Orange-Glazed Hens

Ingredients

• 3 (5- to 7-lb.) whole chickens
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons pepper
• 2 small oranges, quartered
• 2 small onions, quartered
• 2 carrots, quartered
• 2 celery ribs, quartered
• 3 parsley sprigs
• Kitchen string
• 1 (12-oz.) jar orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Garnishes: whole kumquats, fresh rosemary sprigs

Preparation

1. Remove giblet packages from hens, and reserve for another use. Rinse hens, and pat dry. Remove excess fat and skin. Rub hens evenly with salt and pepper. Squeeze juice from 1 orange quarter into each hen cavity. Fill hen cavities with remaining orange quarters, onions, carrots, celery, and parsley sprigs. Place hens, breast sides up, on a wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined shallow roasting pan. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
2. Stir together orange marmalade and next 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until orange marmalade is melted. Remove and reserve 3/4 cup mixture.
3. Bake hens at 350° for 1 1/2 hours; brush evenly with orange glaze, and bake 30 more minutes. Brush with orange glaze; shield with aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion of thigh registers 170°. Garnish, if desired. Serve with reserved 3/4 cup orange mixture.