Jalapeño, Serrano & Fresno Pepper Roast Chicken

Sometimes my BF and I like a little heat. Not scorch-your-tongue-off heat, but enough to have a little pop. Not sure why Halloween brings cravings for spicy food, perhaps I'm equating spicy-heat with devils and vampires.

This chicken is a one-pan meal with a side dish to boot, very simple to make, and packed with flavor. (Did you know you can stuff practically anything under the chicken skin for extra flavor? I've stuffed a mixture of spinach, mushroom, and Manchego cheese under the skin as well as several kinds of compound butters–truffle, garlic, lemon, herb–and it's out of this world.)
  
I found this jalapeño chicken recipe in the delightful cookbook Casa Marcela, by Marcela Valladolid. As she says, "For this one, you'd think there's so much heat from the raw jalapeño, but during the roasting it mellows out ... It also serves as a barrier between the flesh of the chicken and the direct heat in the oven, so the breast stays nice and moist."

I varied the peppers a bit because many jalapeños I find in local groceries are so mild they taste like green bell peppers. You can stick with just jalapeño (like Valladolid's recipe), or spice it up and use a mixture of serrano, fresno, jalapeño and/or even poblano. It's spicy, but not too spicy. 

The chicken is roasted with baby potatoes so you have a side dish ready when the chicken is. In my house, we also serve this with black beans and/or rice for a South-of-the-Border-style meal. You can even shred the chicken for tostadas, enchiladas, or tortilla soup.

NOTE:  Use latex gloves when handling chilies!

Adapted from: Casa Marcela, by Marcela Valladolid
Number of servings: makes 1 roast chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound assorted baby potatoes, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup thinly sliced fresh chiles (jalapeño, serrano, fresno and/or poblano–use one kind of chili or a mix)
• 1 (5 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 sprigs fresh oregano
• ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
• 3 limes, 1 sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds, 2 cut in half

Directions

1. Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 475 °F.
2. Arrange potatoes in a heavy cast iron skillet (just large enough to fit them all in a single crowded layer), and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Set aside.
3. Carefully place chiles under the skin of the chicken (wear your gloves). Stuff chicken cavity with garlic, oregano, parsley, lime slices and remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Season outside of chicken heavily with salt and pepper. Place chicken, breast side up, directly on top of potatoes. Place remaining lime halves around the chicken.
4. Roast chicken and potatoes, rotating pan halfway through the cooking process, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 °F, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Top to bottom: jalapeño, fresno (red) and serrano peppers