Stewed Chicken

• Omit the celery and parsnip and add 2 large turnips, peeled and diced, or 1 large rutabaga, peeled and diced, in their stead. Substitute 1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves for the dill. Finish the cooking broth with 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or lemon juice just before serving.

1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
2. One 4- to 5-pound whole chicken, giblets 
3. and neck removed, trussed with butcher’s twine
4. 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 
5. 2-inch pieces
6. 2 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only, split lengthwise, the inner layers washed carefully of any sand, then sliced into 2-inch pieces
7. 2 celery ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces
8. 1 parsnip, peeled, cut into 2-inch sections, and each cut into lengthwise quarters
9. 1 bay leaf
10. About 6 cups chicken broth, or enough just to cover the bird in the pot
11. 1 teaspoon salt
12. 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
13. 4 ounces dried egg noodles
14. 1 tablespoon chopped dill fronds

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the trussed chicken breast side down. Brown well for about 2 minutes, shaking and nudging to make sure the skin isn’t sticking. Turn the chicken breast side up and continue cooking until golden, turning on all sides and basting often with the pan juices, about 8 more minutes.
• Transfer to a Dutch oven that will hold the bird snugly; it must not swim around. Add the carrots, leeks, celery, parsnip, and bay leaf, sticking the vegetables down around the chicken. Pour in the broth; add the salt and pepper. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
• Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook at a very slow bubble until the vegetables are tender and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165°F (our preference) or 180°F, 50 to 65 minutes. Using large tongs to pick up the chicken and a spatula to support it from underneath, transfer to a cutting or carving board for 10 minutes before carving. If desired, skim the fat off the broth.
• Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid in the pot to a full simmer. Add the noodles and dill, stir well, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Serve in large bowls with the broth, noodles, and vegetables ladled over the cut-up pieces of chicken.

Read More

Chicken Roasted in a Salt Crust

• To test for doneness, push an instant-read thermometer into the chicken through the salt crust, eyeing where the thigh is through the crust itself. If you’re unsure of placement, make a little fi  nger indention in the crust as you’re shaping it to show you where to guide the thermometer in. Or use an old-fashioned, oven-safe probe. 
• Once the chicken is covered in the leaves, insert the probe into the thickest section of the thigh through the leaves, then build the salt crust over the bird and around the probe, leaving its display sticking outside the crust, which should hold it in place while the chicken roasts.

1. 6 pounds kosher salt
2. 3 cups water
3. One 16-ounce jar grape leaves, drained and rinsed
4. 2 lemons, cut into quarters
5. 2 bay leaves
6. 1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns
7. One 4- to 5-pound chicken, giblets and neck removed
8. Butcher’s twine

• Position the rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Stir the salt and water in a large bowl to form a thick, doughlike paste. Place 3 cups in the bottom of a large roasting pan, patting it out to about 5 inches larger than the chicken. Pack down, then cover completely with a double layer of overlapping grape leaves (perhaps 15 in total), leaving a 1-inch border of salt at the edges.
• Place the lemon quarters, bay leaves, and peppercorns inside the chicken, then truss the bird with butcher’s twine.
• Place the chicken on the grape-leaf bed, then cover the chicken with the remaining grape leaves, leaving no exposed holes. Fold up any exposed leaves on the grape-leaf bed to meet those already on the chicken.
• Gently mound the remaining salt dough onto the leaves, thereby covering the chicken but taking care not to disturb the leaves. Mold the salt mixture to the bird’s shape. Seal any and all cracks by wetting your hands and patting the salt in place.
• Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 160°F (our preference) or 175°F, about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. (In this case, the internal temperature will rise in the salt dome as the chicken sits.)
• Whack the crust a couple of times with a meat mallet to break it. Carefully remove the pieces, making sure they don’t crumble into the meat. Remove and discard the grape leaves, lemon wedges, bay leaves, and peppercorns; transfer the chicken to a board for carving.

Read More