Showing posts with label fresh rosemary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fresh rosemary. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Simple Brined Roast Chicken with Herbs and Garlic for a Five Ingredient or Less #SundaySupper

Simple Brined Roast Chicken with Herbs and Garlic for a Five Ingredient or Less #SundaySupper




I have a bit of déjà vu here...You might remember about a year ago I prepared a salad for a #SundaySupper theme of Five Ingredients or Less. Well, the challenge has returned this week (this time hosted by T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley) and I thought I'd give it a second shot.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

I still maintain that this challenge would be great on Top Chef either as a Quickfire Challenge or a Last Chance Kitchen dish. The rules specify that water, salt, pepper and cooking oil do not count towards the five ingredients. If memory serves me correctly, I relied upon a whole bunch of store-bought ingredients but didn't use any of the "freebee" ingredients. This time around, I've done a complete 180, using all of my freebees in addition to preparing a dish from scratch.

Dish Details

I understand that restaurants, during the process of hiring a head chef, will request each candidate to roast a whole chicken and I couldn't think of a more flavorful way to prepare one given the constraints. Other than a process of roasting a chicken (oven temperature and cooking time) I borrowed from Melissa d'Arabian, this is a Crazy Foodie Stunts original.

Ingredients

1 cup kosher salt plus more for seasoning
1 cup sugar
1 gallon water
1 4-to-5 pound whole chicken
3 to 4 cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 to 3 sprigs fresh sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1. Brine the chicken. Remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken and place in a container that holds at least 8 quarts (I use a stockpot). In a separate large bowl, combine the water, 1 cup salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour the season water (or brine) over the chicken, and if necessary weigh the chicken down with a bowl or salad size plate to fully submerge the chicken. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight.


2. Roast the chicken. Preheat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Remove the chicken from the brine, then discard the brine. Pat the inside and outside of the chicken dry with paper towels, then season the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the herbs and garlic into the cavity, then drizzle about 1 tablespoon (or more, as needed) olive oil over the outside of the bird on both sides and rub it in to coat it evenly. Truss the chicken in the manner described here, then put the bird on a rack in a roasting pan and roast in the oven until the internal temperature in the deepest part of the thigh (but not touching the bone) reaches 175° Fahrenheit, approximately 60 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.


Final Thoughts

I prepared this chicken on a Sunday. I dropped it into the brine at about 10am and removed it about 7 hours later once I was finished with #SundaySupper chat. It was actually one of the more flavorful chickens I've roasted, although it wasn't one of the more prettier pictures I've taken of my food. A whole chicken isn't commonly served in a restaurant setting simply due to the portion size but it makes for a great comfort food at home. If you have never brined your chickens in the past, I urge you to take the extra time to do so. You will be greatly rewarded.

Are you hungry but your pantry bare? Then review the other #SundaySupper dishes that have been prepared using minimal ingredients:

Drinks
Appetizers and Snacks
Main Dish
Side Dish
Desserts
Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Herb Crusted Roast Beef for a #FamilyDinnerTable #SundaySupper

Herb Crusted Roast Beef


A note before I begin: I find this unusual. My experience with insurance companies has, for the most part, confirmed the stereotype that they exist solely to collect as much money as possible from their policyholders and pay out as little as they can so I appreciate this week's #SundaySupper event. For it, I was one of only twenty bloggers selected to participate in it.

What's going on?

Well, the Sunday Supper Movement has teamed with American Family Insurance to promote their Back to the Family Dinner Table campaign. They believe in this concept so much that American Family Insurance is having a “Share Your Recipe” sweepstakes for 6 weeks with a weekly prize is a $100 Williams-Sonoma gift card plus a grand prize of a $500 Williams-Sonoma gift card. For details visit https://contests.amfam.com/familydinnertable/. AmFam have also produced a YouTube video with more information which can be viewed here. In addition, I invite you to a G+ hangout that scheduled for later today at 2PM EST with our founder, Isabel.

AmFam Back To The Family Dinnertable Logo

You might be able to determine that I'm pleasantly surprised an insurance company has decided to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak to support a principle that is outside of their own profit motives. Please consider Liking them on facebook, plus following them on LinkedIn, YouTube, G+, twitter, and Pinterest. In the interest of full disclosure (if you haven't been able to tell by now), this post is sponsored by American Family Insurance. All opinions are my own.

Today's theme is big Sunday supper meals that makes leftovers to be re-invented for weekday suppers. The idea for this dish was born from a comment my father made last Christmas. While my family was opening their coffee liqueurs, I was busy preparing a roast beef. While the roast was in the oven, my father remarked, "This would make great leftovers." You know what? He was correct. There wasn't much that wasn't eaten that evening, but I took a couple of portions home and ate them as sandwiches the next day or two. I was reminded of the meal when I saw a couple of roast chickens featured this week and thought this concept would be perfect. I'd advise to plan for leftovers, purchasing something that is versatile so it can easily be reinvented later. For example, leftovers in this case could be used to make fajitas, a French dip sandwich, or stroganoff.

The Challenge

Prepare a dinner so that the leftovers can easily be repurposed into quick weekday meals.

The Source

I used the rub ingredients from page 55 of the recipe guide of Top Chef University DVD set, but the dish there uses a standing rib roast with potatoes so I used the method from the roast I prepared last Christmas which can be found on Food & Wine's website.

Ingredients

1 beef cross rib roast, approximately, 5 to 6 pounds
2 to 3 sprigs fresh sage
2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1. Arrange your oven so your roasting pan will be in the lower one-third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit.

2. Complete the mise en place: Combine the sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until it forms a coarse paste. Place the roast on a rack in a large deep roasting pan.


3. Cook the roast: Slather the herb rub onto the top and sides of the roast and place in the oven until the internal temperature in the center reaches 125° Fahrenheit, approximately 2 hours. Once completed, transfer the beef from the pan to a cutting board. Tent the roast with aluminum foil and let it rest for 20 minutes. To serve, thinly slice the roast across the grain and place on a platter.


Successful?

I reduced the salt in the herb paste by half, but the roast was still well seasoned. Mrs. Stuntman was also surprised the roast was so juicy. We ultimately used the leftovers for sandwiches.

Other Sunday Supper Participants

Sunday Supper Movement

And finally, please check out this week's other Sunday Supper contributors:


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