Baking this chicken upright on a can of lemon-lime soda infuses it with moist flavor.
Chili Lemon-Lime Chicken
Serves: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lime, zested
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 (5-pound) whole chicken
- 1 (12-ounce) can lemon-lime soda*
- 4 limes, halved
- 3 lemons, halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Position oven rack in bottom third of oven.
- In a small bowl, stir together zest, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, chili powder, ground red pepper, cumin, and crushed red pepper. Season chicken with spice mixture.
- Reserve ¼ cup soda for glaze. Place soda in can in a large Dutch oven. Place chicken on soda can, pushing legs forward to balance. Place lime and lemon halves around chicken.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, bring reserved ¼ cup soda and remaining ¼ cup sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Brush glaze onto chicken; bake until skin is browned and a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 165°, about 30 minutes more. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
*We used Sprite.
