HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!
I made a lemon stuffed roast chicken for tonights dinner, it's an easy but delicate dish. Sides were potatoes, carrots and onions that were braised with chicken broth and white wine in a pan underneath the chicken.
So, let's cook.
Ingredients are:
One fresh whole chicken, around 1,5 kg /3lbs (make sure the skin is intact or the recipe won't work),
one untreated, organic farmed lemon,
750 grams potatoes,
300-400 grams carrots,
1 large onion,
salt, pepper, chicken spice mix, Oil,
broth of choice (I went with chicken broth, but vegetable or beef stock is also nice),
some wine,
some yarn and a sewing needle.
Prep time was around two hours, with the roast process taking up the most time.
First, peel, cube and pre-cook the potatoes for around 10 minutes:
(the pot in the back has the yarn, which I also cooked to remove eventual chemicals)
Peel and cut the carrots and the onion, then put it all in an oven-proof pan, pour the stock and wine over it:
Now for the chicken. The special step in this prep is the added lemon, which will act as a steam bath from the inside of the chicken.
The humidity of the lemon will evaporate and make the meat really juicy and tender while inflating and thus separating the skin from the chicken, resulting in a paper-thin and crispy crust for the dish.
Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Grab the lemon and poke about 60 holes in it (use a fork to speed things up):
Stuff the lemon inside the chicken, listen to some Barry White while doing so:
OOOOOH YEAH, BABY!:lol
Now sew the...wait, I forgot that cooking a thread results in clutter
AFTER uncluttering the thread, sew the chicken shut. This is vital so the steam can build up inside the chicken:
Neck End:
Rear End:
When done, remove the rump (best with scissors):
and tie the chickens legs together with the rest of the thread.
Now prepare the glaze with oil and spices of choice. I used a spice mix from salt, pepper, paprika and rosemary. Glaze the whole chicken:
Now stick the chick and the veggies in the pre-heated oven. I went with around 175 degrees celsius in a hot air oven for about 80 minutes, keep glazing the chicken every other 15 minutes:
This is the described effect of the lemon, looks awesome, doesn't it?
Finish line:
you can check if the chicken is done by sticking a toothpic or needle in one of the legs: if the juice that runs out is clear, it's done. When it's done, remove it from the oven, carve it and serve with the oven veggies:
DONE!
Enjoy.
Regarding the future of GAF cooking, some of you might have already noticed that I found a new job for 2008.
As this won't be a 9-to-5-job, I'll spend a lot of tie on the road and won't be able to cook under the week as much as I used to do. In addition, I'll have to move places, too, as the new job can't be done with a daily commute, so the first half of 2008, I won't have access to a decent kitchen at all. I will be able to share some pics of professional chefs and their kitchens, though.
Starting a new thread for 2008 by me wouldn't be that interesting, given the circumstances. So, if one of you feels up to the task, feel free to start one.
As an alternative suggestion, how about continuing with this one? It's already got a wealth of info and recipes and could become a real reference for the future.
Edit: Thanks sp0rsk for the title change! .
Any way, thanks again to you all for making this humble effort into one of the biggest and most pleasant threads on NeoGAF so far.
