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Roasted Fowl, Four Ways
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Roasted Fowl, Four Ways
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Roasted Fowl, Four Ways
Sundays in the mountains traditionally involve chicken, often breaded and fried, and served with mashed potatoes and a hearty gravy. French families also serve up chicken, usually weekly. In fact, King Henry IV, who reigned over France from 1589-1610, was so concerned about his subjects of modest means that he declared every member of his kingdom should always be able to have a chicken in his pot on Sunday.
Of the hundreds of ways of dishing up this ubiquitous bird, my favorite go-to is a simple roasted version, surrounded in the same dish by vegetables of the season, sprinkled with salt, and left in the oven until tender. The greatest thing about this dish, besides its delectability, is that you can prepare it in advance, and then go off and read a book, or work in the garden, or entertain your guests for an hour or two immediately prior to serving. Meanwhile the most tantalizing aromas fill your house and seep out down the garden path to lure your guests and family in.
You can use any bird for the following recipes, beginning with an autumn treatment for the season at hand, but a farm-raised chicken is the ideal choice. Vary as you wish by choosing different breeds if you have that liberty.
Autumn-Roasted Chicken—or Guinea Fowl—with Apples, Chestnuts & Sage
Ingredients:
- 1 free-range chicken or guinea fowl
- Several firm apples
- 2 cups of chestnuts
- Several sprigs of fresh sage
- A few cloves of garlic
- Large-grained sea salt
- Pepper corns
- Olive oil
Preparation:
Remove giblets (set aside for another use), wash chicken inside and out, and dry well with paper towels. Remove any superfluous fat from edges of cavities (kitchen scissors work well for this). Keep the fat for frying up potatoes, or sautéing your giblets.
Place bird in an oven-proof baking dish, and rub all over with halved garlic cloves, throwing the cloves in the cavity afterwards, along with a bay leaf and a few branches of thyme, as well as a sliver of bell pepper (this adds extra savoriness), and a few pepper corns.
Wash and core apples, and place around the chicken (1-2 per person). Prepare chestnuts by slicing in half and sticking in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, then popping them out of their hulls. Surround the bird with these delicacies, top with lots of fresh sage (stick some in the cavity too), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper corns.
Roast at 450°F for 20 minutes or so, then reduce to 400°F. After a half hour, pour ½ inch of hot water into the bottom of the pan so that chestnuts will remain moist. When bird is done (1 to 1½ hours later), remove, cover, and allow the juices to retract for 10 minutes or so. Slice as you would a Thanksgiving turkey, and serve, surrounded by apples and napped with the juices from the pan.
Accompany with a Gewürztraminer or a Sancerre, or a hard cider or wine of your choice.
Winter-Roasted Chicken—or Capon—with Root Vegetables
Ingredients:
- 1 whole, preferably sustainably-grown roasting bird or capon (neutered rooster, particularly tender)
- Several small potatoes (about 3 per person)
- A few carrots and/or parsnips
- Several cloves of garlic
- Several sprigs of fresh thyme
- A bay leaf or two
- A few strips of bell pepper (optional)
- 1 tablespoon or so olive oil
- 1 tablespoon or so large-grained salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper corns
Preparation:
Prepare bird as noted in the previous recipe. Then turn to your vegetables, washing, peeling if necessary (you can leave on the skin for more flavor if your vegetables are home-grown or organic), and cutting into uniform sizes (I generally cut them like French fries), tossing with crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.
Line a roasting pan with the vegetables and place the chicken on top. Sprinkle with coarse salt and lay a couple of sprigs of thyme over the breasts. If you happen to have truffles (‘tis the season, after all!), you can slip some slivers under the breast skin. If not, you can slip herbs under the skin if you wish to be fancy. Otherwise, just lay them on top as suggested.
Roast as detailed in the previous recipe. After a half hour or so, pour a cup or two of hot water (or white wine) into the bottom of the pan to keep the vegetables from drying out and to produce a sauce that, along with the poultry drippings, will be ready simultaneously with your chicken.
Cover with foil if necessary to keep from browning irregularly. Carve and serve at the table, surrounding the savory meat with vegetables and topping with sauce from the bottom of the pan.
Pair with a white wine such as a Sancerre or a Sauvignon blanc, or simply pour a glass of pure mountain spring water.
Spring-Roasted Pullet with Peas, Asparagus & Spring Onions
Ingredients:
- 1 tender young farm-raised chicken (check out American Bresse for a special treat!)
- Several cloves of garlic
- Several sprigs of fresh thyme
- A bay leaf or two
- A cup or two of freshly-shelled peas (or frozen if necessary)
- A bunch of asparagus
- Several spring onions
- A bit of butter
- Some sprigs of tarragon
Preparation:
Prepare bird as noted in the first recipe. Place in a roasting pan, elevated by a couple of carrots or celery sticks to keep it from adhering to the bottom, and to add flavor to the sauce.
When about a half hour from time to pull your bird from the oven, lightly sauté your asparagus, along with your spring onions, cut into 1- or 2-inch segments on the bias. Slightly steam your peas, and drain.
Carve your bird as noted previously, arrange pieces on a platter, and top with the spring vegetables, drizzled with a bit of melted butter, and some chopped tarragon if you have any.
Serve with a dry, chilled white wine. The fairness (as in light color) of the spring chicken, along with the delicate flavors of peas and baby onions will make you extra glad you tried this variation.
Summer-Roasted Hen with Tomatoes, Olives & Thyme
Ingredients:
- 1 farm-raised chicken
- Several cloves of garlic
- Several sprigs of fresh thyme
- A bay leaf or two
- Several medium-sized tomatoes (1 per person)
- A few dozen small whole potatoes
- A few dozen Nice-style olives, pits in for firmness and flavor
- A few dozen extra cloves of garlic, skin on
- 1 tablespoon or so large-grained salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper corns
Preparation:
Prepare bird as noted in the initial recipe. Surround with tomatoes, olives and garlic, as well as the small whole potatoes.
Roast as detailed earlier, adding white wine in place of the water to keep everything moist and savory after the initial browning.
Enjoy with the same wine you used in cooking, or with a light rosé from Provence. Encourage your guests to press the garlic out of its skin with the back of their forks, and rub a bit on each bite. As French chef André Simon said, “Like bread, potatoes, and rice, chicken can be eaten constantly.” I’ll drink to that!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Susi Gott Séguret, CCP, CSW, hails from the depths of Appalachia in Madison County, North Carolina, but honed her culinary skills in France, where she resided for over 20 years, earning a diploma in Gastronomy and Taste from the Cordon Bleu and the Université de Reims. Author of several cookbooks including Appalachian Appetite, and Cooking with Truffles, Susi orchestrates multiple sensory experiences including the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts, the Asheville Truffle Experience, and the Appalachian Culinary Experience. Passionate about elements of taste and style, and how they extend from our palate into our daily lives, Susi strives to blend food, music, words and images into a tapestry for the senses. For more details, visit quintessentialtable.com.