This past Wednesday, I undertook the Roasted Chicken! It was absolutely the best roasted chicken I have ever made, hands down!!! It was so incredibly buttery, tender, and moist- and really easy, if somewhat work intense. But absolutely 100% worth it!! I made her amazing Braised Buttery Brussel Sprouts recipe, or Choux de Bruxelles Etuves et Beurre, which were super easy and a fabulous complimentary side to the roasted chicken. Trust me, even if you don’t like Brussels Sprouts, try this recipe.
As far as the recipes themselves, my only change to the chicken was to decrease the amount of butter by about half (and it was still incredibly buttery- I can’t imagine it being possibly MORE buttery!!) We did not miss it in the slightest!! The braised brussels recipe took some modification, so that it was made in the same pan at the same time of the chicken. These two recipes are, therefore, made to be used together! 🙂
Poulet Roti
(Serves 2-3)
A 3 lb. Fryer or Roaster Chicken
3 Tbsp. butter
pinch salt
1 small sliced carrot
1 small sliced onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small minced shallot
1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp. butter (“Enrichment Butter,” lol!)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Take your fryer chicken and remove the neck/liver/heart/etc, and wash the bird in cool water. Sprinkle the salt and rub 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the inside cavity of the bird. Truss the chicken (Here’s an excellent how-to video by Loius Ortiz: Truss a Chicken). Rub 1 more Tbsp. of butter over the skin and under the skin. Place the bird (breast side up) in a roasting pan, and sprinkle the onions and carrots around it (to flavor the drippings).
Prepare the basting liquid: melt remaining Tbsp. butter in a small bowl, and add oil. Have your basting brush and baster handy.
For the first 15 minutes of roasting, we leave the heat at 425. Cook the bird for 5 minutes, then rotate the bird on its right side, baste, and roast for 5 more minutes. Then, turn the bird on its left side, baste, and roast 5 more minutes. If you run out of the basting oil, simply baste the bird in its own juices.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Rotate, baste, and roast bird for 8 – 10 minutes on each side, and repeat, for a total of about an hour, or until the juices run clear when bird is pierced with a fork. Remove the chicken from the oven to platter, and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, while making the sauce.
Take all but 2 Tbsp. of the drippings out of the roasting pan, and add to small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add minced shallot and chicken stock, stirring constantly once boiling. Reduce the liquid by about half. Add the last Tbsp of butter to the sauce, enriching it with flavor. Serve with chicken.
This next recipe I did modify, since I simply added them to the roasting pan with the chicken about 40 minutes through the chicken’s cooking time (gives them about 20 minutes to braise). The process was about the same, it just allowed me to a) use fewer dishes, and b) braise the brussels in the chicken drippings.
Choux de Bruxelles Etuves et Beurre
(serves 2-3)
1 pound Brussels Sprouts, washed and halved
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
salt & pepper
Add the Brussels Sprouts to roasting pan with chicken when about 20 minutes remain of cooking time (if not roasting a meat already, simply add 3/4 c. stock to roasting pan with brussels). Dot the butter on top of the brussels, and salt & pepper as desired. When the bird is done and removed from pan, and all but 2 Tbsp. of drippings have been used for sauce, return the pan with brussels to the oven and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove when majority of liquid is gone. Serve with chicken!
Julia recommended a rose wine, so we chose Soter’s Rose to serve- it was perfect with the chicken! That Julia, she sure does know how to pair a good wine! 😉
