Posts Tagged ‘chicken’

Taking stock of chicken

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Poultry is an extremely versatile meat with which to cook, and none more so than chicken.

It has come in for some bad press in recent years, but if you pay a little more for a homegrown, free range organic chicken, you will have peace of mind and taste the difference immediately.

This is a great lunch dish and is a relatively light, wholesome recipe, as well as a move away from traditional, heavy winter dishes.

If you have the time, I’d recommend you have a go at making your own chicken stock in advance for this dish. It will keep fresh for about four days in the fridge or it can be frozen in small containers, allowing you to use only the amount needed.

Free range chicken breasts poached in stock, served with oven-roasted vegetables; serves four

4 chicken breasts (free range or organic) skinned, or one large chicken
2 large carrots
3 celery stalks
2 large courgettes
140g unsalted butter, diced
1 head of cauliflower (cut into florets)
500ml of chicken stock (recipe below)
50ml of virgin olive oil
25g unsalted butter
Sea salt
Freshly-milled white pepper
Juice of half a lemon

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 240C. Wash and peel the vegetables (leave skin on the courgettes). Cut the carrots, celery and courgettes into equal halves across and then cut each half again lengthways.
2. Heat an oven-proof pan and add 28ml of olive oil. Keep on a medium heat and add the carrots and the cauliflower florets. Toss well in the oil and season lightly.
3. Remove from heat and place the pan in the oven for a couple of minutes, turning occasionally. Add the remaining vegetables, toss well and season again lightly. Return the pan to the oven for a further couple of minutes until the vegetables are a little crisp. Remove from the pan and keep them warm. Don’t wash the pan as you’re going to use it again shortly.
4. While you are preparing the vegetables, bring the chicken stock to the boil in a separate pot. Lightly season the chicken breasts and lay them into the stock. Gently simmer chicken breasts for around five minutes, being careful not to let the stock boil again.
5. Once the chicken breasts have cooked through, remove them from the stock. Pour a little of the stock over the breasts to prevent them from drying out and then cover them. Transfer the chicken stock to the vegetable pan and boil the stock over a high heat until it reduces by half.
6. Place the vegetables and chicken breasts in an oven-proof dish and heat them in the oven for a few minutes.
7. Add the lemon juice to the stock. Remove from the heat and add the unsalted butter piece by piece, whisking until it has all melted. Pass the sauce through a fine strainer, but do not reheat as this will cause the butter to separate from the liquid. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the oven, pour the sauce over and serve.

Chicken stock, makes two and a half pints

6lb chicken bones, wings and carcasses
2lb white of leek
2 onions
4 stalks celery
2 garlic cloves
Water to cover the bones
Half pint dry white wine
2 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp crushed white peppercorns

Method
1. Wash and peel all vegetables and garlic, and finely chop.
2. Remove excess fat from the chicken bones and rinse the bones in cold water. Place the bones in a large saucepan and cover with fresh water. Bring to the boil. As it comes to the boil, skim from time to time. Once boiling, reduce the heat to simmer and skim again.
3. Pour in the wine and add the vegetables, herbs and peppercorns. Simmer for about two hours, skimming as necessary. Pass the stock through some muslin material to strain.
4. Allow to cool and refrigerate, or freeze in small containers.

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Slowly does it for summer

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008


03 August 2008
By Kevin Thornton
It’s great fun to cook with friends and family – especially when there are children involved. I tested out this theory recently in the sunshine in Portugal, where, with the sea breeze blowing up towards the house, I prepared a meal using the combined cooking talents of family and friends.

Communal food cooked for large gatherings must involve food that is easy to prepare and full of wonderful flavours. Dishes should be served in large bowls that can be placed in the centre of the table – so that everyone can help themselves.

Ideal dishes are fresh tomato and mozzarella salad with olive oil and fresh basil; chicken fajitas; homemade guacamole and tomato salsa; roasted new potatoes with rosemary and garlic; and roasted free-range chicken.

The chicken we had was free-range and yellow in colour, as it had been corn-fed. I bought it locally in the morning and it came in its full glory – complete with head and everything else attached. Despite our agreement to cook communally, I was left to deal with the bird.

I find slow cooking brings out the best flavour in roast chicken, so I got to work on it straight away, with the intention of leaving it to cook while we headed down to the sea.

Having removed the offending extraneous pieces and cleaned it entirely inside and out, I placed three whole garlic cloves and half an onion (sliced) in the chest cavity, along with half a lemon.

Then, I covered the chicken with a sprinkle of local olive oil, fresh lemon and lime juice, sea salt, freshly milled pepper and fresh rosemary. I placed the chicken in to cook at 100 degrees centigrade for between five and six hours.

When we returned home I turned the oven up to 200 degrees for half an hour while we prepared the dishes listed below. This last blast of high heat finishes it off beautifully.

If you are cooking the recipes below for large groups, just double the amounts.

Fresh tomato salsa (serves 6)
7 fresh tomatoes, finely diced
2 red onions, finely diced
Half clove garlic, crushed
Half jalapeno pepper, crushed
Pinch of cumin
Juice of two limes

Method
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Guacamole (serves 6)
2 medium avocados, halved lengthwise and with stones removed
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 white onions, finely diced
4 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
6 coriander leaves or flat leaf parsley if you don’t like coriander

Method
1. Using a spoon, remove the pulp from the avocados and place in a medium bowl.

2. Drizzle avocado pulp with lemon juice and mash it up using a fork. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Chicken fajitas (serves 6)
6 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (preferably free-range), cut in half
200ml vegetable oil
Juice of 4 limes
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and then finely chopped
2 red jalapeno chillies, seeded and finely chopped
8 leaves of coriander
Half teaspoon sea salt
Flour tortillas
Tub of crème fraîche

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients, except for the tortillas and crème fraîche, in a glass or ceramic dish and allow the chicken to marinade in the fridge, preferably overnight or for at least five hours.

2. Remove chicken breasts from marinade and grill until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife.

3. Slice chicken into thin strips and place it on warm flour tortillas, add the salsa or guacamole and roll.

4. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com

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Keeping your kitchen in stock

Sunday, October 14th, 2007

The stock-making process may seem like a laborious affair, but its importance lies in that the finished product infuses so many aspects of cooking.

In addition, you can make a large amount and freeze it in small tubs, to be defrosted and used as needed. My chicken stock takes over six hours to create, but the time spent is reflected in the taste.

In addition to the white stock described last week, stocks are broken down into further categories:

Remouillage
The word translates as ‘rewetting’, which is a good way to remember how remouillage is made. Bones used to prepare a primary stock are reserved after the first stock is strained away. The bones are then covered with water and a secondary stock is prepared. This is used in place of water when preparing primary stocks.

Broth
Broths share many similarities with stocks and are prepared in the same fashion. Meaty bones, or in some cases the entire cut of meat, bird or fish, are simmered in water or remouillage or along with vegetables and other aromatic ingredients.

Fumet or essence
An essence is a highly-flavoured infusion made from a good stock and wild mushrooms, truffle, vegetables, spices and so forth.

Court bouillon
A quick stock often used for cooking of lobster and crawfish, the ingredients of which are aromatic vegetables, herbs, lemons and water.

Brown stock
Brown stocks are the foundation for all brown sauces and one of the most commonly used stocks in the kitchen. They are prepared by first cooking meat bones and meat trimmings along with the miripoix until they are deep brown in colour.

Chicken stock
This is best using boiling fowl.

Ingredients
3 boiling fowl about 1kg each
500g of miripoix (carrot, leek, celery sticks, onion, garlic)
1 small bunch of thyme
1 small bunch of tarragon
1 small bunch of parsley
5 litres of water or remouillage
50g of whole white pepper corns
1 bouquet garni

Method
1. Wash the chickens in running water, place in a pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Refresh with cold water to remove any impurities.

2. Place the chicken in a fresh pot, add the miripoix with the herbs, pepper corns and bouquet garni.

3. Add the water or remouillage, bring to the boil and turn down the heat and simmer for approximately five-and-a-half hours, skimming the surface frequently to remove impurities.

4. Rest the stock for 20 minutes and strain through a muslin cloth and strainer.

Cool the stock in a bath of cold water, cover and refrigerate. I also do a triple stock – doing the exact same thing three times, each time using the same stock and fresh chickens. It is really superb.

Vegetable stock or nage
I use this stock for vegetarian dishes and for risotto.

Ingredients
200g new season onions
200g leeks
6 celery hearts
4 whole carrots
2 whole fennel bulbs
10 baby fennel
7 radish
20 whole white pepper corns
10 star anise
3 cloves
5g fennel seed
1 small bunch of basil
1 small bunch of tarragon
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 small bunch of dill
1/2 litre of dry martini
1/2 litre of dry white wine
4 litres of still water

Method
1. Wash and peel all the vegetables.

2. Place in a pot with the rest of the dry ingredients and add the wine, martini and water.

3. Bring to the boil and turn down the heat and simmer slowly for two hours.

4. Cool down, then place the vegetables and stock in a preserving jar and refrigerate.

Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com

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