Poulet Roti Roast Chicken French Style Food

SUPER SIMPLE FRENCH ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350F - use the convection setting if you have it.
• Start with a whole chicken, about 3.5-4 lbs.
• Remove the insides. Your bagged chicken might have a neck and gizzards inside the cavity. Reach your hand inside and pull them out. You can wear a glove if you prefer. You can discard the neck and the gizzards unless you are planning to make chicken Soup with the carcass - in that case keep the neck to add to the bouillon for flavor.
• Pat down the chicken with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Removing the moisture helps to make a crispy skin!
• Set the chicken in a roasting pan greased with olive oil. I use a pan big enough with space around it for the potatoes (Roasted Chicken is always served with potatoes in France!)
• Inside the chicken cavity add the Rosemary, sage and thyme for flavor as well as several cloves of garlic and a pinch of coarse salt.
• Using cooking twine, tie the legs together. This is not necessary but a chicken does look more elegant with her knees together...!
• Sprinkle coarse salt over the top of the chicken
• Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil generously over the chicken.
• Slice a whole head of garlic, skin on, in half (width wise) and place each half on opposite sides of the pan (skin side down)
• Arrange the diced potatoes around the chicken and garlic.
• Add the remaining olive oil over the garlic and potatoes.
• Place 3 tablespoons of butter around the potatoes. (Using butter as well as olive oil on the potatoes makes for the most amazing crispy potatoes!)
• Place your roasting pan on the middle rack of your oven. Set the timer for 1 hour 45 minutes
• Halfway though, take the roasting pan out of the oven and give the potatoes a stir so that they brown on all sides. Spoon some of the liquid at the bottom of the pan over the chicken to keep it moist. Set the chicken back in the oven and leave it alone until time is up!
• Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 20 minutes before serving.

RED WINE ROAST CHICKEN (POULET ROTI AU VIN ROUGE)

Steps:

• Mix together the wine, tomato paste, thyme, marjoram, and vinegar. Season the chicken with plenty of salt and pepper, then place in a resealable bag with the wine mixture. Shake the bag to make sure each piece is well coated. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
• Place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold water, cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes, then drain in a colander.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the onions, carrots, and cooked potatoes in a large baking dish or tray and pour in the water.
• Arrange the chicken pieces, skin-side up, in a layer on top of the vegetables in the dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover with a sheet of parchment or foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the parchment and baste the chicken with the cooking liquid. Roast, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, or until the skin is crisp. Serve immediately.

DJEDJ MECHOUI (ALGERIAN POULET ROTI/ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
• Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and slide your fingers under the skin of the breast and thighs to loosen/separate it from the flesh.
• Mash the garlic with the salt, using a fork or a mortar and pestle.
• Work the garlic/salt paste into the butter and then work in the spices; using your fingers, spread the spiced butter into the cavities between the skin and the flesh of the chicken.
• Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Season the cavity with salt and pepper and place the four lemon halves and the thyme inside.
• Roast the chicken breast side down for 15 minutes.
• Turn the chicken breast side up and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Baste frequently, using additional water and olive oil as needed.
• If the skin begins to brown too soon, cover with foil (but remove the foil about 15 minutes before the roasting time is up).
• The chicken should be done in about 90 minutes; the skin between the breasts and the legs should become almost transparent, the legs should move easily in the socket, and any juices should be clear.
• Let rest before carving.
• Strain excess fat out of the cooking juices and squeeze in some lemon juice for a lovely flavor.
• Note: Zari suggests serving with orange salads dressed with pomegranate vinaigrette and carrot salads dressed with lemon, cumin and olive oil.

CROCKPOT ROASTED CHICKEN (POULET ROTI - A RECIPE INSPIRED BY CHE

Steps:

• Put the onions in the bottom of your crockpot.
• Mix together the herbs and spices, rubbing them together with your fingers to blend.
• Gently lift the skin from either side of the breast and using your fingers, push a bit of the herb mix under each side.
• Turn the chicken over and make a small slit behind each thigh and push some of the herb mix under the thigh skin.
• Sprinkle the rest of the herb mixture over the top of the chicken and if you have any left sprinkle it inside the chicken.
• Put your chicken into the crockpot, on top of the onions, breast side up. No liquid is needed, the chicken will make it's own juices!
• Cook in the crockpot on the low setting for 4-6 hours. My crockpot cooked the chicken in about 5 hours. I'd recommend a pop-up timer in the chicken because some crock pots cook faster/slower than others.

POULET RôTI (ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Rinse and pat chicken dry.
• If your chicken has a neck and giblets, put them in a small pot, cover with water and a little onion (dry onion or powder work too) and carrots if you have them and a little the same herbs used in the chicken, bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour, strain this and use for your gravy for extra flavor - you can also cook in canned low sodium chicken broth, for more flavor.
• Mix together all your herbs and spices, rub together with your fingers or if you have a mortar and pestle, grind them a few times to blend.
• Gently lift the skin from either side of the breast and using your finger push some of the herb mix under each side.
• Turn over the chicken and make a small slit behind each thigh and push some herb mix under the thigh skin (this step is optional, but it makes the thighs extra tasty).
• Place you chicken in a roasting pan that has been sprayed or lightly oiled, if roasting a single chicken, a cast iron frying pan is perfect for this.
• If using the olive, rub or drizzle over the chicken then, rub or sprinkle extra herb mix all over the outside of the chicken (do this even without the oil, a little extra salt and pepper in the cavity is also a good thing.
• You have 2 options, #1 - turn the chicken breast side down on a rack that has also been sprayed or oiled, half way through cooking turn breast up; #2 - cook the entire time breast up, the breast skin usually tears for me so I do #2, but #1 can make the breast meat a little moister.
• Roast for 1- 11/2 hours or until chicken register 180 degrees on your meat thermometer (if you use a larger chicken adjust time accordingly), be sure and poke a thick part of the chicken meat and don't get too near the bone. Length of time will vary with chicken size.
• Check chicken at an hour, herbs and spice on top are getting too dark loosely tent top with a piece of foil (spray first).
• When done, place chicken on platter and let rest for 5- 10 minutes while you make the gravy. Drain off excess fat and make your gravy.
• NOTE: Some people like to tie the legs together with kitchen twine, it does look nicer but I never bother.
• I've been know to roast chicken anywhere from 375-450 degrees, 400- 425 is my norm, I decide what to use based on my schedule of when I need to put it in the oven. Lower temp mean slightly longer cooking time.

POULET ROTI TOUT SIMPLE (SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the thyme, garlic and bay leaf. Do not truss the chicken. Place the chicken in a Pyrex baking dish, breast side up. Distribute onions, tomatoes and margarine or butter and oil around and on top of the chicken. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or so, basting every now and then.
• Turn the bird breast side down. Add the potatoes and mix well with the juices in the pan. Add more margarine or butter - 1 or 2 ounces, if necessary. Lower the heat to 350 degrees. Cook another 45 minutes, basting occasionally. Serve. The skin should be very, very crisp. The chicken may be garnished with the potatoes.

FRENCH ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and then smear in 1 tablespoon of the butter.
• Truss and dry the chicken, and rub the skin with the other half of the butter.
• Baste: Melt butter in a small saucepan with cooking oil.
• Leave on stovetop with a basting brush for later use.
• Back to the chicken: Place the chicken, breast side up, in a shallow small roasting pan.
• Scatter the veggies around it, and set it on the rack in the preheated oven.
• Allow the chicken to brown slightly for 15 minutes, turning on the left side after 5 minutes, then onto the right side for the last 5 minutes.
• Baste with butter quickly after each turn so that the oven does not lose a lot of heat.
• Reduce heat to 350.
• Leave chicken on its side, baste every 8 to 10 minutes, using the butter in the bottom of the roasting pan once you have used up all of the baste in your bowl.
• Watch and adjust oven heat so that the chicken is noisy, but fat is not burning.
• Halfway through estimated roasting time (which is 70-80 minutes; so after about 35 minutes), salt the chicken and turn it onto its other side.
• Continue to baste regularly.
• 15 minutes before end of estimated roasting time, salt again and flip chicken breast side up.
• Continue to baste regularly.
• Chicken will be done when drumstick moves easily in socket and juices run a clear yellow.
• Let sit on a platter 5 to 10 minutes before carving.
• Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan.
• Stir in shallot or onion and cook slowly for 1 minute.
• Add stock and boil rapidly over high heat, scraping up bits that are stuck in the pan witha wooden spoon.
• reduce to about 1/2 cup.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Off heat just before serving, swirl in the last 1 to 2 tablespoons butter by bits until it is absorbed.
• Pour a spoon of the sauce onto the chicken, then pour the rest into a gravy boat and serve with the chicken.