Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Roasted Chicken Success!!!!

And, no picture to prove it! It was so bee-oo-tiful, too! Well, maybe now I'll have learned something from myself and actually know how to roast a chicken proficiently to repeat it and take pictures.

Yeah, you heard me correctly. I mess up roasted chicken. Often.

Okay, okay, that's not entiredly the truth. I don't actually mess it up. Typically, it's edible, even tasty. But, it always takes me way longer than planned, and then somehow is a little underdone in the thighs. Again, edible, but we have to zap the thighs in the microwave a little.

Not this time, my friends! No, it was done, golden, and tasty.

What did I do?

First of all, I brined it that morning. I kind of made it up. Maybe a liter of water, half a liter of white wine, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 5-6 black peppercorns...Tasted it. Seemed fine. In goes the chicken.

When it came time to cook, I stuffed it with fresh sprigs of parsley and thyme, a small rib or celery, and a carrot (cut up), then trussed it. I roasted the bird at 452 degrees F for 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. I let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving into it.

Oddly enough, when I was cutting the leftovers up to put away, the joint between the breast and the little drummette part of the wing was ever-so-slightly underdone. Hmmmm. Everywhere else was perfect.

2 comments:

jen said...

yum. we did lemon roast on the bbq tonight. very good with crispy skin. didn't brine, but did air dry in the fridge all day to promote said crispy skin. stuffed with lemon, rubbed with oil, salt and pepper. roasted about an hour until thigh was 160, rest for 5 (make that 2, make that no time). sooo good. i never feel like doing the whole chicken thing, then i'm so glad when i do.

oh, and we often have to zap too. not for us today either. the chicken gods are aligned!

Nee said...

Please tell me that 452 is correct and you didn't mean to write 450... I love that! I have a thing about not writing arbitrary numbers, and I love when others do the same!