic flavors of saffron, and baked to perfection, this meal is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

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.

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.

Why this recipe is so awesome

When my kids were little and money was tight, I was picking up whole chickens whenever they went on sale. They are easy to prepare, liked by the whole family, and you can make a ton of recipes using leftover chicken.

And when I was entertaining a lot and needed something a little more fancy, I still turned to my economical roasted chicken. I just glammed it up a bit.

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 not only turns everything a gorgeous golden yellow color, it is also very aromatic. Who knew a simple roast chicken could look so fancy?

Serve it with some Persian rice, roasted vegetables or even some saffron mashed potatoes – because saffron is delicious in everything!

Ingredients needed

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• Butter: You can use unsalted or salted butter.
• Saffron: You want high quality saffron. The amount you need depends on the quality. If you find that your rice is not a vibrant yellow, you are probably using a lesser quality saffron. Choose long crimson colored strands of saffron, not orange or yellow. You will also need a mortar and pestle. If you purchase already ground saffron, you could be getting colorants that are added and not pure saffron. This is why I recommend buying strands of saffron.
• Whole roasting chicken: You can use any size of chicken for this recipe. You can even do this with Cornish hens.
• Onion: Use white, yellow or sweet Vidalia onions.
• Fresh herbs: I stuff the cavity of the chicken with fresh herbs. You can use rosemary, thyme, mint, basil or oregano.
• Lemon: I also stuff the chicken cavity with some fresh lemon wedges. You can also use an orange.
• Salt and pepper

Tools to Use

• Chef’s Knife
• Cutting board
• Mixing bowls

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Step-by-step directions

1. In a small bowl, combine melted butter and ground saffron. Let it steep and reserve.

2. Remove giblets and neck inside chicken cavity and place on a roasting pan with rack. Season cavity of chicken salt and pepper then stuff inside onion, rosemary and lemon. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs of the chicken together (optional).

3. Brush the entire chicken with the golden saffron butter, brushing under the skin of the chicken breast, as well. Season the entire chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

4. Roast chicken at 425ºF for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350ºF. Roast chicken until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170ºF, approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.

If chicken starts to brown too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.

Expert tips and Recipe FAQs

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.

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 and get more saffron recipes here.

And if you are looking for more classic comfort food with a twist, try my Braised Chuck Roast with Herb Dumplings and Pulled Pork Ragu with Polenta. So delish!

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Yield: serves 6

Saffron Chicken

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Take your weeknight roast chicken to new heights with this fabulous saffron chicken recipe. Infused with the golden hues and aromatic flavors of saffron, and baked to perfection, this meal is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

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
• ½ teaspoon ground saffron
• 4 lb whole roasting chicken
• ½ onion, quartered
• 1 sprig of rosemary, fresh
• ½ lemon, quartered
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ⅜ teaspoon 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 ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon 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 ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon 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.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

4 oz meat
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 763Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 276mgSodium: 570mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 83g

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This post was originally published December 18, 2012. It has been updated with more content and new photographs.