Thursday, July 17, 2008

Chicken therapy: roast chicken


When the going gets tough, I take it out on a nice little organic, free range chicken.
A small wedge of onion with some terrace herbs (tarragon, thyme, parsley) inside, the juice of a lime squeezed over, liberal salt and some pepper on top, some potato cut up around, popped into a hot oven: About 420'F (210'C) for somewhere between an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half. At some point I instinctively add a slosh of water to keep the juices going in the cast iron pan, but otherwise I don't even look at it. The skin is perfectly crisp, the meat moist, the juices caramelized, sticky and slightly tart. You can deglaze with some water when it's done, or wine, but often it's not necessary.

The chicken drug. I recommend it.

12 comments:

  1. This looks and sounds delicious. The use of lime is interesting. I always use lemon. Hmmmmmmmm

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  2. Oh, the two of you are so conventional. I use both lime and lemon. ;-)

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  3. Marie, I have given you an award. Please pop over to the birdbath to read about it. Congratulations!

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  4. I just stopped by from Lavinia's blog and had to say this looks like a fantastic chicken recipe...I have one of those cast iron skillets that I never use...and I love roasted chicken so I'm going to try this! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  5. I use limes because you can get 7 for $1. Lemons are 2 for $1.

    Deep, isn't it??

    Lavinia, I am intrigued...

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  6. Sara, this is a delicious chicken...good luck! And cast iron is my favourite.

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  7. Hello...I came over here by way of Lavinia. Congratulations on your award. I love the look of your chicken. I have never thought of roasting in a skillet before. Great idea! I am also an avid gardener. I applaud you for your lovely terrace garden. I think I will enjoy reading more about your adventures in N.Y.C. I once live in Westchester as a teenage, and so loved exploring that city on the weekends with my friends.

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  8. Welcome back to New York via cyberspace, then!

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  9. I just perused through the rest of your posts. I found out you are not just a gardener, but a garden designer! My dream job! I love the whole blank canvas thing myself. I think that is why I keep moving…to start a new garden...bliss! I actually have designed a few gardens, but I am a grandma and still don't know what I want to do when I grow up :0)

    This is a charming blog I am sure I will be back.

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  10. Once you've used your cast iron, you never go back.

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  11. Ah yes, cooking to soothe the soul. I'm with you. The chicken looks absolutely delicious. Sounds like it was just the thing too!

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  12. We have a Spanek vertical chicken roaster which came from the US. We do chicken in this way, with the potatoes around the base in a little water, it is absolutely delicious. Your photo is making me feel very hungry indeed! x

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