Chicken
Sunday, August 14th, 2011A guest: “What is in this [chicken]?”
Me: “Why does something not taste good?”
He said, “No… it’s absolutely perfect…”
And from across the table, “This is the best chicken I’ve ever eaten… whoa.”
So, this is the secret of my chicken success. And this doesn’t mean there’s only one way to do this, but it’s my way. And it is good.
- Use a good quality bird. I chose a free-range, Kosher bird. Kosher means it has been brined, which si a step I’d rather not have to mess with.
- Keep it simple. Put aromatics in the cavity (in my case, thyme and lemon), and salt and pepper the bird liberally.
- Tie it up. A trussing needle is not required.
- Roast at a high temperature (475 or 500 degrees F) for roughly an hour. You want to get a temperature of about 155 degrees before taking it out to rest.
- Wait.
- Carve the bird in serving pieces.
- Ladle-over the secret sauce.
Each time I do variations on the “sauce,” but there are always a few common ingredients. Shallot, garlic, lemon juice, fresh thyme, and butter. This time I also added a wine-stock reduction. Dijon mustard. Pour this over the carved meat, and serve. Sop-up the sauce with baguette. Don’t bother with potatoes or starchy vegetables. Go French.



















