CLAY POT ROAST CHICKEN

Posted in clay pot cooking, Poultry by sallybr

In my las post – In My Kitchen – I mentioned that we got a large clay pot. I put it to use right away, making the most classic item in clay cooking: a whole chicken. It is truly a non-recipe, essentially no work, no special ingredients. Salt and pepper. I added lemon slices just because. The clay pot gets soaked in water for half an hour, drained, and placed with the chicken inside (obviously) in a cold oven. As the oven heats up, the water retained by the porous surface of the pot turns into steam – a lot of steam – contained in the pot. With time moisture is reduced and the pot turns into a real roaster. You simply cannot beat the texture achieved by this type of cooking, and if you are into crispy skin, no problem, open the lid and let it roast for 10 to 15 more minutes.

CLAY POT ROAST CHICKEN
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 chicken, about 4 pounds
fingerling potatoes
carrots
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Soak the clay pot in cold water for 30 minutes.

Pat dry chicken, season liberally with salt and pepper all over, and place lemon slices in the cavity. No need to truss it, but you can do it if you’d like.

Place fingerling potatoes, left whole if small, cut in half lengthwise if big, on the bottom of the clay pot. Add carrots. Use enough veggies to fully cover the bottom of the pot. Place the chicken on top. Close the lid, and place in a cold oven.

Set the oven to 430 F, and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Open the lid and let it roast for additional 10 to 15 minutes, if you like a more crispy skin.

You can make a simple gravy with all the juices accumulated in the clay pot, or simply drizzle it over the meat.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: It’s so nice to go back to simplicity in cooking. Yes, there’s something to be said about involved sauces and marinades, braises that take every single spice you own, measuring 1/8 of a teaspoon of this, a pinch of that, to the point that you wonder… could I really tell a difference if I left a few of the spices out? In this preparation, all you need is salt and pepper. You can gild the lily if you prefer, grab that smoked paprika, the fennel, the Herbes de Provence. But consider making it once like this. You’ll be surprised by how flavorful a simple roast chicken can be.

The root veggies will cook and get soaked by the juices, and for that reason I think the lemon is a simple addition that brightens up the flavor. This was our non-traditional Easter dinner, by the way. We did not feel like having lamb, a light snow was falling outside, roast chicken was a perfect choice that evening.

Added bonus? The glazed interior makes cleaning a breeze!

Stay tuned for more adventures in clay pot cooking… I’ve got quite a few things on my list to try soon, including a nice loaf of sourdough bread. If you have a favorite recipe to use the clay pot, please let me know in the comments, will you?

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2017

TWO YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Chicken Korma and a Bonus Recipe

THREE YEARS AGO: Josey Baker’s Olive Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Almonds, A Cookbook Review

FIVE YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

SIX YEARS AGO: Codruta’s Rolled Oat Sourdough Bread

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Roasted Corn and Tomato Risotto

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Light Rye Bread

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18Jul2017

MIMI’S STICKY CHICKEN, A CALL FROM MY PAST

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Paleo-friendly, low-carb & delicious!

Many years ago I used to visit a cooking forum that is long gone. One recipe was a big hit with many of the members: Mimi’s Sticky Chicken. I admit the name is not very sexy, but once you’d read the many stellar reviews, you’d be inclined to disregard the sticky issue and give it a try. Over the years, that exact recipe has been published in websites everywhere, credit not always given to the author. So, without further ado, here you have the original link. I tried to find out Mimi’s whereabouts, but my search skills returned nothing. As you can see in the link, she created this recipe in the early 80’s, and asked for full credit whenever someone talked about it. It’s only fair. I used to make it quite often when I was dating Phil and during the early years of our marriage, as the kids absolutely loved it. For some reason, I forgot all about it. It’s been definitely more than a decade since I last had it on our table. But to compensate, I made it twice in the last month. HA!

MIMI’S STICKY CHICKEN
(modified from the original version found here)

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 whole roasting chicken, about 3 pounds
1 shallot, cut in half
1 lemon, cut in quarters

Combine all spices in a small bowl. Dry chicken very well, rub the spice mixture over skin and sprinkle a little inside the cavity. Place in a bag or in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 250F. It is not a typo. It is a very low oven. When ready to roast, stuff the cavity of the chicken with the shallots and lemon. Place it breast side down in a roasting pan (I like to use a small rack to keep it elevated, spraying the rack with olive oil to prevent the skin from sticking to it).

Cook for about 5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 155 F. Baste occasionally after the first two hours, with the liquid that starts to accumulate in the roasting pan.

If you like to crisp up the skin, carve the chicken in pieces and place under the broiler briefly. It will falling apart, so handle it gently.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Amazing how something we loved so much could end up neglected for years. Two things I’d like to bring up: first, if you don’t have time to refrigerate the bird overnight with the spice mixture, don’t worry, just go ahead with it right away. Second, if you are not around to baste the chicken, it won’t be a serious drawback. When ready to serve, baste a little with the roasting liquid, and go for that brief encounter with the broiler. On your first time making this recipe, it would be nice to check the temperature and see if after 4 hours the meat is already approaching 155F. If it is, don’t leave it all the way to the five-hour mark. Once you get to know how your oven behaves, you can trust the timing a bit more. Make sure to always roast a chicken of similar size.

As I mentioned before, once the meat is cooked, it will be falling apart. Note in the picture below how the bone broke through the skin.

I also like to squeeze the roasted lemon all over the chicken right before serving, and sometimes will grab a fresh one to make sure to get that extra bite of acidity that goes so well with it.

Dinner is served: Mimi’s Sticky Chicken,
Pan-Steamed Broccoli, and Roasted Butternut Squash…

ONE YEAR AGO: Perfect Soy-Grilled Steak

TWO YEARS AGO: The Devil’s Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Heart of Palm Salad Skewers

FOUR YEARS AGO: Potluck Frittata and Lavoisier

FIVE YEARS AGO: Home-made Corn Tortillas

SIX YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Peanut Sauce

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros: A Brazilian Party!

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Lemony Asparagus

28Apr2017

NIGELLA LAWSON IN THE BEWITCHING KITCHEN

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Did I get your attention? Well, unfortunately she was not here in person. I would love to have her over for dinner, but this time it was just virtually through one of her tasty recipes. Nigella is clearly a person who is happy in her own skin, someone who enjoys life to the fullest. Watching her cooking shows brings me that “I’ll have what she’s having” feeling… And, to make things even better, her recipes are never too fussy. I have several of her cookbooks, but for some reason forgot all about them for a long time. The other day, talking to my friend Denise, she reminded me of one of Nigella’s recipes, a favorite of hers. A chicken and sausage one pan kind of deal. I immediately remembered making it years ago, before my blogging life started. Got this absurd craving for it, made it next day (!!!), fell in love with it all over again. Sent a picture to Denise, and that’s when we realized we were talking about two different recipes. Obviously, I now have another one to try. They both join poultry with sausage, but one takes Italian sausage, the other chorizo. One has potatoes, the other doesn’t. And a few more departures on the overall flavor. Anyway, I sense a Nigella-phase in our kitchen. Yeah, I must have what she’s having…

ROAST CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SAGE AND SAUSAGE
(modified from Nigella Lawson)

1 medium shallot
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons English mustard
1 tablespoon dried sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 lemons
8 chicken thighs, bone and skin in
6 Italian sausages
salt to taste
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves

Peel and cut the shallot into four pieces, and put into a freezer bag with the oil, mustard, dried sage, a good grinding of pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cut lemons in half, squeeze juice into bag, and then cut the halves into eighths and add them. Squeeze everything around to mix, then add the chicken pieces. Leave to marinade in the refrigerator for a few hours (overnight is perfect).

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature in its marinade. Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting tin skin side up with the marinade, including all the bits and pieces, and tuck the sausages around them. Season with salt. Sprinkle the fresh sage leaves over the chicken and sausages and then put the pan into the oven, covered with aluminum foil for to cook for 1 hour. Remove the foil, increase heat to 425 F and keep roasting until the skin turns golden brown and starts to crisp up.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This is such an easy recipe to put together! It is originally from her cookbook Feast, but she featured the recipe in one of her shows back in the good old times of FoodTV Network. I modified it quite a bit not so much in terms of ingredients, but cooking method, because as I’ve mentioned a few times in the past, I think nothing beats the texture of chicken that starts cooking low and slow. For weeknights this would be a bit tricky, this is the type of cooking I reserve for weekends.

Phil loved this so much that he started getting nervous about the possibility of not enjoying it again for another 8 years. He kept dropping hints: ” I would not mind having this chicken every couple of weeks… Actually, you “could” make it weekly, you know?” So there you have it, it’s really a wonderful way to enjoy chicken, with the spicy tasty bits of sausage, and the flavors of sage and lemon. A keeper.

Dinner is served!
A little pasta with olive oil and grated cheese was all we needed…

ONE YEAR AGO: Walnut-Raisin Bran Muffins

TWO YEARS AGO: Gingersnaps with White Chocolate Chips

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FOUR YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Leek and Cheese Tart

FIVE YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club; Triple Chocolate Brownies

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SEVEN YEARS AGO: Indonesian Ginger Chicken

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25Oct2016

SLOW-COOKED WHOLE CHICKEN

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

I’ve been tweaking this recipe for a while, and now I feel it’s ready to be shared with my beloved readers. The problem with many recipes designed for the crock pot is that they take the lazy approach. First they tell you to “dump” ingredients inside, then turn it on low and leave it there for 8 hours or more. The “dump” part always gives me a chuckle. I guess to make it sound easy you need to be very quick, no “carefully placing.” Let’s not even consider taking the additional step of browning or sauteing ingredients before slow cooking them. For some types of meat that will work fine, but for poultry? No bueno. I usually make a recipe the first time following it very closely, and this was not an exception. I cooked the chicken for 8 hours. The texture was simply wrong. Stringy, kind of dried up, with the exact mouth feel that gives crock pots in general a bad reputation. So, I turned to America’s Test Kitchen to learn their take on it. Voilà! They recommend cooking the chicken breast side down, and limit the time to 5 hours. Of course, if you work and would like to have the chicken ready for dinner, it could be a problem, but you can always make it after work and enjoy it next evening. For us, it is not a big deal, we go home for lunch, so all I have to do is get it ready, place it in the slow cooker (sorry, no dumping, just not my style) and have a very easy meal later.

SLOW-COOKED WHOLE CHICKEN
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from several sources)

1 whole chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lemon, quartered
a few carrots, cut in sticks

Spray the inside of your slow-cooker with a little olive oil (not a mandatory step, but helps avoid stuff to stick).

Mix all the dried ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle all over the chicken skin, try to get a little bit inside the bird too.

Stick the lemon quarters inside the chicken.

Scatter the carrot pieces in the bottom of your slow cooker. If you have a small rack to elevate the chicken, use it, if not, simply place the chicken breast side down in the crock pot.

Cook on low for 5 hours.

Remove the chicken, discard lemon quarters, cut chicken into serving pieces and place in a baking dish. De-grease the liquid that formed in the slow cooker, add some of it on top of the chicken pieces. Run under the broiler to crisp up the skin, and serve with the super soft and tasty carrots. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This is a very basic method that you can vary in all sorts of directions by changing the spice mixture, adding potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips to make it a complete meal. If you have no issues with butter, a little smear of butter right before the broiling step will give it very nice flavor and a darker skin. There is no need to add any liquid, you will be surprised by how much liquid will accumulate in the crock pot. That stuff is tasty, with a lemony tang, and subtle heat from the cayenne. I know some people serve the chicken straight from the slow-cooker, but I find the additional step of crisping up the skin worth every second of additional work. I tried reducing the cooking time to 4 hours, but the meat was not as tender as I like. You might have to play around with the timing, depending on the power of your slow-cooker, the size and quality of the chicken you find in your grocery store.

Dinner is served!

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TWO YEARS AGO: Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Honey-Mustard Dressing

THREE YEARS AGO: Bewitching Kitchen on Fire!

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chiarello’s Chicken Cacciatore

SIX YEARS AGO: Donna Hay’s Thai-Inspired Dinner

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Panettone

3Jun2011

HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN LEGS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

A low-and-slow, followed by a high-and-fast blast in the oven is my favorite way to cook chicken pieces, similar to another recipe I blogged about in the past. In this version the proportion of honey is quite a bit higher, forming a glaze that acquires a fantastic mahogany hue in the final roasting time. The meat underneath will be the way we love it: juicy and tender. The inspiration for this recipe came from the latest issue of Food and Wine magazine.

HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN LEGS
(adapted from Food and Wine, May 2011)

1/4 cup + 1 tsp honey
2 Tbs + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 chicken legs (or 8 chicken thighs)

Make the glaze by mixing all the honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Sprinkle the chicken legs with salt and pepper, then use a brush to cover them with the glaze. Place the chicken legs on a baking sheet, skin-side down, cover with aluminum foil, and slow roast at 325F for about 40 minutes. Flip the pieces to have the skin side up, brush some more of the glaze over, cover with aluminum foil again, and continue cooking for another 40-45 minutes. (If you want to finish the recipe later, place it in the fridge).

Increase the oven temperature to 425F, remove the aluminum foil and roast until the skin is dark brown, 10 to 15 minutes (a little longer if roasting from the fridge).

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Lots of recipes will have you roast poultry at a high temperature, but in my opinion, nothing compares to the “low and slow” approach. Not only the meat retains moisture, but it makes no mess in the oven, a huge bonus for neat-freaks such as myself. 😉

I like to prepare this type of recipe in two stages: the slow roasting on a lazy weekend afternoon, or a quiet evening. After that, the meat can go to the fridge for a day or two. When it’s time to enjoy it, just do the final, higher temperature roasting for 20 minutes. White rice, pasta, couscous, or just a salad and a piece of bread, and you are set for a wonderful dinner!

ONE YEAR AGO: French-Style Rolls