Blood oranges, a seasonal Tucson treasure, rev up baked chicken

As I ride my bike around town, I see trees laden with sunny citrus fruit, and my cook’s heart sings. There’s something so invigorating about their bright color and flavor, especially when the weather has been so cruelly cold.

While oranges, clementines, tangelos, mandarins, lemons, grapefruit and all the rest are available in markets year-round, blood oranges are a special seasonal treasure. Their ruby insides and sweet-tart juices make dramatic dishes, and today’s otherwise-routine baked chicken with blood oranges really scales up with the fruit.

Of course you could makes this at any time of year using regular oranges. But it would lack the wow factor of the dish when made with blood oranges. Everything about it looks luxurious and exotic.

You can also use a whole cut-up chicken, or bone-in thighs, or breasts in this dish. I’m using drumsticks because they’re inexpensive — although of late, “inexpensive” is a relative term. Suppliers say a wave of avian flu across the country has caused both egg and chicken prices to skyrocket, and, in theory, those prices will eventually come down. I’m not confident that will happen, however. Seems to me that once suppliers get cozy with high prices, they rarely return to their previous low prices.

Still, a savvy shopper can feed the family well on a budget, if you’re willing to think creatively.

Bake the chicken in a cast iron skillet, if you have a large enough one to accommodate the chicken. The heavy skillet will help the chicken pieces develop a lovely brown crust, as will the relatively high (400 degrees) baking temperature. If you haven’t a big cast iron skillet, though, you’ll still get a good result.

I happen to have a good culinary rosemary bush growing just outside the front door, so grabbing a few sprigs for this dish is easy and economical. Although you can certainly make this dish with dried rosemary, using fresh rosemary adds an additional element of savory delight. Do so if you can.

Chicken with blood oranges

Makes about 4 servings

You’ll need a half-dozen blood oranges altogether for this recipe. Grate the zest from one before juicing with the first three or four, then slice the remaining oranges thinly to go into the baking dish with the chicken pieces when you bake them. Serve with polenta, steamed rice or mashed potatoes. Or swab up the savory juices with good bread. A crisp salad with a lemony vinaigrette provides an excellent counterpoint.

Ingredients

Zest of 1 blood orange

3 to 4 blood oranges, juiced (about ¾ cup juice)

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cider vinegar

3 tbsp honey

5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 inches fresh ginger, minced

¼ onion, finely chopped

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Leaves from 3 stalks fresh rosemary, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds chicken drumsticks, with their marinade

Additional salt and pepper, to taste

1 to 2 blood oranges, thinly sliced

Stalks fresh rosemary

½ onion, chopped

Preparation

To prepare the marinade, combine blood orange zest and juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, garlic, ginger, onion, rosemary, red pepper flakes and kosher salt in a small bowl. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade to use later.

Add the chicken to the marinade.

Cover and refrigerate the chicken for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.

When ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to allow it to come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the chicken and chopped onion into a cast iron or large baking dish. Pour some of the marinade onto each piece of chicken, then tuck slices of blood orange in and around the chicken pieces. Season the dish with salt and pepper, tuck in the rosemary sprigs, and transfer it to the oven.

After 25 minutes, baste the chicken with the sauce. If there is excess sauce and juices at the bottom of the baking dish, carefully pour out half of it. Return the chicken to the oven for an additional 20 minutes, or until it is fully cooked and has a golden crust. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken should read 165 degrees when the chicken is fully cooked.

To finish the dish, remove and saute the orange slices with the extra marinade (that was kept aside). Simply pour the marinade into a pan over medium heat, add the orange slices, and cook them for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side.

Garnish the dish with oranges. If you like your chicken extra saucy, add the remaining sauce to the pan and allow it to simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then pour it over the chicken.

Serve immediately.