chicken

When I was in college I had to take a few introductory culinary classes as part of my curriculum, but at the time I was a vegetarian. I didn’t pay attention during the meat classes because I thought I’d never need to know how to cook the stuff, and I’ve always regretted that. During my veg phase I also interned abroad, working as a back waiter in Burgundy for a few months. I did eat fish while I was there because I was afraid I’d waste away to nothing in France, where bacon is considered a vegetable. In Paris I ate like a king, but 10 years ago in rural burgundy, some people had never even heard of someone not eating meat for non-religious reasons. I ate a ton of amazing food, especially river trout that were kept and caught daily from a creek behind the restaurant where I interned, but I can’t even begin to explain how much I regret politely declining the foods I turned down and missed out on. Boudin Noir sauteed in normandy butter with apples, rabbits raised in a garage by a little old lady that lived behind our dorm, fresh fois gras from a humane farm we visited one weekend. I’ll forever be kicking myself for that. Shortly after I returned I broke and went back to eating meat. I’m a real chump.

I always assumed that roasting a chicken was a delicate art that I could have learned if only I’d paid attention, but would never be able to master on my own. It’s no Boudin Noir with apples and butter, but a well roasted chicken is a beautiful thing. So, a few years ago I decided it was time to put on my big boy pants and roast my first chicken. All that time I wasted afraid that I couldn’t do it. When I finally drummed up the courage to do it and looked up a recipe, I thought it was wrong. It couldn’t be that simple. Could it?

It could.

Roasting a chicken is pretty damned simple if you have a few hours before you need to eat. There are a million ways to do it. Some of them are harder than others, but most of them are pretty darn good. I think simplicity is best when it comes to simple foods, so I’ve perfected my favorite way of roasting a chicken to be as simple, and as versatile, as possible.

I used to roast in pyrex, at first laying flat on the bottom, then up on a roasting rack, but things changed when I read about roasting in cast iron and I’ve never gone back. Cast iron heats up more slowly but more evenly than roasting pans or pyrex, and they maintain an even heat for a nice long time. Since it doesn’t overheat as quickly, your chicken’s juices don’t burn off and you can make your gravy or sauce right in the same pan. I like to roast on a bed of vegetables or potatoes to keep the bird from sticking, and then the juices run over and help cook your vegetables.

This is a really loose recipe, easily tweaked and changed to suit your taste. I like to wash, dry and season my chicken well before roasting and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for a few hours. If you don’t have time for this you can skip it, I just think it makes for a crispier skin. I usually toss some onions and cubed potatoes in the pan under the chicken, but the other day I swapped the potatoes for brussels sprouts and cubed butternut squash and it was truly amazing. You just want to make sure you choose veggies that benefit from low slow roasting, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, you name it. When the chicken is done I take it out and let it rest, tented with aluminum foil, then transfer the veggies to a serving bowl, leaving the juices in the pan for gravy.

Thickening with a roux is the easiest and quickest way, but if you want to let your chicken rest a little longer you can make a reduction by cooking down your juices and maybe a little white wine, or maybe add some cream or butter for texture.

Give it a shot. It’s not as scary as you might think.

Simple Ol' Roast Chicken

Servings: 2 to 4
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3 or 4 lb roasting chicken
coarse kosher salt and ground pepper
cubed or bite size veggies such as onions, brussels sprouts, potatoes, winter squash, root vegetables, etc.
herbs, garlic, or quartered lemons or onions for stuffing
olive oil or butter

If making a gravy with roux:
4 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour

Rinse your chicken in cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. Be sure to dry the inside as well as the out. Remove any “extras” that might be inside and discard or freeze for making stock. Wash your hands really well both before and after this. Place your dried chicken on a plate and season all sides with salt and pepper. If you have time, place your chicken uncovered in the refrigerator for two or three hours. If you don’t, set it aside and prepare your pan.

Preheat your oven to 450°F.
Arrange your vegetables in an even layer the bottom of the pan and drizzle with a little olive oil or melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt if you’re making a reduced sauce so it’s not too salty when it cooks down.
If you like a darker color to your skin you can rub the chicken with olive oil or butter before roasting but I usually skip it.
You can stuff the inside of the chicken with whatever you want. Overstuffing can slow the roasting down so leave some space for air in the cavity.
Place your chicken breast-side-up over your vegetables and roast the chicken for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
Continue to roast for one hour. A three or three and a half pound chicken should be done by now. For a four pounder you can go another 15 minutes. If you’re new to this or worried about doneness, check by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the meatiest part of its thigh. You want it to be at least 165°F, but if you’re under you can put it back in for another 5 to 10 minutes and check it again.
Transfer your chicken to a plate and let it rest, tented with aluminum foil, for 15 minutes. Transfer your vegetables to a bowl or dish and make your gravy or sauce. If making gravy, make a roux by melting butter in a separate pan and whisking in flour. Cook over medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes. The amount of juice from you chicken can vary, so gradually whisk a little roux at a time into the liquid, simmer for a bit before adding more, until you reach the desired thickness.

Enjoy kiddos!

Updated with new photos and a slightly revised recipe on 9/29/2014 here.

This is not your standard chicken pot pie. There is only top crust here, just resting on top of the filling; and this is no standard pastry crust, but a thick island of tender buttermilk biscuit. If you wanted to complicate things, this could be called a chicken and biscuits pie, or maybe a southern style chicken pot pie. To me, this is what chicken pot pie is supposed to be. This is chicken pot pie the way my grandmother made it, and this was the meal of choice for me and my sisters on birthdays and special occasions.

This was a staple of my childhood and making it is an exercise in nostalgia. When Grandma made it she would boil chicken breasts in bouillon, thicken with a flour & water slurry, add some canned peas and carrots, and top it with Bisquick. When I was learning to cook this was one of the first recipes I tried to master, and as I became a better cook the recipe started to change.

The recipe I’m sharing with you is very different from the one Grandma used to make, but the end result is just as homey and comforting. This is not a quick weeknight dinner, but more of an all-Sunday-in-your-PJs kind of meal. Making fresh chicken stock is probably the biggest change between Grandma’s recipe and mine. I like to start late in the morning, browning the chicken, adding some aromatics, and letting it simmer slow and low for a couple of hours while I go about my day.

For this recipe I used a whole chicken that came cut up and wrapped from my grocery store, but you can use whatever chicken you like. I think a whole chicken or a mix of breasts and thighs will give you the most flavorful end product, but if you or your family only like breast meat, use all breasts. If you’re like me and roast a lot of chickens at home, odds are that you might have some bones or gizzards lying around in the freezer. That’s not weird is it? Anyway, if you do, toss them in too.

Next I go for fresh veggies, cut rough and rustic, and brown them in the same pan that was used for stock. This is by no means a one dish meal, but unless you want to transfer it to a pretty oven safe bowl for baking and serving, this whole meal from start to finish can be cooked in one pot. After the veggies are cooked I thicken the stock with a roux, add everything back to the pan along with some frozen peas, and top the whole thing with one giant buttermilk biscuit. I think that the gravy should be super thick to work well as a pot pie, so a roux is a perfect solution. With the amount of flour needed to thicken this recipe, you’d be able to taste the raw flour if you used the flour and water method.

Don’t be afraid to make your own biscuits from scratch. If you mess them up, they’re usually still pretty good; and once you master them, you’ll wonder what you were doing with your life before. If you don’t have a pastry blender you can use a food processor, or a fork, or even your hands. If you don’t have cream of tartar, don’t freak. It helps the biscuits rise and get super fluffy, but they’ll still be great without it. The buttermilk however is a must. Trust me.

By the way, this recipe is also PERFECT for leftover turkey. I have a hunch you might have some soon. Pull the meat off first and make your stock with the bones and any extra bits and pieces. Tada!

Chicken Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Servings: 6-8ish
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filling:
4-5 lbs of chicken pieces, skin-on, bone-in. *see note
salt & pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 bay leaf
2 onions, 1 large, 1 small
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
10 tablespoons butter
1 cup flour

biscuit crust:
3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Make the filling:
Generously season your chicken with salt and pepper. In a large (at least 6 qt) heavy stockpot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add your chicken parts and brown them for about 5 minutes on each side. This doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s just to add flavor, but you can do this in stages if everything won’t fit. Roughly chop 1 small onion (skin on), 1 carrot, & 1 celery stalk (leaves on), and add to pot along with one bay leaf. Top with 8 cups of water, and cover the pot. Turn the heat down to medium and bring to a boil. Once the pot reaches a boil, turn the heat down again and let the pot simmer for at least an hour. If you have the time, another hour at a low simmer will only help build the flavor of your stock.

Remove pot from heat and let cool for 10 minutes or until you’re comfortable handling it. Using a large colander fitted inside a larger bowl, strain out the stock. You can use a strainer or sieve to skim the stock for anything that got through the colander. Measure out 6 cups of stock and keep any remaining for another use. Cover and set aside.

Let the chicken pieces cool for about 30 minutes or until you can handle them. You can use this time to chop the remaining vegetables for the next step. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken and discard along with boiled veggies & bay leaf. Pull the chicken into bite sized pieces and be careful to find and remove any small remaining bones. Place your cooked chicken in a bowl, cover and set aside.

Wipe your pot clean. You don’t have to wash it, just make sure there’s nothing in there you don’t want in the finished product. Dice the large onion, and cut your remaining carrots and celery into small pieces. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium high heat and add your chopped vegetables. Season with salt & pepper and cook until onions and celery are translucent and carrots are completely tender. Transfer to the bowl with the pulled chicken.

Back in your pot, melt the butter (you could also use some chicken fat skimmed from your stock) and whisk in flour. Cook until the flour just barely starts to brown. Slowly whisk in about half a cup of your stock, making sure there are no lumps of roux. Repeat twice more and then add remaining stock. Whisk out any lumps and bring to a boil, whisking regularly. When the gravy is well thickened, remove from heat, taste and adjust your seasoning if necessary. Add the chicken, cooked vegetables & frozen peas. Set aside. If your pot is oven safe you can bake your pie in it, or you can transfer to an oven safe bowl for a nicer presentation.

Make the biscuit crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt & cream of tartar. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse pea-sized crumbs. Form a well in the center of the bowl and in buttermilk. Use a fork to stir until just moistened. Do not over mix.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly 5 or 6 times, or until it just holds together. Pat or lightly roll dough out to 1/2 of an inch. Form a circle about the size of a your pot or bowl. If you have any remaining dough you can cut it into biscuits and bake separately. You can double the biscuit recipe if you definitely want more on the side. Carefully transfer your biscuit round to the top of your filling and score it with an X in the center using a sharp knife. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Any extra biscuits should be rolled to 3/4 of an inch and baked on a sheet pan for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.

Remove from oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with a nice chunk of crust.

*You can use whatever parts you like best, but I think an entire chicken, cut up into pieces, is perfect. If you like all white meat, use all breasts. If you can’t find an entire chicken cut up and don’t want to get into butchering, I think a mix of breasts and thighs has the best flavor.