Alison Lambert -taste of my life

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PREPARATION: CUTS FOR RAW CHICKEN



BREAST


LEG (drumstick and thigh)


DRUMSTICK


THIGH


WING


SUPREME – White breast meat including first section of wing bone.

HALVES – Divided lengthwise along the breastbone

EIGHTHS – quarters divided to cut legs into thighs and drumsticks and to separate wings from breasts.

SAUTE CUTS FOR CHICKEN – thigh x2, drumstick x2, breast x2, wing x2, winglet x2, carcass x3.

BASIC STEPS FOR CUTTING CHICKEN

1. Remove the legs from the body.

2. Remove the winglets

3. Remove the wings

4. Remove the breasts (pull the skin tight and find the natural line which runs down the centre of the breasts).

5. Cut the carcass into 3 even pieces. These pieces can be used for stock.


1. Remove the legs

Place the chicken breast side up on a solid cutting board. Pull one leg away from the body and cut through the skin between the body and both sides of the thigh.

Bend the whole leg firmly away from the body until the ball of the thighbone pops from the hip socket. Cut between the ball and the socket to separate the leg. Repeat with the other leg.

2. Divide The Legs

Place the chicken leg skin side down on the cutting board.

Cut down firmly through the joint between the drumstick and the thigh.

3.Remove The Wings

Remove wing by cutting inside of wing just over the joint. Pull wing away from body and cut from down through the skin and the joint. Repeat with the other wing.

4. Holding the skin tight you will see a natural line running down the centre of the breast. I use this as my guideline for cutting the breast. With a sharp knife run the blade along the line and through the skin until you reach the bone. Focusing on one side run the knife (keeping it on a slight angle towards the bone) from the centre outwards until you can see the breast coming away from the chicken. You are wanting to keep the breast and skin intact.

Repeat with the other side.




STICKY CHICKEN THIGHS/DRUMSTICKS WITH LEMON AND HONEY

1 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 lemons, juice only
Generous spoon of runny honey
Dollop of grain mustard
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 large chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone in and skin on
Sea salt to taste

Method
Preheat the oven at 200C

Place the peppercorns into a pestle and mortar and grind until roughly crushed. Add these to a large bowl together with lemon juice, honey, mustard and garlic and mix well.

Place the chicken into a large roasting tin and pour the lemon and honey mixture over the chicken, leaving it to marinate for as long as possible. Sprinkle with sea salt, to taste, then cook in the hot oven for 45 minutes, turning halfway through cooking so that the thighs become lovely and sticky.

It is great served as is or perhaps try it with a flat leaf parsley and olive salad.



STOCK- A flavourful liquid used as the basis for many dishes. It is made by infusing the flavours from various ingredients by gentle simmering.

CHICKEN STOCK – makes 2 litres

1 chicken carcass
1 large carrot, cut into 4
2 celery sticks, halved
1 large onion, halved
½ leek, sliced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
Parsley stalks
8 black peppercorns
2 ½ litres cold water

Method

Put all the ingredients into a large pot add the water and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and remove scum.
Simmer very gently (without boiling) for 2 hours, skimming when required.
Remove from the heat, cool slightly and strain through a colander into a clean container. Remember to keep the liquid and discard the carcass and vegetables!
Strain once again through a finer sieve.
Refrigerate or freeze.

VARIATIONS

For a darker stock – roast the chicken bones with the carrot, celery and onion to colour them before starting the stock.
For Asian flavoured stock – Replace thyme, rosemary and parsley with lemon grass, coriander root, and fresh ginger.


My take on the perfect roast chicken – to roast a chicken can be as simple or as complex as you desire. Obviously the quality of the chicken is vital to a good tasting bird, but a few herbs and a little massaging help also. Keep it simple and fresh – you can’t go wrong!


PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN
Servings 4-6

1 x approximately 1.6kg chicken
2 medium onions or leek
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
1 bulb of garlic
Olive oil
6 sprigs of fresh thyme or sage
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 240C

If possible take the chicken out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before it goes into the oven.

With the vegetables there is no need to peel them, just give them a wash and roughly chop them so they are the same size. Break the garlic bulb into cloves and remove any excess papery layers.

Wash the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the herbs into the cavity along with about 3 cloves of garlic. If you are using lemon then stuff the lemon in the cavity as well. Drizzle over a little oil and rub all over, generously sprinkle over the salt and pepper and once again massage well.

Place all the vegetables into the middle of a roasting tray and place the bird on top (this is to act as a trivet).

Put into your hot oven and roast for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 190C and continue to roast for an additional 45-60 minutes (remember to spoon over any juices a few times during this process). I always check the meat if unsure test the meatiest part of the bird – thigh and under the breast where the thigh meets the breast. The juices should run clear if not then return to the oven for 5 minutes more.

Cover with foil and let rest for 10 – 20 minutes.

To carve your chicken

Remove any string from the chicken and take off the wings

Carefully cut down between the leg and the breast

Cut through the joint and pull the leg off

Repeat on the other side, then cut each leg between the thigh and the drumstick so you end up with four portions of dark meat

Place these on a serving platter

Angle the knife along the breastbone and carve one side off, then the other

When you get down to the fussy bits, just use your fingers to pull all the meat off, and turn the chicken over to get all the tasty, juicy bits from underneath

You should be left with a stripped carcass, and a platter full of lovely meat that you can serve with your piping hot gravy and gorgeous roast veg.