Yesterday I thought this would be a stupid blog title, given the Spring-like temps, but then this morning I woke up to an unexpected blanket of snow. Thanks, climate change!
Now let's get down to business. That is, the business of roasting chicken. Lately, I've been a bit obsessed with perfecting this process and thus have been experimenting with different seasonings, stuffings, cooking times/techniques, etc. I think I may have figured out an ideal combination.
I like Carrie Murphy's method, which involves flipping the whole chicken mid-way through the roasting process, as well as her suggestion to stuff the bird with lemons and fresh herbs. I decided to use Meyer lemons, which are less acidic than the regular ones and some Herbes de Provence because I need lavender in everything. And, also, fresh herbs are pricey here in winter.
I also took her recommendation to roast the chicken on a bed of vegetables, in this case it's golden beets and sliced onions. However, I took a page from Ina Garten's Engagement chicken recipe and stuffed my bird with half a bulb of garlic and as many lemon halves as it could handle.
Hint: Don't confuse your cooking temps because you've made multiple things in one afternoon and accidentally set your oven to 450. I kept thinking "Why is there so much smoke??" before I finally figured out the problem. It should also be noted that this was a totally amateur mistake I made, despite the fact that I've been cooking since I was a kid. NO EXCUSE.
Before
Luckily for me everything turned out delicious. I particularly love Ina's entreaty to stop overcooking their chickens. Really, depending on the size, about two hours at 400 should do the trick.
After!
I also made some Parker House rolls, and while they were tasty, mine didn't come out terribly photogenic.
A couple of days later I made some chicken noodle soup using the leftovers and had a nice time pretending it was an April afternoon.
Don't these carrots just scream Spring? Ah well. Soon enough.
1 comment:
When it comes to poultry, I always go for the low and slow method of cooking. I find the typical gas stove good for drying out meats no matter how much basting, buttering, cavity stuffing with citrus or aromatics. Nothing has worked for me as well as the indirect heat method on a Weber kettle grill with real charwood (No briquettes! Bad!)
Place a lot of hot coals on one side of the grill, place poultry parts on the rack opposite the side where the coals are. Place a drip tray under poultry parts filled with an inch of water. (This keeps rendered fat from dripping onto a hot aluminum tray and getting all smokey.)
Close bottom vent of Weber halfway. Position lid so that top vent is above poultry. Open top vent half way. Place digital thermometer probe in thickest part of breast. Close lid. Wait until it hits about 170-degrees. That's plenty to avoid food-borne illness.
Grilling's golden rule always stands: "If you're lookin' / you ain't cookin'"
So, don't open that lid for anything unless you think the coals have gone cold on you and you need to add more.
It'll take longer but as a certain bespectacled TV food twerp says, "Your patience will be rewarded" in this case with chicken so friggin' moist you will seriously consider opening a restaurant centering on it.
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