Whole Roast Chicken: Brined and Blasted

This chicken comes out moist and juicy, is fairly hands off, and we're starting to get good browning on the outside.

Roast chicken can be a challenge, getting the leg meat cooked without drying out the breast. This approach is pretty simple: brine it overnight, roast covered to cook through with steam, then blast on an elevated rack to brown. You can even marinade the chicken from frozen (just remove any giblets from the cavity before cooking). We've used a 3 pound bird and a 4 1/2 pound bird, both came out well. Get a good quality one, preferably organic since it's all about the chicken flavor.

This technique came from Greg Vernick's recipe in Food & Wine February 2019.

You can cook the chicken in the pot on top of veggies like potatoes and cabbage, but they will not be sufficiently cooked when the bird comes out of the pot. You can brown the bird on a rack over a baking sheet, and finish the veggies in the hot pot on the stove, with the rendered juices and anything else you like.

Brine

12 C Water

1/2 C Apple Cider (optional, could substitute orange mojo criollo etc)

1/3 C Kosher Salt

1/4 C Soy Sauce

2 Tbs Light Brown Sugar

5 large Garlic Cloves, halved

1 8x3-inch Kombu (seaweed, for umami), toasted

10 sprigs Thyme

2 sprigs Rosemary

1 leaf Fresh Bay

Boil all ingredients in 6 C of the Water to dissolve the Sugar and Salt. Add remaining 6 C Water to cool it, or add ice cubes to bring total volume to about 13 C. Cool completely.

Chicken

3 pound Chicken, whole, organic

1 Tbs Kosher Salt

2 sprigs Thyme

2 sprigs Rosemary

1 Lemon, halved, plus more for serving

2 Tbs Butter, unsalted, plus more for greasing

Cooking Spray

Remove giblets from Chicken; place in food grade bucket or Dutch Oven, cover with cooled brine; weigh it down with a plate so it stays submerged. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight

Preheat oven to 275F Convection or 300F without.

Remove Chicken from brine, discard brine.

Season Chicken outside and in with 1 Tbs Salt.

Stuff cavity with Thyme, Rosemary, Lemons, 2 Tbs Butter.

Tie legs together, and tuck wing tips under.

Place Chicken in a Dutch oven breast side up, insert cooking thermometer in thickest part of leg or thigh, and cover with a tight fitting lid; alternately, place in cast iron pan, butter some foil and spritz with Cooking Spray, press foil down around Chicken and form a tight seal to the pan.

Bake in preheated oven until Chicken barely registers 150F, about 1 hour 50 minutes.

Remove Chicken from oven and turn oven up to it's highest temperature, with convection if you've got it. 

Place chicken on ventilated rack breast side up, and put rack over roasting pan, Dutch oven or sheet pan to catch drips; adjust oven shelves to accommodate. 

Once oven is up to temperature, return Chicken on rack to oven and blast it to brown evenly. (You may want to start breast side down, then flip it to finish it breast side up, but be careful not to tear the skin.)

Finishing and Pan Sauce

2 Tbs Butter, unsalted, for finishing

1 ounce Shallot, finely chopped (about 2 Tbs)

1 Tbs Parsley, fresh, flat-leaf, finely chopped

1 Tbs Thyme Leaves, fresh, finely chopped

1 Tbs Lemon Juice, fresh 

3/4 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Remove Chicken from pan, place on grooved cutting board, and let rest 10 minutes; internal temperature should rise to 165F.

Over medium heat, cook Shallot in remaining 2 Tbs Butter until butter begins to brown and Shallot is tender.

Remove from heat, add Parsley, Thyme, Lemon Juice, Pepper, remaining Salt; taste and adjust seasonings.

Carve Chicken and serve with pan sauce and uncooked Lemon slices.

Paella: In Search of Socarrat

Socarrat is the crunchy rice at the bottom of a well-made paella. While we've been happy with our paellas, we've never gotten the socarrat. Here we attempt to create that elusive texture.

Paella with snails, peas and yellow bell peppers; note crust around edges

This technique comes from the 2018 book Catalan Food: Culture and Flavors from the Mediterranean by Daniel Olivella. The main difference from what I normally do is that he adds the stock in three additions, around the edge, and watches for the crusty bits forming there to indicate the development of the socarrat; he also uses a bit more stock. We're doing this indoors rather than our usually BBQ technique so we can concentrate on that crunchy bit. I'm changing the sequencing a little from Daniel's recipe, since I think the saffron gets lost if added too early.

The flavors are up to you: you can use fish stock with shrimps and fin fish, or chicken stock with snails and rabbit, etc. You can top with red peppers or peas.  Just make sure the proteins and vegetables are cooked enough: brown things like chicken or sausage first, top with bell peppers in the middle, and add delicate shrimp near the end so they don't overcook.

This recipe, for a 10-inch diameter paella pan, serves two generously as a main course, or four as an appetizer.

5 C Stock
2 pinches Saffron, crumbled (about 1/4 tsp)

1 ounce Onion
1 ounce Green Pepper, preferably long, sweet and mild (not hot); Bell will work
2 cloves Garlic
1 ounce Tomato, grated
6 Tbs Parsley Leaves, fresh, minced

1 Tbs Kosher Salt

3 Tbs Olive Oil

4 ounces Squid, Chicken, Rabbit, Pork, Sausage or other firm protein which needs cooking
1 C Bomba Rice (this is important, but Arborio risotto rice works in a pinch)
1/2 tsp Pimenton (smoked Paprika)
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
4 ounces Shrimp, Fish, Clams, Mussels, or canned Snails which need minimal cooking
1/4 C Frozen Peas
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into 8 strips
4 wedges Lemon

Warm the Stock and add the crushed Saffron to flavor it.

In a 10-11 inch diameter Paella Pan, saute the sofregit ingredients: Onion, Pepper, Garlic, Tomato, Parsley and Salt in Olive Oil until soft. Remove and reserve for a moment.

Saute any firm proteins in a bit more Olive Oil until mostly cooked, a couple minutes.

Add the Bomba Rice, and with high heat, stir until rice is shiny with oil. Add Pimenton, Black Pepper and the reserved Sofregit.

Add about 3 C of the Stock with Saffron around the edge of the paella pan, shake the pan to settle the rice as the stock begins to boil. Do not shake or stir later or the rice will become sticky and may prevent the formation of the socarrat.

First addition of stock

Turn heat to medium and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed; it should take about 10 minutes, and if it takes longer, crank up the heat. The rice should just begin to sizzle a bit "almost as if it is asking you for another drink". This indicates the socarrat is beginning to form. Add 1 C more Stock around the edges again so it seeps from edge to center.

Arrange delicate proteins like Shrimp, Shellfish or Snails around the edge, burying slightly in the rice. Simmer until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice starts to sizzle again, about 5 more minutes (adjust heat if needed).

Snails, peas and peppers added

Drizzle the final 1 C Stock around the edge. Scatter the peas and arrange the Pepper strips in spokes on top of the rice. Simmer until rice is just beginning to become tender, about 5 minutes more. Shrimp should be pink, peas warmed through, any clams or mussels should be open. Test the rice: it should be plump and tender but with a slightly firm center.

The edge of the paella pan should now have a dark rim of oily starch, indicating a crispy socarrat has forming below. To test, use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan: it shouldn't slide but push against rice crust which is starting to form. When the socarrat has begun, rotate the pan for even browning.

"The rice will talk to you as it cooks; the crackle will get faster as the rice dries out, then it will go silent when the socarrat is finished forming. Your nose will tell you if it's beginning to burn; just add a spoonful of stock to the scorching spot if so."

Serve the paella in its pan at the center of the table with spoons for guests to serve themselves, with lemon wedges.

Chocolate Truffles with Lime and Ginger

These turned out well and aren't too hard to make. I used different chocolates for the ganache center and the coating, but it's not necessary.

Truffles with ginger sugar coating

When forming, a #70 disher is a good size. Don't use frozen fresh ginger for the coating: the moisture that comes out as it thaws will combine with the sugar and turn it into clumps -- use fresh or replace with more powdered ginger. A tiny bit of chili in the coating adds a punch to the ginger

1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tbl     Butter, unsalted
1 tsp Light Corn Syrup
8 oz Chocolate, Valrhona 70%, semi-sweet (chips or chopped)

2 tsp Lime Zest, finely grated (use a Microplane, 2 limes)

6 oz chocolate, chopped, for dipping (TJ + Valrhona Guanaja)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1       pinch   Cayenne pepper or chili flakes
1 1/2  tsp Ginger, fresh, grated

Mix the cream, butter and corn syrup together in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a full boil. Turn off heat.  Add 8 ounces of the chopped chocolate, and gently swirl the pan.  Do not stir. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, add the lime zest and whisk slowly to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  After 45 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken quickly, keep refrigerated another 11 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Using a disher, mini ice cream scoop or two spoons, form the mixture into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared sheets.  Chill until firm, about 10-15 minutes. 

While the balls are chilling, melt the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate [in a double boiler]. After it is completely melted, allow to cool slightly before continuing.

Whiz the gingers, chili and sugar in a spice grinder until sugar is powdered. Remove the balls from the refrigerator. Using a toothpick or fork, dip the each ball into the melted chocolate. Roll it around, allow the excess to drip back into the bowl.  Place the truffle in the sugar. With another fork, cover the truffle with sugar.  Lift it out and place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining truffles.

Place back in the refrigerator for 5-8 minutes to set. May be stored up to one week in an airtight container.