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| Chicken Mar i Muntanya |
After purchasing two "separate"
chickens at my local butcher on Saturday, it was time to do something new. I
asked my butcher to keep one of the chickens whole and to cut up the other one
into eighths, which I had planned to make chicken stock with. Then I realized
that I could use the whole chicken, after roasting it, for stock and use the
cut-up chicken to make something new. Any restaurant CFO would love me--multiple dishes while keeping
food costs down and eliminate waste. Actually,
they (the CFOs) do love me. I perused my kitchen library and
pulled out one of my Tom Keller cookbooks, ad hoc at home.
http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Hoc-Home-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579653774/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335809277&sr=1-1
After all, my goal was to try some
"new" recipes here. So special
K's recipes (No--not the cereal) came into play. Industry folks call Thomas (Tom) Keller Special K, so I'm told. And, so I'm
told. Here goes.
I decided to make one of Special K's
roasted chicken recipes and I also wanted to try something new for the cut-up
chicken pieces. But first I wanted to brine the chicken(s). I've brined turkeys and ducks and quail in
the past but never a chicken, so it was time.
Let's brine the chickens.
Chicken Brine a la
Tom Keller (aka Special K)
3 lemons, halved
12 bay leaves
1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch (1 ounce) fresh thyme
1/2 cup honey
1 head of garlic, halved through the equator
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 cup kosher salt
1 gallon water
Combine
all the ingredients in a large pot; cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1
minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool
completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3
days.
Pour
the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken/chicken pieces; add
the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Remove
the chicken from the brine, rinse with cold water, pat dry with paper towels
and let chicken rest at room temperature. Roast or fry the chicken. I did both.
First,
I roasted a whole chicken (again) on a bed of vegetables. Yeah. Boring. Sort of. Well, yes, boring. However, I did this one a little differently than my typical "go-to" roasted
chicken.
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| Whole Roasted Chicken on a Bed of Vegetables |
Roasted Chicken
with Vegetables
One
4 to 4 1/2 lb chicken
Kosher
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6
garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
6
thyme sprigs
4
parsley sprigs
1
lemon, cut into quarters
1
lime, cut into quarters
2
stalks of celery cut lengthwise
1
large leek, cut lengthwise
4
medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut lengthwise
1
small yellow onion, cut into 1/4" rings
12
large button mushrooms, cleaned and cut in half
4
large potatoes cut in half
1/3
cup canola oil
4
tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Remove
the chicken from the brine in the refrigerator.
Wash and dry with paper towels.
Let chicken stand until it comes to room temperature, about 40-45
minutes.
Preheat
the oven to 400 F.
Season
the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper, add 3 of the garlic cloves and
5 sprigs of thyme, the parsley, the lemon and lime wedges. Massage the inside
of the bird to infuse it with the flavors. Truss the chicken.
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| Trussed Chicken |
Cut
off the dark green leaves from the top of the leeks. Trim off and discard the
darkened outer layers. Slit the leeks lengthwise almost in half, starting 1/2
inch above the root ends. Rinse the leeks well under cold water.
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| Bed of Vegetables |
Combine
all the vegetables and remaining garlic cloves and thyme sprig in a large bowl.
Toss with 1/4 cup of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the
vegetables in a roasting pan.
Rub
the remaining oil over the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper. Make
a nest in the center of the vegetables and nestle the chicken in the bed of
vegetables. Cut
the butter into several pieces and place over the chicken breast.
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| Chicken Ready for the Oven |
Put
the chicken in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn
chicken in pan around 1/4 every 15 minutes, until done and the temperature
registers 160 F in the meatiest portions of the bird–the thighs, and under the
breast where the thigh meets the breast–and the juices run clear.
Transfer
the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes.
Just
before serving, set the pan of vegetables over medium heat and reheat the vegetables,
turning them and glazing them with the pan juices. Cut
the chicken into serving pieces, arrange over the vegetables and serve.
Chicken Mar i Muntanya
And
for the cut-up chicken, I made something new, which was another Special K dish
called Chicken Mar i Muntanya, which
is a chicken fried (yeah, fried--me
frying?) with shrimps, mussels, green beans and piquillo peppers (I didn't
use the chorizo).
Since
Cinco de Mayo is this upcoming weekend, I realized that this was a perfect way
to start a busy week. Not only is it
Cinco de Mayo on Saturday, but the Lucky Rice Festival is underway later this
week, the Kentucky Derby is also on Saturday and the James Beard Awards are also taking
place. Whew. So, here is my adaptation of Chicken Mar i Muntanya, sans chorizo.
One 5-pound chicken,
cut into eights, brined for 12 hours
12
extra-large shrimp (U-12-15 count), shelled and deveined
Kosher
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/8
teaspoon Piment d'Espelette
1/2
cup Canola oil
Saffron
rice (see below), warm
4
pimento peppers, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 cup
green beans, blanched and shocked in cold water
1/2
cup dry white wine
18
small PEI mussels
1/2
cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
Preheat
the oven to 400F.
Remove
the chicken from the brine and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices
sticking to the skin. Pat dry with paper towels, or let air dry. Set aside.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of Espelette. Heat some
canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dark meat
skin-side-down, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook until the skin is a rich
golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Turn the pieces and brown for another
6 minutes, or until golden brown on the second side. Remove from the heat,
transfer the dark meat to a plate, and set aside.
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| "Fried" Chicken |
Return
the pan to medium-high heat and add more oil as needed. Add the breasts skin-side-down
and cook until the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Turn the
chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, until almost cooked through. Remove from
the heat.
Add
the shrimps to the pan that was used to cook the chicken and sauté the shrimps until
just cooked through, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimps to a
plate.
Spread
the prepared saffron rice in the bottom of a large heat-proof baking dish.
Arrange the pimentos and green beans over the rice. Tuck the dark meat and the
breasts into the rice, pour half of the wine over the ingredients, and put the
dish in the oven.
Add
the remaining wine to the pan that the chicken was cooked in. Bring to a boil, and boil for 30 seconds. Add
the mussels, cover the pan, and cook until the mussels have opened, 2 to 3
minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add
mussels and the shrimps to the baking dish with the chicken, pimentos and green
beans and heat through. Garnish with
parsley leaves, and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Serve.
Saffron Rice
¼
cup canola oil
¾
cup finely chopped onion
1
teaspoon saffron threads
2
cups (about 14 ounces) short-grain rice, rinsed thoroughly until water runs
clear
2
¾ to 3 ½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
Heat
the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and
season with a sprinkling of salt. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 3
minutes. Add the saffron. Reduce the heat to very low, and cook for another 2
minutes; do not brown the onions and saffron. Add the rice and cook over medium
heat, stirring often, to toast the rice for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add
2 ½ cups of the stock, stir once. Cover.
Bring the stock to a simmer and simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for
about 8 minutes, until most of the stock has been absorbed. The rice will still
be firm. Gently stir the rice, scraping it up from the bottom, and reduce the
heat to very low. Add an additional ¼ cup of stock, cover with the lid,
increase the heat, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 3 minutes, until the
stock is absorbed. Taste the rice and, if necessary, continue cooking, adding
up to ¾ cup more stock ¼ cup at a time, as necessary, until the rice is almost
tender and the final addition of liquid is almost absorbed. Turn the heat to
low to allow the rice to absorb the remaining liquid, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and serve hot.
