Is there any more nourishing and satisfying meal than roasted chicken with rice and a vegetable? Not to me. It could be ancestral memory, since roasting was one of the first ways of cooking meat -- although that was on a spit over an open fire. Roasting on a spit or rotisserie still produces a delicious chicken, but a plain ordinary oven can give us a fine bird, too.
Even for such a simple dish there are many controversies and variations:
To truss or not to truss
Most serious cooks seem to think trussing is important. I have heard some say that this cooks the chicken more evenly in addition to the obviously superior presentation. But I have also heard and read that not trussing allows the heat to circulate around the legs and wings more easily for more even cooking. I don't do it because it seems like a lot of trouble and I like the results I get without it just fine. Go ahead and truss if you like. Some people do recommend releasing the legs and wings for the final 30 minutes or so of cooking to better roast the inside skin.
To stuff or not to stuff
This is really a matter of personal taste. Many people were brought up with stuffed roasted chicken and, for them, stuffing is essential to a good chicken dinner. To me, it's too much. I like the purity of a plain roasted chicken. There are many good recipes for stuffing, but I won't recommend any since I am not a fan.
Vertical or Traditional
The main claim of the various vertical roasters on the market is that they solve the age-old problem of thoroughly cooking the chicken without drying it out. The chicken is straddled on a metal cylinder, so that the heat works from the inside as well as the outside for a more evenly cooked bird. I bought one of these back in the 1980s, and loved it. But I find now that I always use my traditional V-shaped roasting rack. I think either method is good. A chicken roasted on a vertical roaster needs to be carved on the roaster, which doesn't make much of a presentation. But it is extremely easy to carve -- falling off the bone, really, so that carving is hardly even necessary. The vertical roaster is also more difficult to clean. The essential thing is not to have the chicken sitting in its own juices so that the bottom becomes soggy.
Local, organic, free-range
By all means, if you have access to and can afford local, organic, and/or free-range chicken go for it! This chicken is not only healthier but much more flavorful. Local food is fresher and, because the chickens have lived in the same environment that you do, they supposedly can provide immunities for allergies, etc. Organic food eliminates harsh pesticides that can also trigger allergies and have many other unpleasant repurcussions. Free-range chickens are less fatty and, although I don't enter into the moral issues, this method is obviously more humane as well.
I'll limit my discussion of controversies to these four, though I could go on and on. The variations are so numerous as to be almost without limit, so I won't discuss them at all. Just google "roasted chicken" for as many recipes as you can imagine. Here is my favorite:
Roasted Chicken
1 3-4 pound chicken
2 lemons
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
paprika
rosemary
sage
olive oil
Preheat oven to 350.
Trim the excess fat from the chicken, rinse it, and dry thoroughly inside and out (I didn't understand why recipes called for the rinsing and drying until I read that it allows the flavors from the herbs in the cavity to penetrate and for the skin to crisp more nicely). Rub the skin with olive oil. Squeeze half a lemon into the cavity and then place the other lemon half there along with a bay leaf. Pour the juice of the second lemon over the chicken and then season with salt, paprika, rosemary, and sage, rubbing to spread evenly and adhere well to the skin.
Place in roaster and cook, basting often, for about 1 to 2 hours (about 20 minutes per pound), or until the internal temperature is 165 (this is James Beard's recommendation, although Joy of Cooking recommends 190...use your own judgment, but remember that the chicken will continue to cook after leaving the oven).
Giblet Gravy
I like chicken and rice moistened with just the pan juices thinned with some chicken broth. Plain pan gravy is good, too. But giblet gravy is really delicious and something special. It's a little more trouble, and some people don't like the giblets. I love them! This is James Beard's recipe:
giblets from chicken cavity
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 or 3 grinds of black pepper
sprig of parsley
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
(hard-boiled egg, chopped)
While the chicken is cooking, simmer the above ingredients (except the chopped parsley and hard-boiled egg) for 15 or 20 minutes. Strain the broth and reserve. Chop the giblets and reserve. When the chicken is done, remove it from the roasting pan and drain or spoon out all but 3 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add the broth and giblets to the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes, stirring and scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil over high heat until reduced to your taste. Add parsley -- and hard-boiled egg, if desired -- and pour mixture into a gravy boat.
Rice
There are many types of rice and many cooking methods. I like Texmati rice, and follow the directions on the container. Then I add pan juices or giblet gravy and a little chopped parsley. But you can cook the parsley in the rice, cook pine nuts in the rice, substitute chicken stock or broth for water to cook the rice...the possibilities are endless!
Broccoli
A green salad is good with chicken and rice. So are green beans or any other vegetable. But my favorite accompaniment is broccoli.
Many people think they don't like broccoli. I think that's because if it is overcooked or undercooked it is awful, and the stems can be tough and tasteless. But the florets, steamed until just fork-tender, are delicious tossed in lemon butter. And, topped with Hollandaise (see previous recipe for Easy Skillet Hollandaise), broccoli is sublime! I would suggest, however, sticking with the more simple lemon butter sauce if you are serving gravy with the chicken. The Hollandaise would be too rich in that combination, and the flavors would compete.
No comments:
Post a Comment