Roast Chicken Cognac Food

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

PAN-ROASTED CHICKEN IN CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Season the chicken parts aggressively with salt. Set a Dutch oven or large, high-sided sauté pan over high heat, and swirl the olive oil into it. When it is shimmering and about to smoke, turn the heat to medium high, and working in batches, add the chicken to the pan, skin-side down, setting the pieces aside to rest when they are golden and crisp on one side and just kissed by the heat on the other, approximately 30 minutes for all the meat.
• Discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan, then return it to medium-high heat and add the mushrooms, tossing to coat them with fat. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms just begin to soften, approximately 3-4 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the Cognac, and carefully ignite it with a match, or simply cook it on very low heat until the alcohol has evaporated and the mushrooms are glossy.
• Scrape the mushrooms to the sides of the pan, then add to it the chicken pieces, arranged in a single layer if possible. Pour 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock around the chicken. It should rise about halfway up each piece. Lower heat to medium, allow the mixture to come to a low simmer, then put a lid on the pan and allow the mixture to cook slowly until the meat has cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid from the pan, and transfer the chicken pieces to a platter to rest. Turn the heat to medium high, and allow the chicken stock to reduce by 1/3, then add the heavy cream, and stir to incorporate. Let this mixture simmer for a minute or 2 until it starts to thicken, then add the Madeira, and swirl again to combine.
• Continue cooking the sauce until it can enrobe the back of a spoon, approximately 2-3 minutes more, then stir in the butter, crème fraîche and chopped savory and stir to combine. Turn the heat off, add the tarragon, stir one more time and then return the chicken pieces to the pan. Spoon some sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

HERB ROASTED COGNAC CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. slice 3 cloves of garlic set aside
• 2. poke about 10 holes in each chicken breast with a knife and use about 2T Cognac to pour onto all the holes, stuff the holes with the sliced garlic then pour the rest of the cognac over them and place in a zip lock bag and place in the refrigerator for about an hour.
• 3. chop herbs and put them in a bowl, add cumin, red pepper flakes and paprika, toss with your fingers set aside.
• 4. slice the rest of the garlic and scallions and set aside
• 5. pre heat oven to 350 degrees
• 6. in a cast iron skillet or oven safe skillet put 2T butter and 2T olive oil heat over high flame
• 7. take chicken out of the bag(reserve cognac) sprinkle with salt and pepper now take herb mixture and spead it into breasts, patting lightly to make it stick.
• 8. place herb side down in the hot skillet we are searing them not cooking through , turn after 2 minutes and then flip to the other side for 2 minutes, flip back to herb side REMOVE FROM HEAT THEN add any leftover herb mixture, garlic, scallions, 2T butter and 4T of the reserved cognac to pan, if it does not flare on it's own, light a match to ignite cognac and burn off alcoholand return to burner, once the flames have gone out remove pan from heat and place the whole pan in the oven to finish cooking about 25-30 minutes. ***Remember that if the pan is hot and you add cognac, which is a high alcohol liquor, it may flare up. I would always suggest that you take the pan off the heat when you add any alcoholic ingredient, then put it back on heat to flame. Safety before all else in the kitchen. :) (Thanks Pam)
• 9. I served this with potatoes and a tomato-cucumber-mint salad (recipe to be posted seperately)

HOMEMADE GRAVY

Steps:

• In a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan, cook the butter and onions over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Don't rush this step; it makes all the difference when the onions are well-cooked.
• Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisk in, then add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock mixture and Cognac, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes until thickened. Add the wine and cream, if desired. Season, to taste, and serve.

BRANDIED-BACONY CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small frying pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until it's crisp and the pan full of gorgeous bacony fat, about 4 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, the bacon out of the pan and straight into the cavity of the chicken, sitting the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan as you do so. Pour the brandy into the still hot frying pan and let bubble for a minute. Pour the brandy mixture over the chicken. Place the roasting pan into the hot oven and roast for 45 minutes, making sure juices run clear between leg and body. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.

ROAST CHICKEN COGNAC

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325°.2. Brush chicken with butter sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken, breast-side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.3. Roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until chicken is tender, basting every 15 minutes. Remove chicken cover and keep warm. Pour off pan drippings set aside.4. Pour water into roasting pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened juices are melted. Pour through a fine strainer into a small saucepan. Over medium heat, cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until liquid is the consistency of molasses set glaze aside and keep warm.5. In a medium saucepan, mix pan drippings, bouillon and cognac. Over high heat, cook and stir until liquid is syrupy. Reduce heat to medium and add cream cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in lemon juice. Add additional salt and pepper as needed.6. To serve, pour some of the sauce onto a heated platter. Drizzle the meat glaze over the sauce in circles and cut through with a knife to make a design. Place chicken in center. Serve remaining sauce separately.

JACQUES PEPIN'S BASIC ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper and fold the wings akimbo to position them closer to the body. Place the chicken on its side in an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast-iron.
• Place the chicken in the skillet in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook another 20 minutes. (By cooking the chicken on its sides, the juices stay in the breast and, since only the back is exposed, the chicken does not need constant basting.) Finally, turn the chicken onto its back, baste it with the cooking juices and continue to cook 10 minutes. It should be golden in color.
• When the chicken is cooked, cut it into pieces and serve, with the drippings on the side.