Chicken 3 Ways - Part 1

Chicken 3 Ways - Part 1

Time for roast chicken

I’ve not posted for as long as I would have liked, as I have been caught up in a new job, and all that entails – crazy commutes, canteen lunches, burgers grabbed on the way home.  Sadly, little time for budget meals at home, or typing.  But I grabbed a spare 10 minutes to type this one up.

A couple of months ago, I picked up a chicken in the discount section.

There are at least three, potentially four recipes that can come off of a delicious piece of meat such as this.  And all for €3.50 for the main event. 

It was the weekend I decamped to my Dad’s house to cook the whole thing.

 

 

Winner Winner Budget Roast Chicken Dinner

Once we get the opportunity to have a roast chicken dinner, we are in full on celebration mode, folks.  And I feel like celebrating my first full attempt at roasting a chicken.  Never done it before. Dad was very happy that I was cooking too.

First up -

Brining the chicken

We're hitting this thing with 24 hours of seasoned saltwater to preserve the flavour.

• Cover your whole chicken in water, in a pan, probably about 4 pints at least. 
• Add about 5-6 tablespoons of salt
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.
• Things like rosemary, oregano, lemon, bay leaves, boquet garnis, peppercorns, a little wine or vinegar (couple of tablespoons, tops) don’t hurt your brine either.

  This brining process will make your bird very succulent, but also, kill off anything you may have inherited from your SupermarketValue chicken that you may not want.

• Refrigerate overnight.
• Drain the liquid, and dry the chicken with kitchen paper or a tea towel.

Now rub a little oil and salt and pepper over the skin, this will help it crisp it up nicely in the oven. 

Before roasting, I added

• Rosemary - about 5 or six large sprigs inside and outside. Rosemary grows in abundance in local gardens along the road near my house, and is easily aquireable... 
• Garlic - 1 whole bulb, slightly smashed, but still in its skin, into the roasting pan, and a few cloves in the cavity. 
• Lemon - score, zest,  and punch holes in it, and jam it in the cavity.  Sprinkle some of the zest on the outside, and keep the rest for the gravy (see below).  Lemon and chicken are good buddies.

Method

At a pre-heated 200°C , a small chicken will cook through in about a half hour to 40 minutes
Mine took about 50 minutes as my Dad has an Aga, which only goes to about 180.  
HINT:  You know to check the juices run clear and not red, by sticking a skewer or fork in the centre of a chicken, right?   

Chicken is not to be messed around with – under-cooked can and will (from my own experiences), cause terrible awful stomach upsets.  So if 50 minutes isn't enough, put your roast back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

I think this came out OK.Check out the crispy skin the oil rub has given it.

*munch* - Mmm... my first bite of the breast slice I tried is *very* juicy, slightly seasoned from the brine, and the rosemary on the skin gives it a nice subtle crispy flavour. 

So what to serve on the side?  

 

Gravy, mashed potatoes, and carrot and parsnip

•  Gravy made with a little white wine, hot water, a chicken stock cube, and flour mixed with the pan juices, whisked up vigorously until thick.  The trick is to add the flour VERY gradually, so you don't get lumps, and use a sieve if possible.    
• You might even add some of the lemon zest I mentioned you save, earlier.  If you're very brave, retrieve the lemon from the cavity of the chicken and squash some of that nice caramelised jammy citrus flavour into the gravy.  Just a little squeeze, but it gives your gravy a real zing.
• Mash - Dad likes his store bought mashed potatoes, so we went with that.  I'm not going to tell you how to make mash,  I won't insult you ;-)  
• However, champ is the best mash variant, hands down.  Well, maybe with some horseradish...
• Carrot and Parsnip - Again, this was bought from Dad's favourite local convenient veg supplier - Mash Direct  .  I'd probably have made it myself from scratch, but I put a value added twist on it:

Spice up your carrot and parsnip: 

• Chop and boil the veg (or just heat it in the oven if you're my Dad using Mash Direct's lovely pre-prepared version)
• Drain and mash the veg with:
• 1 tsp cumin.
• 1tsp garam masala or mild curry powder
• a little salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp cream. 
• a slug of milk 
• Salt and pepper  

Adding the milk and cream will probably make the veg mixture a little runny, so cook that off until the consistency is a little thicker.  Adjust to taste, as always.   

A little butter goes well with this too (if your Dad’s not on a low-fat diet) 

Cumin and garam masala, really bring out the flavour of the parsnip, countering its bitterness, and complement the sweetness of the carrot.

All this went down very well with Mr SupermarketValueFoodBlog Sr.  

What's next?

So 3 way Chicken Parts 2&3 (and maybe 4) will cover:

• Budget pasta bake featuring the chicken breast we didn't eat.
• Chicken dopiaza curry, using the thighs.
• Jerk Chicken drumsticks.  Dad ate mine, but I found more...

And of course, make stock or soup with the leftover carcass.  

But these will feature another time, and not necessarily next week or month.  But soon.

Enjoy putting some love into your chicken and veg dinners, all.