Read Online Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Julia Child
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fat and boil down cooking liquid to reduce by half. Off heat, swirl in the enrichment butter, pour the sauce over the chicken, and serve.
WHEN IS THE CHICKEN DONE? The flesh of the drumsticks and thighs is just tender when pressed. The juices run clear yellow when the meat is pricked deeply—if there’s no juice, you have overcooked it, but the chicken must be cooked through.
VARIATIONS
A PROVENÇAL ADDITION. After returning the white meat to the pan, stir in 2 cups of fresh tomato pulp , and continue with the recipe. When you have removed the chicken, boil down the sauce until thick and fine, and carefully correct seasoning.
CHICKEN PIPÉRADE. In a separate pan, sauté 1 cup of sliced onions in olive oil until tender then add 1 cup each of sliced red and green pepper and a large clove of garlic, minced. Sauté together for a moment. Add to the chicken when you return the white meat.
BONNE FEMME—ONIONS, POTATOES, AND MUSHROOMS. After removing the white meat, add to the dark meat 3 or 4 medium Yukon-gold potatoes, quartered and blanched, and 8 to 12 small white onions . Continue with the recipe. After returning the white meat, fold in 1½ cups of previously sautéed quartered fresh mushrooms, and finish the recipe.
PROVENÇAL HERBS—HERBES DE PROVENCE.— A mixture of ground dried herbs, such as bay, thyme, rosemary, and oregano.
BROILING
Broiling, where the heat comes from above, is of course the opposite of barbecuing, where the heat source comes from below. Broiling, however, has the advantage that you are more easily in control. If your broiler is so equipped, you can raise or lower the heat, or in any case you can move the food nearer or farther from the broiler element. In some instances you simply broil on both sides until the food is completely cooked, and in others you may find that broiling just on one side is sufficient. In still other cases, especially when you have something large like a butterflied roasting chicken, you will want to broil and brown the two sides but finish by roasting—very convenient when your oven is both broiler and roaster. There are no rules, and it is quite up to you to decide. Here are some examples.
MASTER RECIPE
Broiled Butterflied Chicken Serves 4
Rather than broiling a chicken in pieces, which is easy to do but not wildly exciting, and rather than roasting it whole, which takes an hour or more, butterfly your chicken. It cooks in half the time and makes a great presentation.
A 2½-to-3-pound broiler-fryer chicken, butterflied
2 Tbs melted butter blended with 2 tsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ tsp dried thyme or an herb mixture
For the Deglazing Sauce
1 Tbs minced shallot or scallion
½ cup chicken broth and/or dry white wine or vermouth
1 to 2 Tbs butter, for enrichment
TO BUTTERFLY A CHICKEN. With heavy shears or a cleaver, cut down close to the backbone on each side, and remove the bone. Spread the chicken open, skin side up, and pound on the breast with your fist to flatten the chicken. Cut off and discard the little nubbins at the wing elbows, and fold the wings akimbo. To hold the legs in place, make ½-inch slits in the skin on each side of the lower breast and tuck the drumstick ends through the slits.
Preheat the broiler to high. Brush the chicken all over with butter and oil and arrange it skin side down in a shallow pan. Set it under the broiler so the chicken surface is about 6 inches from the heat source. Let broil for about 5 minutes, then baste rapidly with the butter and oil, and continue for another 5 minutes. The surface should be browningnicely; if not, adjust the heat or the distance of chicken from broiler. Baste again, this time with the juices accumulated in the pan, and broil another 5 minutes. Then season with salt and pepper, turn the chicken skin side up, and season the surface. Continue broiling and basting with the pan juices every 5 minutes for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is done .
Remove the chicken to
WHEN IS THE CHICKEN DONE? The flesh of the drumsticks and thighs is just tender when pressed. The juices run clear yellow when the meat is pricked deeply—if there’s no juice, you have overcooked it, but the chicken must be cooked through.
VARIATIONS
A PROVENÇAL ADDITION. After returning the white meat to the pan, stir in 2 cups of fresh tomato pulp , and continue with the recipe. When you have removed the chicken, boil down the sauce until thick and fine, and carefully correct seasoning.
CHICKEN PIPÉRADE. In a separate pan, sauté 1 cup of sliced onions in olive oil until tender then add 1 cup each of sliced red and green pepper and a large clove of garlic, minced. Sauté together for a moment. Add to the chicken when you return the white meat.
BONNE FEMME—ONIONS, POTATOES, AND MUSHROOMS. After removing the white meat, add to the dark meat 3 or 4 medium Yukon-gold potatoes, quartered and blanched, and 8 to 12 small white onions . Continue with the recipe. After returning the white meat, fold in 1½ cups of previously sautéed quartered fresh mushrooms, and finish the recipe.
PROVENÇAL HERBS—HERBES DE PROVENCE.— A mixture of ground dried herbs, such as bay, thyme, rosemary, and oregano.
BROILING
Broiling, where the heat comes from above, is of course the opposite of barbecuing, where the heat source comes from below. Broiling, however, has the advantage that you are more easily in control. If your broiler is so equipped, you can raise or lower the heat, or in any case you can move the food nearer or farther from the broiler element. In some instances you simply broil on both sides until the food is completely cooked, and in others you may find that broiling just on one side is sufficient. In still other cases, especially when you have something large like a butterflied roasting chicken, you will want to broil and brown the two sides but finish by roasting—very convenient when your oven is both broiler and roaster. There are no rules, and it is quite up to you to decide. Here are some examples.
MASTER RECIPE
Broiled Butterflied Chicken Serves 4
Rather than broiling a chicken in pieces, which is easy to do but not wildly exciting, and rather than roasting it whole, which takes an hour or more, butterfly your chicken. It cooks in half the time and makes a great presentation.
A 2½-to-3-pound broiler-fryer chicken, butterflied
2 Tbs melted butter blended with 2 tsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ tsp dried thyme or an herb mixture
For the Deglazing Sauce
1 Tbs minced shallot or scallion
½ cup chicken broth and/or dry white wine or vermouth
1 to 2 Tbs butter, for enrichment
TO BUTTERFLY A CHICKEN. With heavy shears or a cleaver, cut down close to the backbone on each side, and remove the bone. Spread the chicken open, skin side up, and pound on the breast with your fist to flatten the chicken. Cut off and discard the little nubbins at the wing elbows, and fold the wings akimbo. To hold the legs in place, make ½-inch slits in the skin on each side of the lower breast and tuck the drumstick ends through the slits.
Preheat the broiler to high. Brush the chicken all over with butter and oil and arrange it skin side down in a shallow pan. Set it under the broiler so the chicken surface is about 6 inches from the heat source. Let broil for about 5 minutes, then baste rapidly with the butter and oil, and continue for another 5 minutes. The surface should be browningnicely; if not, adjust the heat or the distance of chicken from broiler. Baste again, this time with the juices accumulated in the pan, and broil another 5 minutes. Then season with salt and pepper, turn the chicken skin side up, and season the surface. Continue broiling and basting with the pan juices every 5 minutes for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is done .
Remove the chicken to
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