Chicken Provencal w/ Honey & Lavender Recipe

This tsp has everything: lemon juice on the bottom, butter on top and floating around are the distinctive flavors of thyme, rosemary, garlic and lavender Preheat your oven to 425^. Clean and dry the bird well and clip the tip joints off the wings Liberally oil the bird front and back and, over a large serving bowl, liberally sprinkle the sea salt and the black pepper. Truss the bird, wing and legs. Set aside as you prepare the seasoning infusion liquid Crush the lavender flowers in a mortar to bruise and release the oils - you are not pulverizing the blooms, you are releasing the perfume In a small sauce pan, bring together, the lavender, honey, butter, garlic, lemon juice, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Heat over a med-low flame for about 10 minutes to marry all the flavors, then strain the liquid and discard all the solids Fill a culinary injection syringe with the liquid and, entering at the neck, inject fluid into the back, between the skin and the meat. Then inject the fluid between the breast meat and skin, then the thighs and legs. Reserve the remaining fluid Carefully lay the bird, breast up, on a rack in a roasting pan to which you have added as much water as possible without touching the bottom or your roasting rack Roast the bird for 1 1/2 hours at 425^, then remove the roasting pan from the oven and baste the bird liberally with the remaining liquid.

Return the bird to the oven and roast 1/2 hour more.

Remove and let rest for 10 minutes, then carefully cut and remove the trussing string.

You may halve or quarter the bird with poulty shears.