Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Rosie Makes Roast Chicken.


 Today, Rosie is roasting a chicken.
Rosie never pays full price.
$3.82 for this bird.
 I rinsed the bird off and patted dry
inside and out.
 
 Chicken porn.
Nice breasts.

 I'm going to layer my pan with
onion, carrots, and celery.

 Pour a little oil in the bottom of the pan
and add sliced veggies.
Give it a little oil-lovin' on top.

 
 I sea-salted the cavity
then stuffed in some parsley, oregano, 
thyme, rosemary, lemon slices, and lime slices.

 I'm going to truss the bird next.
With the legs away from you and breast side up,
put the string underneath the tail,
criss-cross the legs,
bring the string straight back, and ...

 ... flip the bird over and knot it.

 I could have used an extra hand or two here
to make a tighter truss.

There are reasons for trussing.
Trussing allows for even cooking.
In an untrussed bird, hot air circulates inside the bird's cavity
 and will overcook and dry out the breast meat 
before the legs and thighs are done.

Trussing also keeps the stuffing from falling out;
it maintains the shape of the bird;
and it ensures a juicy bosom.

Everyone likes a juicy bosom.


Generously brush with melted butter.
I used 1/2 stick.


 The remaining butter I poured underneath the skin.

I salted the skin with coarse sea salt.
 
 Freshly ground pepper
and throw the neck into the pan.

 Pour some water in the bottom of the pan.
This went into a 425 degree oven.
Cook about 1 1/2 hours until internal temperature
is 160 - 165 degrees.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes to redistribute the juices
.

While the chicken is resting,
make a mushroom and giblet gravy.
 
Chop a few shrooms.

Remove the silver skin from the gizzards.

 
 Chop up the parts -
heart, liver, kidneys, and gizzard.



I deglazed my pan with a little white wine - a Chardonnay.

 In another pan,
I melted about 2 TB butter and added in my sliced shrooms.


Let the mushrooms cook until browned.
Never salt the mushrooms while cooking.
Salt brings out the moisture
and the mushrooms will steam instead of sear.

Add in the giblets.

 Saute until browned.
If you want a thick gravy,
add in a tablespoon each of butter and flour.
Cook the flour for a minute or so to get
the raw taste out.
Then add in your liquid.

I added the reduced wine to the shrooms and giblets.

Heat through.

And here's my pretty little bird.
Nice crisp skin.

And serve.

Juicy, juicy meat!
I love a good hen!

Stay tuned for Chicken Moreovers.
Rosie will be preparing bangbangji!
Kinda.
Except for the sesame paste.
And every bit of the bird will eventually be used.
The carcass will go into the freezer
 and wait for a nice rainy day
for me to make chicken stock, then consomme.
Yes, it has to be a rainy day.


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