So, I've been wanting to try to roast an entire chicken sometime and based on every recipe I've seen it never looks too hard. Well, somehow I managed to turn a relatively simple cooking experience in to a disaster that put me in tears and made me just want to give up and eat mashed potatoes for dinner. I had seen a meal in a Williams-Sonoma catalogue that looked amazing and I'd been wanting to try it for months. Well, since any other WS recipe I've tried has been amazing I thought I'd give this meal a go....
Well, it was essentially a disaster BUT as the old adage goes - when life hands you lemons.... while the whole process of this meal was a disaster, the end results could have been a lot worse off. The chicken was covered in bacon and the bacon grease kept splattering in my oven and the fire alarm went off not once, but twice. Plus, I kept getting scared and taking it out, adjusting the cooking temp, etc. and therefore it took FOR-EV-ER to make and it dried out some but the flavor was really good.
So anyway - this is the recipe I adapted. Because of the whole disaster part I didn't even want to take pictures - I just wanted to eat and get it over with! The picture is from the WS web-Site...
Roasted Chicken with Bacon
Adapted from W-S
Ingredients:
2 chickens, each 4 to 4 1/2 lb.
Olive oil as needed
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
12 to 16 bacon slices
2 Tbs. finely diced shallots
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tbs. chicken demi-glace
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
2 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
Directions:
- Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 450°F.
- Blot the chickens dry with paper towels. Rub the back sides with olive oil and season on both sides with pepper.
- Place the chickens, breast side up, and tuck the wings behind the breasts.
- Drape the bacon slices over the breasts. Place the chickens, bacon side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, away from the bone, registers 170°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours; tent the chickens with aluminum foil if the bacon becomes too dark.
- Transfer the chickens to a carving board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Discard all but 2 tsp. of the fat from the roasting pan.
- Set the pan over medium-high heat and warm the reserved fat.
- Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine, stirring to scrape up the browned bits, then whisk in the demi-glace and broth. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the thyme and butter.
- Carve the chickens and arrange on a warmed platter. Drizzle with some of the sauce and pass the remaining sauce alongside. Serves 8.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
Well, it was essentially a disaster BUT as the old adage goes - when life hands you lemons.... while the whole process of this meal was a disaster, the end results could have been a lot worse off. The chicken was covered in bacon and the bacon grease kept splattering in my oven and the fire alarm went off not once, but twice. Plus, I kept getting scared and taking it out, adjusting the cooking temp, etc. and therefore it took FOR-EV-ER to make and it dried out some but the flavor was really good.
So anyway - this is the recipe I adapted. Because of the whole disaster part I didn't even want to take pictures - I just wanted to eat and get it over with! The picture is from the WS web-Site...
Roasted Chicken with BaconAdapted from W-S
Ingredients:
2 chickens, each 4 to 4 1/2 lb.
Olive oil as needed
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
12 to 16 bacon slices
2 Tbs. finely diced shallots
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tbs. chicken demi-glace
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
2 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
Directions:
- Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 450°F.
- Blot the chickens dry with paper towels. Rub the back sides with olive oil and season on both sides with pepper.
- Place the chickens, breast side up, and tuck the wings behind the breasts.
- Drape the bacon slices over the breasts. Place the chickens, bacon side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, away from the bone, registers 170°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours; tent the chickens with aluminum foil if the bacon becomes too dark.
- Transfer the chickens to a carving board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Discard all but 2 tsp. of the fat from the roasting pan.
- Set the pan over medium-high heat and warm the reserved fat.
- Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine, stirring to scrape up the browned bits, then whisk in the demi-glace and broth. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the thyme and butter.
- Carve the chickens and arrange on a warmed platter. Drizzle with some of the sauce and pass the remaining sauce alongside. Serves 8.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
I'm sorry that the process in cooking this wasn't as smooth as you hoped. :( But it definitely looks like a fabulous recipe!
ReplyDeleteI have cried when things havent worked for me in the kitchen too
ReplyDeleteI made a roast chicken yesterday and it took quite a bit longer to cook than I expected. I started it at 5:30 and wanted to eat it at 8pm but the chicken had other plans. LOL.