Tag Archives: chicken

Finger-Lickin’ Chicken

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BentleyIt’s a lazy Sunday afternoon .. Curt tinkering in his wood shop + Mo our feline and Bentley our St. Bernard napping + breezy spring day = time to light up the smoker!

Check out these birds we found at Whole Foods market .. no growth hormones here! Looks like these chicks were able to walk around and forage to their hearts content. So if I’m gonna light up the smoker and babysit the coals for several hours, I fill that baby up! Also on the menu: rack of baby backs and a few brats.
RibsSmoke & Spice cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison is my textbook for smoking. Seriously, it’s by far the best book I’ve read about cooking with smoke. Check out this recipe, which is likely the best way of cooking a whole chicken ever invented in America!

Chicken on a Throne

Wild Willy’s Number One-derful Rub
6 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugarMo
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne

Injection Liquid
12 ounces beer
1/4 cup oil, preferably canola or corn
1/4 cup cider or white vinegar
2 teaspoons Wild Willy’s rub

Throne Mop (optional)
Smoke & Spice cookbook12 ounces beer
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup oil, preferably canola or corn
1 tablespoon Wild Willy’s rub

Two 3 1/2-pound whole chickens
Two 12-ounce cans beer (no bottles, please)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup cider or white vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
barbecue sauce

Serves 5-6Prepped chickens

The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the injection liquid. Remove the organs from the cavity of the chickens. With a kitchen syringe, inject about 1/2 cup of the injection liquid deep into the breast and legs of each chicken in several spots. MoppingMassage the chickens thoroughly, inside and out, with the remaining injection liquid, working it as far as possible under the skin without tearing the skin. Cover the chickens well with the dry rub, again massaging inside and out, over and under the skin. Place the chickens in a plastic bag and refrigerate them.

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200-220 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove chickens from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temp for about 30 minutes. While you wait, open the 2 beer cans and drink half–and only half–of each beer. With a can opener, remove the tops of the half-empty beer cans. Place half of the onion, vinegar, garlic and reserved rub in each can. Insert the replenished beer cans into the cavities of the chickens, balTemperature gaugeancing the birds so they rest upright with their legs bent forward. The cans should sit flat on the grill or on a cooking tray, holding the chickens at attention while their insides are steaming and their outsides are smoking.chimney

If you are going to mop, combine the ingredients in a saucepan and keep the mixture warm over low heat. Transfer the chickens to the smoker. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, mopping every 30 minutes. When the chickens are done, their legs will move freely and the internal temp should be 180 to 185 degrees.

Let the chickens sit for 5-10 minutes, carve, and serve with BBQ sauce on the side.

Done!

Turkey Pot Pie

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Turkey Pot PieThere are certain cookbooks sitting on my bookcase that look like they were rescued from the Titanic .. you probably have a few like this .. tattered covers, numerous bookmarks, crumpled, stained pages ..

The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook is that book in my collection. I have several favorite recipes in the book, but one that tops my list is Chicken Pot Pie. Sadly, I overcooked yesterday’s Thanksgiving turkey a tad, so this was my “day after” go-to recipe.

Thanksgiving TableAfter hosting a houseful of guests yesterday, I was ready for some serious comfort food on this cloudy, rainy day. I’ve made this dish several times, with both chicken and turkey, and it is definitely one of my favorites.

Fresh veggiesIf you’re using leftover turkey or chicken and have stock on hand, just cut meat into bite-size pieces and skip steps 1-3.

Chicken Pot Pie
9 cups water
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces, skinned
3 celery stalks, each cut into 4 pieces
1 small onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups diced unpeeled round red potato
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup thinly sliced carrot
1/2 cup chopped leak (about 1 small)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen green peas
6 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
Cooking spray
Biscuit Topping (recipe below)

Garlic1. Combine first 6 ingredients in an 8-quart Dutch oven or stock pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour. Remove from heat.

2. Remove chicken pieces from broth. Place chicken in a large bowl and chill for 15 minutes. Strain broth through a cheesecloth-lined colander into a bowl; discard solids. Set aside 4 1/2 cups broth; reserve remaining broth for another use.

3. Remove chicken from bones; cut meat into bite-size pieces.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Veggies5. Bring 4 1/2 cups broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add potato, chopped celery, bell pepper and garlic; cover and cook 5 minutes. Add carrot and leek; cover and cook 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and peas; cover and cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

6. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add milk, stirring with a whisk; add to vegetable mixture. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add chicken.Stock with vegetables

7. Spoon into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Drop Biscuit Topping onto mixture to form 16 biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden. Yield: 8 servings (serving size about 1 cup chicken mixture and 2 biscuits.)

Pot PieBiscuit Topping
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and garlic powder in a bowl. Stir in milk and margarine just until flour mixture is moistened. Yield: 16 biscuits.

Pot Pie

Chicken Fricassee

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So I consider myself to be a safety-aware chef … but recently I really blew it.  Since autumn has finally arrived in Pasadena I was drawn to one of my favorite cookbooks, All About Braising by Molly Stevens.  While slicing onions on my mandolin to make chicken fricassee, my thumb got a little too close to the blade, and … ouch … I lost a few layers of skin!  I won’t make that same mistake twice.  Yawwwwch!

In spite of the thumb incident, this dish turned out beautifully and I’m anxious to share Molly’s recipe with you.

Chicken Fricassee with Artichokes & Mushrooms
One 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces or 2 3/4 pounds legs and thighs
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 14-ounce can artichoke bottoms (not hearts) drained, rinsed and quartered
3/4 pound (12 ounces) button mushrooms, quartered
1 medium yellow onion (about 6 ounces) thinly sliced
1/4 cup Cognac, or other good brandy
1 1/4 cups dry white wine or dry white vermouth
Two 2- to 3-inch leafy fresh thyme sprigs
One 2- to 3-inch leafy fresh marjoram sprig
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 lemon (optional)

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Dredging the chicken: rinse the chicken pieces and dry well with paper towels. Generously season with salt and pepper. Spread the flour in a wide shallow dish. Dredge chicken pieces, turning to coat both sides.
  3. Searing the chicken: Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add half of the chicken pieces skin side down and cook until the skin is an even blond color but not at all brown, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook the second side until blond, another 4 minutes or so. Transfer to a large plate or tray to catch any drips. Cook the second batch of chicken; set aside with the rest.
  4. The aromatics: Return the pot to medium heat; add the artichokes, mushrooms and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the platter with the chicken.
  5. Flaming the Cognac and building the braising liquid: Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the Cognac and carefully ignite it with a match. Be careful as the flames can be high. Let the flames die down, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot as the Cognac boils to dislodge any lovely browned bits. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Simmer to reduce by one quarter, 8 to 10 minutes.
  6. The braise: Add the chicken pieces to the pot, setting the breasts on top to protect them from overcooking. Add the vegetables, along with the thyme, marjoram, garlic and any juices that have collected on the platter. Cover the pot with parchment paper, then cover tightly with the lid. Slide onto a rack in the lower third of the oven and braise gently for 15 minutes. Turn the breast pieces over and continue braising until the chicken is fork-tender, another 40-45 minutes.
  7. The finish: With a slotted spoon or tongs, lift the chicken pieces and most of the mushrooms and artichokes from the pan; transfer to serving platter. Skim as much surface fat as you have the patience for from the braising liquid. Set the sauce over medium-high heat and bring to a strong simmer. Lift out and discard the herb sprigs. Let the sauce simmer vigorously to reduce in volume and concentrate in flavor for about 5 minutes. Add the creme fraiche and continue to simmer to reduce to the consistency of a thin cream soup, another 5 minutes or so. Taste for salt and pepper. If the sauce tastes flat, add a squeeze of lemon.

I served the chicken with spaghetti squash and braised cabbage (another excellent Molly Stevens recipe).