Roast Chicken – As Good As It Gets

After the “Great Depression” – F.D.R. said “…there will be a chicken in every pot…”.  I guess – today you don’t have to be rich to have a chicken – and lots more!  Amazingly, many people managed to live through the “depression” – such as Grandma and Grandpa.  They “…rolled with the punches”, did the work they had to do, and didn’t have the grandiose dementia (Napoleon complex) which Grandpa decried.

There are French Bluefoot chickens, and even Polish white fluffy chickens with blue flesh, but it’s hard to beat the plain old USA Roast Chicken!  So much more food is available to us, and for our own dinner, I’ve roasted many 3 pound “frying chickens” for about one hour at 400 degrees.   Recently, however, when I wanted to use an old recipe for roasting a larger chicken, a “roaster” chicken was not available,  so Hannah bought a large 4-plus pound “fryer”.  Wow!  They weigh 4 to 6 pounds and the supermarket now has them at the meat counter.  Again we roasted it at 400 degrees but, of course, it took longer – about 85 minutes.  The size of the chicken matters and must be taken into account in order to decide the amount of time necessary for cooking.  This is a company-worthy roast chicken.  And it was very, very good!  Following is a photo of one of the colorful Polish roosters.  Roosters are the emblem of Poland.

If an oven thermometer is not used, again, it may take more or less time since ovens and range tops differ widely.   An oven thermometer must be used to gauge the actual temperature, and the stove’s thermometer setting should then be adjusted as needed.

In spite of T.V. chefs – and the high prices for such small amounts of fresh herbs at the supermarkets, dried herbs do have a place in cooking – and they do a wonderful job of it.  This is certainly a case of:  “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.”  Some such as basil, only have good flavor when fresh, or stored fresh in oil as Vito’s mother would do, leaf by leaf.  Now it can also be frozen in ice cube trays or in small bunches – and although the basil will turn black, the flavor is still there.  Marjoram, however, has marvelous flavor dried or fresh – and plain old oregano is better when dried.  Experience with herbs is the best teacher.

And then there’s bouillon, especially when it finally came in paste form (called demi-glace), which has long been used by chefs.  Before that it was the very available plain water – and food cooked in it created its own broth.  Today, broth/ stock can taste differently each time it’s made, because it depends on the leavings cooked into it.  Even canned broth is often too onion flavored, though there is a lot to be said for the consistency of canned/ boxed broth and stock if you find one you like.

Hannah says that the chicken “looks beautiful” – she especially liked that the breast meat was moist.  I initially lightly oil the skin while it sits at room temp – the skin does not need to be dried out to be crispy.  Also, I don’t put butter under the skin – I spread butter and dried herbs all over the skin of the chicken.  First, however, I like to roast it back-side up for the first 15 minutes (or more for a larger chicken) – which will cook the back slightly and keep it from just being pale and flaccid.  After buttering it, I then turn the chicken breast-side up for the rest of the roasting time, which will make all of the skin brown and crispy. 

If necessary, the breast and legs can be tented with foil after they get a nice crispy skin.  Tying the legs together makes the inside of the leg and thigh pale.  Hannah is a dark meat aficionado and they too want browned and crispy skin.

Following is my recipe for roasting a larger fryer.

Roast Chicken:

One large frying chicken – about 4 to 6 pounds.  Remove any wrapping, rinse well and dry with paper towels.  Brush, wipe or spray lightly with 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Let sit at room temperature about one hour.

Ten tablespoons of butter should also be cut up and let to sit in a bowl for one hour.

Use a 9 x 13 roasting pan with low sides (e.g., not a high-sided Dutch oven).  Just use a rack if not using vegetables under the chicken.  

About 15 minutes before roasting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut off the wing tips at the joint and roast the chicken back-side up for 15 to 25 minutes depending on size – more time for a larger chicken.  Remove the chicken from the oven and turn it breast side up on a platter to let it cool somewhat.

If using vegetables, place them into the bottom of the pan.  The potatoes can be put in the bottom of the pan first.  The carrots can be added next, followed by the onion and the garlic.  Then pour in the liquid – the 2/3 cup of white wine plus the 1 1/2 cups of broth or water mixed with the bouillon can be added.  We use a small V-shaped rack to keep the chicken above the liquid over the vegetables. Place the chicken atop the rack. Butter the skin all over with the herb butter, including the wings, down both sides, and around the legs. Put the rack with the chicken into the pan and put the pan back into the oven to continue roasting at 400 degrees.  Add water as needed.  And yes, you can use more broth or water with bouillon paste or powder in place of the wine. 

Herb butter:

10 Tablespoons of butter at room temp

1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf  or rubbed sage

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Vegetables: 

4 cups 1 1/4“ cubed red potatoes

4 cups 1” pieces carrots

1/4 cup well diced onion

1 minced clove of garlic

Liquid:

2/3 cups white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken broth OR 1 1/2 cups water plus 1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste or powder

After 1/2 an hour, remove the roasting pan from the oven.  A large cooking spoon can be inserted into the cavity of the chicken and using a large fork for support on the outside, it can be lifted enough to drain any liquid back into the pan.  The chicken can temporarily be moved to a platter so that the vegetables can be stirred to ensure more even cooking.  The roasting pan should be turned around when putting the chicken back into the oven.  After another half hour has elapsed, repeat these procedures.

It will take at least 80-90 minutes for the chicken to be completely cooked.  Turn it around again as necessary.  After 65-75 minutes, pierce the inside of the thigh to see if it’s done – the juices should run clear.  The liquid poured from the cavity should also be clear – if not, roast it for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Repeat as necessary until done.  There should be no blood in the juices and no blood anywhere in the chicken, especially next to the bones and joints.  Chicken must be fully cooked – an instant thermometer should read 165 degrees when inserted into the leg or thigh, without touching a bone.  

When done, remove the chicken to a clean platter and let it sit for 10 minutes so that the juices can move back into the chicken from the surface.  It can then be cut up.  If using the whole chicken for a dinner, the wings should be separated from the breast and can be cut into two pieces at the joint – the two breast halves should each be cut into halves or in thirds.  The thighs and legs should be removed from the body and the thighs should be separated from the legs – and they, too, can be cut across (chopped) into halves if the chicken is large – as desired.  The vegetables can be placed around the chicken, or into another dish.  We often save half of the chicken to make chicken soup based on Grandma’s Chicken Soup recipe.

Any fond/ browned bits in the bottom of the pan can be scraped up and mixed into the juices.  The liquid can be reduced to produce the flavor desired.  The juices can be augmented with water if necessary, to equal at least 2 cups.  Some of the hot liquid can be poured over and around the chicken, but some – or all of it, if desired – can be put into a dish with a small ladle.  Although a fryer has less fat than a roaster, the juice produced by the chicken, combined with the herb butter, wine, and bouillon, is wonderfully flavorful.  Yum!

This is an example of Polish embroidery – an emblem with roosters.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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The Blue Reading Chair: Grandma’s Chicken Soup – Stone Soup

Stone Soup is a story with no copyright – and many versions are available at the library – because it arose from the wars in Europe. Food was taken and used by the armies, and because it was very hard to come by, it was, of course, hoarded.  As the story goes, a person – perhaps a very hungry soldier on his own as Grandpa was, put on a pot of water to boil and added a stone to the pot.  He then asked if anyone had a potato, for example.  As people added what small piece of food they had, it became a real soup that everyone could partake of.

Grandpa was such a soldier/ spy who infiltrated Russia and had to live off the land. He lived on the family farm till he was about age 14; the war had begun and he said he was a year older so that he could join the army. He was tall, strapping and intelligent – and they really needed so-called “men” for the war.  He ate rather simple food when he lived at home, but he ate even more simply as a soldier. 

One of the soups he liked – which was very much like Stone Soup – was the Chicken Soup/ Rosol which Grandma made.  At that time, she would buy a clutch of vegetables called “soup greens” at the corner grocery store, which included a piece of celery, a carrot, parsley with the root, etc – and would then add a cut-up chicken, the eggs which were forming in the chicken, and often tomatoes.

Martha Stewart once had a guest doing his Chicken Soup on her show. He did a quick and easy Noodle Szmata (rag noodle) as his grandmother did.  But when he added a hard-boiled egg – she asked “Why?” I was rather surprised because I thought she would know why.  He, too, did not know why when he said: “…because Grandma did that.”  Ah, the days of yore!    Did you see the Geico tv advertisement (one of many), which featured the white rooster, Foghorn Leghorn, who was forever (as in old comic books) pursued by a very small Chicken Hawk with a very large club.

“That’s what Grandma did” reminded me of the story a man told – his wife would cut off the end of the ham and put it into another bake pan – she then proceeded to roast both of them.  She said her “…mother did it that way.”  Of course her mother had a real reason to do it that way, which was because the only roasting pan her mother possessed was not big enough.  People did not have available to them the myriad cookware that is now available at much lower prices – and her mother’s may even have been spatter-ware as was Grandma’s.

The added egg also actually came about for a real reason.  When Grandpa no longer had the grocery store with live chickens, Grandma would buy a chicken at the “Chicken Store” on Chicago Avenue where they still had sawdust on the floor.  At that time the chickens often had yolks in various stages of becoming eggs, and these, of course, would go into the soup.

Following is the chicken soup recipe I developed over a period of time, based on Grandma’s original recipe. But, of course, this version has been developed with the abundance of foods now available to us, although the ingredients are still basic.  It is very good, and Hannah really, really likes this soup.  We use half of a chicken which is left-over from our Roast Chicken – or Chicken Breast Halves (skinless and boneless) can be used. The recipe for our roast chicken will be forthcoming on a “soon” blog.

Chicken Soup 

A leftover half of chicken – use all juices – dice about 1/2 to 3/4″ Or  

5 chicken breast halves – all skin and bones removed – dice about 1/2 to 3/4″    

5 to 6 cups water   

2 1/2  teaspoons chicken bouillon paste or equivalent bouillon powder

1 1/2  cups well chopped onion  

1 1/2 cups small diced carrots    

1 1/2  cups small diced celery including leaves  

3 Tablespoons of well chopped parsley    

3  medium/ small cloves garlic, well minced    

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme    

1/4  teaspoon coarsely ground pepper   

salt as desired

Cook the chicken covered with the water and bouillon.  Bring to a boil and simmer 15 to 20 minutes – shorter time for the leftover roast chicken and the longer time for the raw breast meat.  Remove chicken and dice about 1/2 to 3/4″.  Skim the liquid.  Add the vegetables to the liquid – bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.  If using noodles, add 1 1/2 cups of fresh cut up noodles or 6 ounces of packaged dry curly noodles to the broth and cook about 8 – 10 minutes.  Add 1 or more hard cooked eggs (with shells removed), if desired.  Add bouillon, herbs and spices – bring to a boil.  Add the chicken back to the soup and bring to a low boil – cook for about 5 minutes to heat through before serving.

For Cream of Chicken Rice Soup, I add a roux of flour and butter – and add cooked brown rice – in appropriate amounts.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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