Of all my favorite kitchen soirees, I especially love the fragrant preparation of a fresh herb and garlic roasted chicken. So it begins. I march past those pre-cooked deli-roasted $5 chickens, right on back to the meat counter, pick out a medium sized whole bird for $4.81, bring it onhome. Since I am currently rolling my left knee on one of those roller-assists due to a broken ankle, I am unable to get to the 2nd garden terrace that is my herb garden. I can see it up there, the rosemary, sage, and thyme has its winter look about it, a bit weathered and tough looking. Tough like Clint Eastwood in an Arctic storm, not tough like an over-done flank steak. The winter flavors become intense and almost pitchy, like the voice of Jack Palance, not the sticky stuff on the Christmas tree. At any rate, the herbs would have made a lovely winter roasted chicken had I been able to reach them. Instead, I pushed some fresh garlic under the skin with just a dot of butter, salted the whole thing, and put it in the oven along with 3 Yukon gold potatoes. An hour later I ate a crispy baked potato and some most flavorful sliced chicken. Meal 1.
Meal 2. The next day I steamed up a pan of basmati rice, infused as it cooked with a pod of cardamon and a couple of whole cloves. That was delicious with a few slices of broccoli and some of the chicken. While the rice cooked, I pulled all of the rest of the meat from the chicken and simmered the bones, skin, and juices along with some garlic and celery throughout the evening for a beautiful stock.
(Intermezzio) The third day's dinner I won't count in this project since I didn't eat the chicken. Instead, I grated one of the baked potatoes from Meal 1 and fried them in a bit of canola oil for some wonderful hashed browns, which I ate with 2 poached eggs and a piece of wheat toast. Highly unusual for me to eat eggs, but no one needs to know... Those baked potatoes were too much to resist. As a kid on my first restaurant job, I went in early Sunday mornings to grate the leftover baked potatoes from Saturday dinner service for the Sunday breakfast hashed browns. They weren't Yukons, but they tasted great, and thanks to time and age for the delicious luxury of Yukons. I love breakfast for dinner. My friend Danny once determined to eat breakfast for every meal. I think he made it several weeks; it was probably a Mikie Burger that got him.
Meal 3. The final meal with the $5 Chicken. I pulled the cold fat from the top of the stock, and cooked it up into a Red Curry Chicken Soup, using the leftover rice from Meal 2. The fragrant spices enhanced the Thai flavors, along with a few mushrooms, half an onion, more garlic, and some incredible curry paste that my friend brought from Thailand. Curiously labeled all in Thai, with what I believe to be the expiration date of 06/11/2552. Any thoughts on that?
Even if you add another five dollars for the potato, the half cup of basmati, a few mushrooms, some garlic, and a flower of broccoli, I still ate 3 meals for under $10. Plus they were delicious, uncomplicated, low fat (with the exception of the illegal egg dinner), and low effort. I'll tell you how to do it all below, but first I want to talk about that chicken.
While I've been working on this meal progression, I've had no less than 3 people start a cooking conversation with 'I picked up one of those $5 deli chicken at the grocery store, and....'. Most of us are suspicious, but cover up the question of grocery store fast food with justification of convenience. I'd like to address that. I brought my chicken home, switched on the oven, pulled out a pan, slapped the chicken in it, peeled a garlic (this took the most time), crammed it under the skin, threw on some salt, potatoes on the side, and shoved it in the oven within ten minutes. At which point I went on about my business of arriving home, putting my things away, petting and feeding Daisy, grimacing at the cat, turning on the fireplace, finding slippers, etc. By the time I'm settled in to my evening, the chicken is done and it's time to eat. What were you going to do with that pre-cooked chicken, skip the getting-home orientation debriefing and sit down at the table with your jacket on and eat the warm chicken? ( I actually had a 1:00 dr's appointment once where the dr. told me he had just eaten an entire Albertson's chicken on his lunch hour, needed some protein. Now that made sense in an odd way, even though he looked a bit regretful.) My point is that you probably haven't saved any time. Unless of course you just wanted to make some fast chicken tacos, but why not have the roasted chicken tonight and make the tacos with the leftovers tomorrow? Since we haven't gained any time, I like to look at what we have gained. To do this, I text my son, who happens to be one of those 3 people telling me about their $5 deli chicken, to save me the label. He texts me back that I'll be pleased to know that it includes corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, and a few of those hidden msg items that we were just googling this afternoon. A list a mile long in the seasoning, but "only 8" synthetic ingredients. Note recipe below, ingredients: Chicken, butter, garlic, salt. If my Dad were here right now, he'd tell me my problem is I think too much. I have another 3 paragraphs on the ramifications of the ingredient 'chicken'. Enough. Just have some fun, roast your own chicken and see what happens.
Fresh Herb & Garlic Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken
2 Tbsp butter, soft.
2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley, what looks good)
2 cloves garlic, minced.
kosher salt.
as many potatoes as you want to bake.
canola oil.
Turn the oven on.
Pull the giblets out of the cavity. I throw them away, but put the neck in the pan with the chicken. It will roast up to a deep flavor and enhance the stock you're going to make tomorrow. Also pull out any extra wads of fat you may see in there.
Rinse the thing off and set it in a roasting pan. Smoosh the butter, herbs and garlic together, and feed it under the skin of the chicken. To do this, gently work your fingers under the skin starting at the breast above the cavity. Break the membrane of the skin until you have a path that works along toward the thighs. Push the butter along this route, getting a bit of it down by the legs and thighs. Don't worry about distributing it too well, it will melt through as the chicken heats. Throw some salt over the whole thing.
For the potatoes, rub them with some canola oil, throw some kosher salt on them, and put them right in the roasting pan next to the chicken.
Put it in the oven. 350 standard is fine. Convection is even better, 275-300 depending on your oven. Bake to an internal temperature of 165, taken in the thigh. This will probably be an hour. Get yourself one of those instant-read thermos if you don't have one already. Trust me, you'll use it.
If you have time after dinner, go ahead and pull the meat from the bones right now. It's easier to do with a warm chicken than a cold chicken. Put the bones, skin, that neck, and all the pan juices in a big soup pot, rinse the roasting pan with some clean water to get every last bit, and put that in too. Put the pot in the fridge and you're ready to start the stock when you get home tomorrow. Wrap the pulled meat separately and refrigerate. And good night!
Steamed Rice
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cup cold water
1 pod cardamon
2 whole cloves
So many people ask me about cooking rice, so here you go. Get some good quality basmati rice. A trip to BooHan Market on South Tacoma Way is always a fun time, and you can pick up a little red curry paste while you're there.
Choose a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Put all the ingredients in it, and turn on the heat. Leave it uncovered until it just starts to boil. Watch it, don't let it boil as you'll evaporate the water that you need to plump the rice. As soon as it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low and put on the lid. Steam for 25 minutes. If liquid comes out from under the lid at any time, it is too hot. Take it off the burner for a minute, then put it back when it's calmed down. If your burners are hot, it may not calm down. Just turn it off.
Red Curry Chicken Soup
4 cups chicken stock
whatever meat you've pulled from the bones
4 cloves garlic, minced.
1/2 onion, diced
2 stalks celery and leaves, sliced
a few mushrooms, sliced
canola oil
leftover rice
1/2 to 1 can coconut milk (optional)
2 Tbsp (to taste) red curry paste
fresh basil and/or cilantro for garnish
Put the stock on the stove to heat with the garlic, bring it to a boil.
Meanwhile, saute the onion, celery, and mushrooms in some oil. Salt and pepper a little, and finish it with a bit of white wine, sherry, or mirin, whatever you have. Or not. Add all of that to the soup, along with the rice and the coconut milk if you're using it. Let it all simmer together until it's all happily married and the vegetables are tender, about a half hour at least. Season to taste. Start adding some red curry paste, a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go. It's going to depend on the heat of the paste and the tolerance of your taste.
Garnish with the fresh herbs. Enjoy!
