I think I have cooked with almost all alcoholic drinks in my store cupboard. My husband always reminds me of the story I almost finished his good (and insanely expensive) brandy on a piece of pork tenderloin. So I had this bottle of rum staring at my face and was begging me to use it. It was also my roasted chicken day of the week. See my point? This recipe was inevitable.

I store Cajun seasoning in a big jar. I use it on almost anything I throw on the grill. It even works on fish. It’s very aromatic and spicy so rubbing it on chicken works every time. Slow roasting the chicken is the key here. The chicken first steams and remains so incredibly moist as it cooks. The seasoning on the skin as it crisps, darkens and deepens into something utterly delicious.

And let me tell you about that sauce. Add some more rum, a little maple syrup and the pan juices turn into something you will want to eat with a spoon. Carve it and serve on a bed of rice to soak up every drop of meat juices and sauce. So good.

Ingredients

For the Cajun spice mix:

• 1 Tbs sea salt
• ¾ tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder
• 1 Tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbs paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme

For the Chicken

• 1 whole Chicken with skin
• 2 large onions sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed and left whole
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 cup dark rum
• 10 thyme sprigs
• 2 Tbs butter, cut in small cubes

For the sauce

• ½ Tbs all purpose flour
• ½ cup dark rum
• 3 Tbs maple syrup or 2 Tbs honey

 

Method

Preheat oven to 140 C fan.

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the Cajun spice mix.

Put chicken in a baking pan. Sprinkle with the spice mix, giving it a good rub. Make sure all the chicken is covered with the spice mixture. Place the onions and garlic around the chicken. Drizzle the onions with the olive oil and pour in the rum. Sprinkle the thyme leaves on top of the onions. Scatter the butter cubes on the chicken.

Cover baking pan with foil. Try to leave some space between the chicken and the foil. Roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours.

Remove the foil and baste with the juices. Increase oven temperature to 200 C. Roast uncovered for 20-25 minutes, basting with the juices a couple of times until skin is crisp and bronze.

Let chicken stand in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer chicken on a carving board. Put the pan with its juices on the stove over high heat. Add the flour and stir with a whisk to dissolve. Add the rum and maple syrup. Cook sauce stirring occasionally until it thickens slightly. Strain sauce, pressing all the solids with a spatula to extract the juices.

Carve the chicken and serve with the sauce.