Perfect Roast Chickens

Throughout my childhood, Sundays always meant roasted meats. Every now and again, we'd have a pork loin, but usually we had either roast beef or chicken. I'm not roast beef's biggest fan -- I prefer my beef ground and grilled with a slice of cheese on top -- but until recently, I vastly preferred roast beef to roast chicken. Roast chicken was dry, tough, tasteless. The only good thing about it was gravy and the Stove Top usually paired with it. Mom would buy eight pound Purdue oven stuffer roasters and cook the hell out of them. In her defense, it's nearly impossible to properly cook a bird that big. It's the turkey paradox -- by the time the thigh is done, the white meat has the texture of saw dust.

Nowadays, though, I friggen love roasted chicken. I've discovered good quality chickens that are the perfect size for even roasting. I now exclusively buy and roast Murray's or Bell & Evans chickens, with Murray's as my bird of choice. They're a bit more money than Purdue, and for Sunday dinner, one is definitely not big enough for my family, but they are unbeatable when cooked properly. They taste like football and family and love and all that crap. Oh, and they taste like chicken!

I do most of my grocery shopping at King Kullen. They usually sell Murray's chickens for $2.59 per pound. For the three to four pound birds I love, that translates to $8-10. For two birds, the $16-20 yields more than one meal. We don't eat all the meat, and small chickens make the best stock.

I don't exclusively buy "organic" or "natural" products. I don't trust these labels. However, I do like the idea of regional (if not local), sustainable, healthy foods that are raised, grown, or otherwise produced without manufactured products (like antibiotics, chemical fertilizers, processed feed, etc.). Murray's is doing this great thing where they label the birds with a code that allows the customer to look up the farm on which the chicken was raised. I think this is kind of cool. I like knowing where my food is coming from.

This chicken is from Pennsylvania! It grew up on either the Brubaker Farm in Middleburg, PA or the Wertz Brothers farm in Danville, PA.

Like all Murray's chickens, this one was grown and processed without antibiotics, hormones, growth stimulants, animal by-products, artificial ingredients, or preservatives.

Murray's also claims that the birds are humanely raised and handled. There's a lot of information about this on the Humane Farm Animal Care web site. Look for this label if you care about farm animal welfare.

For a great Sunday dinner, it's not only important to buy the best chicken, but to cook it the best way. Start by drying it thoroughly with paper towels. Then season aggressively, especially inside the cavity. I used salt, fennel seed, celery seed, poultry seasoning, cayenne, and black pepper. (See the end of this post for amounts).

This was a more complex seasoning mix than I usually use. In general, I like salt, fennel seeds, and cayenne pepper. I tried out the celery seed here just because it sounded good, and I used a little poultry seasoning so I have less to throw away. We seem to have purchased excessive amounts of this blend during the 2008 Thanksgiving season. Really, the most important seasoning of all is the salt though. I use about a tablespoon per chicken.

I season the outside of the birds evenly and then season the cavity. I probably use two thirds of the seasoning on the inside of the chicken and the remaining third on the outside. I roasted the birds side by side in a V-rack breast side up. My technique has changed now, however. I start the birds breast side down and roast for the first half of cooking that way. If I'm just roasting one bird, I like to put cook it in my 12" cast iron skillet. It's the perfect size. If I care about presentation, I will put a small piece of parchment on the bottom of the pot so the skin does not stick and break. Usually, I don't care though.

I don't truss the birds. I usually tuck the wings under and put the ends of the drum sticks in slits in the skin at the tail end. The skin shrinks as it cooks and pulls the legs in tight to the body, helping everything cook evenly. It also leaves the cavity open by pulling the skin away. This allows the heat to flow into the cavity so the bird cooks from the outside and inside. I NEVER stuff the bird. No lemon. No garlic. No onions. No herbs. Just dry seasonings.

I like to roast at 400F. They take around an hour, but I always use my thermometer to cook to 160F. I let the birds rest, but I don't cover them with foil. Then I usually just split the bird at the joints. Don't forget to eat the oysters and the Pope's nose! They are the chef's treats. On rare occasions, I will make gravy, but it usually comes out too salty. I'd rather a perfectly seasoned bird than gravy.

Check out that perfectly browned skin!

Perfect Roast Chicken Recipe
Adapted from Adam Roberts

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 3-4 lb chickens
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
  

METHOD:

Remove chicken from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (1-2 hours).

Mix salt, fennel seeds, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a roasting pan with parchment. Choose the smallest possible roasting pan that will accommodate both chickens.

Thoroughly dry chickens, inside and out, with paper towels. This will create a crisper skin.

Place the birds in the pan and season the cavities VERY aggressively. You should use about 2/3 of the seasoning mixture. Then, season the breast and wings of the bird, putting more seasoning on areas where the meat is thicker. Flip the birds so they are sitting breast sides down in the pan and season the backs. Focus on the legs and thighs. All your seasoning should be used up.

Roast for about 30 minutes breast side down at 400F. Flip and roast another 15 minutes. Check the temperature of the breast and thigh in EACH bird. They should be 160F. If not, cook another 10-15 minutes and check again. Repeat until the birds are done. If it takes more than 1 hr 20 mins, something is wrong. The birds were not room temperature, or your oven and/or thermometer are broken. You can cut the skin between the thigh and the body and the juices should be clear or just slightly pink. Allow to rest, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Then carve as you like.

Serves 6-8.

Lemon Chicken with Pasta

Speaks for itself, no?

Roast Chicken is the Story

Roast chicken has, over the last several years, become one of my favorite foods. I'm not sure if it's because I've been doing a lot more reading about food -- seems like EVERYONE has something to say about roast chicken and omelettes -- or if I'm just appreciating simpler preparations. Regardless, I frequently find myself searching for an excuse to roast a chicken.

When I was younger, everyday I would ask "what's for dinner?". A couple of meals excited me, a couple disgusted me, but most responses just did nothing for me. Put roast chicken in the third category. My mom would buy big, old Purdue hens. These chickens suffer from the turkey paradox: they're just too big for an even-cooking roast. It's virtually impossible to have perfectly cooked breasts AND thighs. Also, I think Purdue chicken smells. I used to think all chicken, when raw, just kind of stank, but after going through several Murray's and Bell & Evans birds, I know that good quality, fresh chicken, much like fresh seafood, should have no smell at all. It also shouldn't be slimy and ooze its moisture just coming to room temperature. It was not roast chicken that I didn't like, but a certain brand of chicken. Sorry Purdue, I am not a fan.

In my market, Bell & Evans and Murray's chickens never go on sale, but I have found that they cost about the same as Purdue birds when those birds are not on sale. Still, I can get a 3-4 lb quality chicken for about $8-$10 and feed a family of four. Add in some potatoes and vegetables and I'm still well under $20 for the meal. Therefore, when it's up to me, I buy Murray's or Bell & Evans (Murray's slightly preferred -- not sure why!).

I've also recently subscribed to Ina Garten's roast chicken breast technique for all kinds of chicken preparations. The other day, I roasted several bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts for chicken chili and they were great: juicy and tender. I roasted the pieces for 40 minutes at 450F (not convection) with just a little oil, salt, and pepper. A few days later, I roasted some split breasts for my mom for soup -- much better than boiled chicken. Then, I roasted some again for a pasta dish. The chicken turns out with great texture and flavor, although you do lose an opportunity to create flavor via browning. I think that it's worth it anyway.

NYT Dining & Wine 01/21/09

Julia Moskin anoints the cellphone as Top Kitchen Toy. She goes through all the uses you'd think she would including photography, list making, unit conversions, and looking up recipes. I'm still not willing to spend $80 a month on something like an iPhone or Blackberry. It just doesn't add that much value to my life. I'm content using my camera to take pictures, my computer or books to look up recipes, my calculator for unit conversions, and...GASP! pen and paper for lists. I can do all of these tasks BETTER with my current tools.

Eric Asimov dicusses South African wines and proclaims the country "one of the greatest sources for moderately priced cabernet sauvignon on the planet today". Asimov and his panel give a $32 bottle four stars (De Trafford Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004) and has several 'Best Value' recommendations (although $32 really isn't all that bad for a great bottle of wine). Fabricant includes a recipe for Lamb Shanks in Red Wine with Prunes.

Bruni reviews a recently renovated Daniel and says of the many touches: "These flourishes make you feel that you’ve slipped into a monarch’s robes, if only for a night, and turn an evening into an event." He gives Boulud's namesake four stars. No surprise there.

This week's Minimalist column includes a recipe for 15-Minute Fried Herb Chicken, using a paste of onion, herbs, tahini, and olive oil to coat the chicken. Sounds great.

Marian Burros provides insight into the Innaugural Luncheon in the Capitol, although the menu and other details are available at the official Innaugural web site.

Finally, although this isn't in the Dining section, I want to briefly mention something Obama said yesterday in his Innaugural Address: "We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories." I'm all for making the most of the sun and the winds (although I'm a little less pro-wind power as it changes weather patterns), but we just shouldn't be using products from the soil for cars and factories. I won't go in to terrible detail here and now -- perhaps I'll explore this issue in a future post -- but let's use our soil for food -- healthy, nutritous food. We don't need more ethanol and we don't need more corn by-products.

Skinny Chicken Marsala

So today was the first day of dieting in the Onufrey house. Dad is doing a contest similar to the television show, The Biggest Loser, and the rest of us decided it was time to drop a few pounds. Because of this, it is time to start experimenting with some lower calorie recipes.

When I awoke this morning I saw that there was chicken to be made for dinner. I initially thought of making grilled chicken, but that's just way too ordinary in this house and will probably be made later in the week. After a little thinking, I decided on a somewhat healthier version of Chicken Marsala. It's quick, easy, and tasty, so why not?

To make this delicious concoction, I first minced up some shallots and garlic and set them aside. I then filleted some boneless, skinless chicken breasts nice and thin. After that, I seasoned them up with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some Essence of Emeril. (In the normal version I probably would have dredged the cutlets in some seasoned flower.) The cutlets were fried in some olive oil and then removed from the pan.

For the sauce, I added the shallots and garlic to the pan. After about 30 seconds, I added some sliced baby portobello mushrooms and a very small amount of butter. After a few minutes, I deglazed the pan with some marsala wine and added a little sugar and parsley. A couple teaspoons of dijon mustard was also added. This may seem weird, but I remembered it from a chicken marsala recipe I once made. When the sauce was reduced, the chicken was returned to the pan to heat through. The chicken was served with a nice garden salad (lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, red bell pepper, and celery) and some roasted vegetables (zucchini, onion, bell pepper, and carrots.)

This lower calorie version of chicken marsala was delicious. It really wasn't much different from its higher calorie and fat cousin. All the major flavors were there and it was still satisfying. This will definitely be made again very soon.