Mama's Roast Chicken

Thank goodness our family didn’t have to eat my cooking every day; we each would have weighed in at more than 250 lbs.  My ability to add fat to a recipe has been recognized and brought under control by my wife’s watchful eye. My daughters have learned to serve themselves if they want a civilized portion, as opposed to mine which is designed to sate teenaged boy’s appetite. (Unfortunately we have never had one around.)

If it weren’t for my wife, vegetables would come only from a can, salads would consist exclusively of a wedge of iceberg lettuce with homemade 1000 island dressing and soup would be courtesy of Campbell’s. And then there’s chicken. In a recent post, you have seen one of three of my recipes for the preparation of chicken (the other two are grilled or smoked).

In future postings we will explore a variety of chicken recipes, courtesy of my wife and our collection of more than 200 cookbooks, but for today we’ll focus on roast chicken.

Before I joined my wife in the kitchen, the only thing I put in a roasting pan was beef. Herbs only existed in a dried form from McCormick’s. The things I’ve learned and shamelessly stolen from her repertoire are legion.

We’ve tried a variety of roast chicken recipes over the years, some called for various herbs and butter under the skin, and some called for stuffing. Our current favorite is remarkably simple, if you have the ingredients. 

Mama’s Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

1 4-6 lb. roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch of fresh thyme

1 lemon, halved

1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

(If this is too healthy for you see the recipe for gravy at the end of this recipe.) 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Prepare the chicken by rinsing it thoroughly inside and out making sure to remove any excess fat and any giblets that may be in the cavity. Pat the outside of the chicken dry.

Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, lemon and garlic.

Rub the outside of the chicken with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan.

Roast the chicken for 1 ½ hours, or until the juices run clear (no evidence of blood) when you cut between the leg and thigh.

When cooked, remove from the oven. Move the chicken to a plate and cover with foil as you prepare the rest of the meal about 15 minutes.

Slice the chicken into its parts, legs, thighs and breast. I recommend removing the breast whole and then slicing it crosswise into inch thick portions. 

Gotta have gravy? Here ya go:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of fat from the bottom of the roasting pan reserved in a small bowl after roasting

1 cup of chicken stock

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

After you have removed the chicken from the roasting pan, drain all the fat from the pan, reserving the 2 tablespoons, add the chicken stock to the pan and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes, until reduced, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Combine the 2 tablespoons of chicken fat with the flour in the small bowl by whisking it until smooth.

Add the fat and flour mixture to the stock in the pan whisking to combine.

Reduce heat to simmer as soon as the mixture comes together. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stir the mixture periodically until you are ready to serve.

If it gets too thick, add a tablespoon of cold water at a time to return to desired thickness.

Serve the gravy on the side.

Brown like Fried Chicken

One of the things I’ve truly enjoyed about living in Texas is the expressions that people conjure up. Texans don’t even know they are turning a phrase; they are just trying to be descriptive so you’ll understand what they’re talking about.

One July afternoon, we were visiting Grandparents in San Antonio. The girls had just completed swimming season where they had spent eight hours a day at the pool working out and playing with friends. I don’t care how much suntan lotion you smear on a child, if they spend that much time in the sun they will eventually become tan.  Needless to say “Nana” (grandmother) couldn’t help but notice how tan the girls had become and began to regale us with stories of how her Alsatian Grandmother would never let her go out in the sun unless she was completely covered and how hot it was growing up in South Texas without air conditioning. About that time, we were joined by my brother-in-law fresh off the golf course, where he gets most of his exposure to the sun. He listened long enough to grasp the conversation and walked up to the girls to compare tans. With all their forearms aligned he pronounced, “You girls are just like me, when you spend time in the sun, you get brown like fried chicken”.  We burst into laughter, but you know it is absolutely the best description of the color of the perfect summer tan.  Ever since, in our family you have not achieved a proper summer tan until you have achieved that “brown like fried chicken” look.

Just in case you’ve forgotten what color fried chicken really is, I offer the best fried chicken recipe ever. Everyone I’ve ever prepared this for has been blown away by how the meat is moist and the coating is crisp. However, it’s best if those who will be dining with you don’t actually see the ingredients or the preparation. Some are offended by the use of lard. All I’m going to say is, lard contains no trans-fats. And you may want to take an extra dose of your cholesterol medication just in case.

This recipe provides a clear explanation for why fried chicken was served on Sunday. You must start the preparation at least 16 hours before the cooking begins.  So, pick your favorite long weekend and give this a try you won’t be disappointed.

Serves 4 servings (I recommend doubling the recipe below. Why would you go to this much trouble and not have leftovers)

• 1/2 cup kosher salt (do not use table salt for brining)
• 2 quarts cold water
• 1 three-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 1 pound lard
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup country ham pieces, or 1 thick slice country ham cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedures

To make the brine: Stir kosher salt into cold water until dissolved. Place chicken parts in a nonreactive bowl or pot; add enough brine to cover completely. Refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.

Drain the brined chicken and rinse out the bowl it was brined in. Return chicken to the bowl, and pour the buttermilk over. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. Drain the chicken on a wire rack, discarding the buttermilk.

Meanwhile, prepare the fat for frying by putting the lard, butter and country ham into a heavy skillet or frying pan. Cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, skimming as needed, until the butter ceases to throw off foam and the country ham is browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ham carefully from the fat.  (If I have spectators in the kitchen, they can’t resist eating the cubes of fried ham. And I must say they are darn tasty.)

Just before frying, increase the temperature to medium-high and heat the fat to 335 degrees. Prepare the dredge by blending together the flour, cornstarch, paprika, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or on wax paper. (I prefer to mix my flour in a gallon Ziplock bag. You drop three or four pieces into the bag at a time, close it up and give them a shake.)
Dredge the drained chicken pieces thoroughly in the flour mixture, and then pat well to remove all excess flour. Using tongs, slip some of the chicken pieces, skin side down, into the heated fat. (Do not overcrowd the pan or the cooking fat will cool. Fry in batches, if necessary.) Regulate the fat so it just bubbles, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Drain thoroughly on a wire rack or on crumpled paper towels, and serve.

Fried chicken is delicious eaten hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.