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Have Your Beer and Eat it Too – Beer-Brined Chicken

While I am not a huge beer drinker by any means, I do enjoy having a good beer now and then. While I am particularly partial to having a Guinness, I try to keep an open mind and do drink several other different craft beers. I appreciate that not everyone enjoys having beer is there beverage of choice, but making use of beer in cooking can be quite tasty. Not only is it great to use in batters for things like fish or shrimp, I have also found a few different recipes that make use of beer in both the brine that is used for additional flavoring and in the braising or roasting. That is just what this particular recipe has to offer that I found at New York Times Cooking for beer-brined roast chicken. The original recipe comes from Red Rooster Harlem, a well-known restaurant here in New York. The recipe itself is pretty simple, though you do need to plan a little bit ahead so that you can brine the chicken and have it ready to go for roasting.

Beer-Brined Roast Chicken

For the Brine:

1 cup kosher salt

⅔ cup packed light brown sugar

4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

1 leek (white and light green part), quartered

5 sprigs thyme

7 sprigs sage

2 shallots, halved and peeled

3 (12-ounce) bottles lager-style beer

For the Chicken and Vegetables:

1 whole chicken (4 to 4 1/2 pounds)

1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

1 ½ pounds fingerling potatoes (or other small potato), cut in half lengthwise

2 cups whole peeled pearl onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 to 4 sprigs sage

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer

To prepare the brine, in a large pot combine 8 cups of water, the salt and the sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer over high heat, stirring to help dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the garlic, leek, thyme, sage and shallots; let the brine cool to room temperature.

Place the chicken in a deep container large enough to hold it and the brine. Pour the cooled brine over the chicken. Pour in the 3 bottles of beer until the chicken is submerged; cover the chicken and refrigerate it overnight.

To prepare the chicken and vegetables, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the Brussels sprouts, potatoes, onions, chopped sage and lemon zest in a large bowl. Drizzle the vegetables with vegetable oil and season them with salt and pepper; toss the vegetables to evenly coat them.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat the skin dry with paper towels. Place about half of the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan or large sauté pan and set the chicken on top of the vegetables. Rub the butter evenly over the top of the chicken to coat it well. Pour the bottle of beer into the pan and arrange the sage sprigs in the pan around the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes with the liquid in the pan.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Spread the remaining vegetables on a baking sheet and place them on a low rack or the bottom of the oven. Cook everything until the chicken skin is golden brown and crisp and the vegetables are just tender and slightly charred, 20 to 30 more minutes, stirring the vegetables and basting the chicken once halfway through.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. Plate chicken with a mix of roasted veggies and the vegetables from the pan. Spoon the reduced cooking liquid from the pan over the top.

This is a pretty basic roast chicken recipe with vegetables that lets you do most of the work all in one pan. I love roasting this way because you get to use just one pan and you get a great melding of flavors as the chicken juices run onto the vegetables and everything tastes great. I actually poured out the juices from the vegetables once the chicken was done and thickened all of the juices up as a gravy in a separate pan. It was great flavor that came from the beer, the chicken and vegetables. I used a Samuel Adams beer, actually their Maple Ale that is part of their seasonal beers that are out right now and it added a very nice flavor to the sauce and the chicken, but you could certainly use any beer that you enjoy the most. The vegetables were all roasted very nicely and had great flavor also. You can use a mix of any root vegetables you really like here to make the dish your own, but I love roasted Brussels sprouts myself. Throw in some carrots with the potatoes and you have everything to go. I actually made some of our favorite biscuits to go with everything to make the meal complete.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Cook’s Country Recipe Week Part 5 – Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

02 Aug

If you follow along regularly with this blog, then you likely know that not only do we eat a lot of chicken, but also that I love to make roast chicken in various ways. I am always on the lookout for a new roast chicken recipe to try and when this one came along in Cook’s Country magazine, I knew right away that I would be giving it a try. The only thing that makes this recipe even better is that you can do the whole meal in just one pan and have it done perfectly in under an hour.

Pan-Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

3/4 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 pound shallots, peeled and halved

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces, thick ends halved lengthwise

6 garlic cloves, peeled

4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts cut in half crosswise, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs), trimmed

Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Toss the Brussels sprouts, potatoes, shallots, carrots, garlic, 2 teaspoons of thyme, oil, 1 teaspoon of rosemary, sugar, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper together in a bowl. Combine the butter, the remaining 2 teaspoons of thyme, the remaining 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper in a second bowl; set aside.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place the vegetables in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, arranging the Brussels sprouts in the center. Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the vegetables, arranging the breast pieces in the center and the leg and thigh pieces around the perimeter of the baking sheet.

Brush the chicken with the herb butter and roast until the breasts register 160 degrees and the drumsticks and thighs register 175 degrees, about 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through the cooking process. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Toss the vegetables in the pan juices and transfer them to the platter with the chicken. Serve.

There are a few things about this recipe you want to keep in mind. Here is one time where it really pays to have a good, large rimmed baking sheet. You want a big one that will hold everything well without overcrowding so that everything roasts well instead of steams in the baking sheet. You also want one that will hold up well under high heat and not warp at all. The high heat used in the recipe lets you cook everything in under an hour, gives you great caramelization on the vegetables and makes the chicken skin crispy and perfect. Adding the herb butter the chicken really helps to give it extra flavor and crisp the skin too. The vegetables get a lot of great flavor from the drippings of the chicken. Having the Brussels sprouts in the middle of the pan makes a difference here too. Since they tend to cook faster than the carrots and potatoes, you want them in the middle and the other vegetables on the outer part of the sheet where there is more heat. Same goes for the chicken breasts. Keeping it in the cooler part of the sheet helps everything be at the right temperature at the same time.

That’s all I have for today. I hoped you liked the Cook’s Country recipes for this week. Check back tomorrow for the peach-blueberry ice cream pie recipe I have been promising all week. I am also planning some recipes for next week as well, so we’ll see what I can come up with and decide to make. until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on August 2, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: Brussels sprouts, Cook's Country, Cook's Country pan-roasted chicken and vegetables, pan-roasted chicken and vegetables, roast chicken recipe

Flip Flopping Days & Making Roast Chicken

12 Apr

I had intended to make a pork loin for dinner tonight until I realized this morning that I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients for the stuffing, so I have flipped the pork loin until tomorrow and am making a roast chicken recipe instead. I have made roast chicken before, but this recipe is a little different. I got this one from Bon Appetit. They are running on article called 5 Dinners For Under $100 and this is the first dinner they mentioned. It’s a very inexpensive meal of roast chicken with a warm parsley sauce, oven glazed carrots and I am making some rice to go with it. The chicken itself only cost me $4.50 ($9.00 actually, since they were packaged as 2 whole chickens, about 3 pounds each), and everything else in the recipes I already had in the house, so it’s easy and cheap!

Roasted Chicken with Warm Parsley Sauce and Oven Glazed Carrots

1 whole 3-3 1/2 pounds chicken, giblets reserved for another use (think stock)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves, 1 halved, 1 minced

1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 teaspoon honey

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Generously season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, breast side up, and cook until the skin is brown, about 6-8 minutes. Tip the pan to one side to gather the accumulated fat and juices and baste the top of the chicken. Return the pan to the oven and cook the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, about 50-55 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a carving board, rib with the garlic halves, and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Pour off the fat and juices from the skillet, leaving the browned bits in the pan; set the skillet aside.

Meanwhile, combine the carrots, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, honey,and cayenne in a small bowl; toss to coat. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until the bottoms of the carrots are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir and cook until the carrots are tender and brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest in a small bowl. Heat the reserved skillet over medium heat. Pour in the parsley oil and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until heated through. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and swirl the pan to mix. Season the sauce to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve warm parsley sauce alongside of the chicken and carrots.

I added some rice to the dish to complete the meal, but it was very easy to make overall. Tomorrow night, I promise, is the Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin. It’s a little more labor intensive than tonight’s meal, but we have had it before and we loved it. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!