ROAST CHICKEN with Apple-Sausage Stuffing,
Pan-Reduced Sauce and Roasted Vegetables
Simple but elegant ... a perfectly roasted chicken, tender and juice,
with crackly crispy skin. One chicken will serve two people generously;
roast two of 'em for a dinner for four. Remember to start with a very
HOT oven, no less than 475°F.
This recipe was partially adapted from a roast chicken technique by
Mitchel London, from the August/September 1994 issue of Fine
Cooking magazine.
The roast chicken
- A 2-1/2 to 3 pound chicken (for two, two chickens for four)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt, preferably coarse kosher salt
- Black peppercorns, cracked
- Fresh herbs, such as rosemary or thyme (optional)
- Garlic cloves, peeled (optional)
- One recipe apple-sausage stuffing (optional)
- Reduced pan-juice sauce
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Use an oven thermometer to monitor
temperature.
Rinse the chicken well, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub the
inside cavity of the chicken with kosher salt. If you like rub the
outside of the chicken with peeled, halved garlic cloves, and add whole
unpeeled garlic cloves to the roasting pan. Crush the peppercorns
with the flat of a heavy chef's knife, pounding with your hand, or with
the bottom of a heavy pan. Rub the cracked peppercorns all over the
outside of the chicken, along with more salt. If you're stuffing the
chicken, stuff the cavity at this point. Otherwise, you may insert a few
sprigs of fresh herbs into the cavity.
For more even cooking and a neater appearance at presentation, truss the
chicken: Tuck the wings in under themselves, and pass the middle of a
5-foot length of kitchen string under the tail, making a loose single
knot across the drumsticks. Slip the string under the ends of the
drumsticks, pulling them together tightly. Bring the ends of the string
along the body of the chicken toward the neck end. Position the string so
that it pulls tightly across the drumstick-thigh joint. Make a single
knot at the neck opening. Bring the ends of the string back up toward
the tail, along the first length of string. Tie a single knot catching
the loose skin on either side of the open cavity (this helps keep the
stuffing in). Pull the string over the drumsticks and tie a tight double
knot, catching the tip of the breast. The chicken should be a neat,
compact shape, and the cavity should be tightly closed.
Select a large cast-iron skillet, a heavy sauté pan, or any sturdy
pan that's large enough to hold the bird and can go from stovetop to oven.
Melt the butter in the pan, and add the olive oil, and heat. Put the
chicken in the pan over medium heat and turn the chicken to coat it with
the butter and oil mixture. Set the chicken on its side and put the pan
on the middle rack of the 475°F oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn the
chicken to the other side and roast another 15 minutes. Lower the heat
to 400°F, turn the chicken breast side up, and continue roasting for 25-30
minutes, basting with the pan juices every 5 minutes.
To test for doneness, use a metal-stemmed meat thermometer. Insert into
the thickest part of the chicken; the thermometer should read about
160°F. The chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F, but
carry-over cooking after the chicken is taken out of the oven should take
care of that. Otherwise, stick the tip of the knife into the thigh where
it meets the leg and press slightly. The juices should run clear; if
they're still red or pink, cook the chicken a little longer. Let the
chicken rest for 3-5 minutes before carving.
If you've stuffed the chicken, remove the stuffing from the cavity and
place in a serving dish. Carve, serve a breast and a thigh-leg for each
person on a bed of wilted spinach, and drizzle
with pan-juice sauce. Serve with roasted
garlic cloves and roasted vegetables.
- Pan drippings from roasted chicken
- 2 cups homemade chicken stock, HOT;
if you MUST use canned chicken broth, use the low-salt kind
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Fresh thyme leaves
Put the roasting pan with all the drippings on the stove. Tilt to one
side and skim off as much fat (clear liquid) as possible, or pour into a
defatting cup and pour off the brown juices and cooked-off bits, leaving
the fat behind. Start heating the pan over high heat and pour in the
chicken stock. With a whisk or wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits
that may have stuck to the pan and stir into the mixture. Continue
boiling over high heat and stirring until the mixture is reduced by 2/3;
it should be thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Season
with salt and pepper, add a pinch of fresh thyme leaves, and serve with
the chicken.
- 4 ounces (1 stick) sweet butter
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 2-3 Granny Smith apples, cubed, with peels left on
- 8 ounces fresh pork sausage, crumbled; OR, for a spicier stuffing,
- 8 ounces Louisiana-style andouille sausage, casing removed and chopped
- 4 cups crumbled cornbread
- 1 tablespoon dry rubbed sage
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Make the cornbread, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Melt the butter in
a large skillet and saute the onion, celery and apple. Transfer to a
large bowl when fragrant and soft. Crumble the sausage into the pan and
cook until no longer pink; if using andouille, brown slightly, as the
sausage is already cooked.
Crumble the cornbread and mix with the remaining ingredients in a large
bowl; season to taste. Stuff the chicken, or whatever bird you're using.
Remember not to stuff your birds too tightly; any leftover stuffing can
be baked in a buttered casserole dish. This will make enough stuffing
for one 10-pound turkey, 2 or 3 3-pound chickens, or about 4-6 Cornish
game hens.
- 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cornmeal
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/3 cups milk
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Separately, combine the
milk, butter and egg and stir into the dry ingredients just until no
lumps are present. Pour into a greased loaf pan or square baking dish
and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the
center comes out clean.
- 1 pound fresh spinach
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Remove stems from the spinach; wash the leaves thoroughly, a few times if
necessary, to remove all grit.
Place the wet leaves into a large frying pan; they will form a high mound
but will collapse as they cook. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the
pan, place over high heat and shake it until the spinach is tender and
wilted, about 90 seconds. Remove from heat, drain off any excess liquid,
and serve immediately.
- 1 or 2 large heads of garlic
- 2 tablespoons or so of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut a slice off the top of each head of garlic, about 1/3 of the way from
the top. Drizzle cut surface with a tiny bit of oil. Place the sliced
top back on the head, and place in a small baking dish. Drizzle the rest
of the oil over the outside of the heads, sprinkle with cheese, and roast
until soft and pale gold, about 30 minutes.
- 8 large asparagus spears
- 2 medium red onions
- 4 medium carrots
- 2 medium parsnips
- 2 medium zucchini
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves, or 4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Trim off any woody stems from the asparagus. Peel the onions and cut
them into halves. Scrub the carrots and remove the green tops, but do
not peel them. Scrub the parsnips, but do not peel them. Cut the
zucchini in halves, lengthwise. Remove the stems from the mushrooms
(reserve for vegetable stock).
Arrange all the vegetables in a flat pan or roasting pan in one layer.
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme to taste.
Roast until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Turn, brush again with
olive oil, and roast another 15 minutes, or until tender when pierced
with a knife.
Enjoy!!
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Chuck Taggart
(e-mail chuck)