Herb Roasted Cognac Chicken Recipes

HERB ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine the chopped rosemary, sage, garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Season generously with salt. Using your fingertips carefully work your way under the skin of the chickens to separate the skin from the breast to develop a pocket. Schmear the herb paste under the skin of both chickens. Use all of the paste and try to distribute evenly. Drizzle each chicken with more olive oil and massage the skin. The idea here is to lube them up like suntan lotion. This will really help to get a nice brown crispy skin. Sprinkle each chicken generously with salt. Truss each chicken.
• Place the diced veggies, bay leaves and thyme bundle in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the 2 chickens without touching. Usually a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan will be perfect. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and season generously with salt. Arrange the chickens on top of the veggies in the roasting pan and place in the preheated oven.
• Check the chickens about 15 minutes into the cooking process, the skin should be starting to turn a lovely brown. Lower the heat to 375 degrees F and continue roasting. After another 15 minutes, remove the chickens from the oven and turn over. At this point check the level of liquid in the roasting pan. If most of the liquid has evaporated, add another cup of stock and return the chickens to the oven. When the chickens have browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and turn them back over. Return the chickens to the oven for the final 15 minutes of cooking. During this time the skin on the chickens should be very brown and crispy. Remove the chickens from the oven and take the temperature in the crease between the thigh and the breast. (When doing this be sure not to have the thermometer probe touch a bone or you will get an inaccurate reading.) The thermometer should read between 160 and 170 degrees F. When cooking poultry in general the rule is 17 minutes per pound. If the thermometer reads less than 160 degrees F return the chicken to the oven for an additional 10 minutes and then re-check the temperature.
• When chickens have reached the proper temp remove them from the roasting pan, place them on a warm platter and cover loosely with foil. Let sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
• After the chickens have been removed from the roasting pan, skim off the excess fat from the surface of the liquid. The easiest way to do this is to prop up 1 end of the pan and allow the fat to run to the other end of the pan. You may not be able to get all of the fat, which is ok-fat tastes good! Put the roasting pan on a burner, add the wine, bring to a medium heat and reduce by half. Add the remaining chicken stock and taste. Add salt if needed- you probably will need salt. At this point you can decide if you are a "strainer" or not a strainer, meaning if you would like to strain the chunky vegetables out of the sauce or not. I myself, am not a strainer. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency and flavor remove from the heat and pour into desired serving vessel.
• To carve the chickens: Cut off the twine. Pull the thigh and leg away from the breast of the chicken until the thigh bone "pops" out of the socket. This is also a sign that the chicken is cooked properly. Separate the thigh and drumstick. Remove the breast from the carcass by feeling for the ridge of the breastbone in the center of the chicken and slicing around the rib cage. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter or on individual plates with the mashed potatoes and gravy

HERB-ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken in a 1 gallon zip-lock type bag. Pour 1/2 cup Kosher salt over chicken. Carefully pour 1 quart water over chicken and seal bag.
• Gently mix the salt/water solution to cover chicken. Place sealed bag on a paper towel in the refrigerator and leave for 30 minutes. (This is called brining.).
• Remove chicken from bag and rinse under cold water. Pat chicken dry.
• Preheat oven to 375°F
• In a small bowl, stir together basil, salt (1/2 tsp.), sage, thyme, and lemon pepper (or pepper).
• In another small bowl, melt butter. Add minced garlic to butter and mix together.
• Remove neck and giblets from chicken. Place chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Use a basting brush to paint garlic butter onto the chicken skin. Sprinkle part of the herbs over the butter.
• Turn chicken over and repeat with remaining butter and herbs.
• Roast, uncovered, for 1.25 - 1.5 hours, or until drumsticks move easily in the sockets and a meat thermometer registers 180°F
• Serve and enjoy!

HERB-ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pat the chicken dry; generously season the skin and inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 4 hours or overnight to dry out the skin. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before roasting.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mash the butter with the chopped thyme and chopped rosemary in a small bowl. Gently slide your fingers under the chicken skin on the breasts and legs to loosen it. Scoop some of the herbed butter with a spoon; slide the spoon under the skin and hold the skin in place while you remove the spoon. Smooth the skin to distribute the butter. Repeat with the remaining butter.
• Squeeze a lemon half into the cavity of each chicken, then stuff the lemon half inside. Stuff 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 thyme sprig and 1/2 rosemary sprig into each chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with twine. Set a rack in a large roasting pan; put the chicken on the rack and roast 25 minutes. Toss the scallions, tomatoes, olive oil and a large pinch of salt in a bowl, then add to the roasting pan. Remove the twine from the chicken and continue roasting until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 50 more minutes.
• Transfer the chicken and vegetables to platters and let rest about 10 minutes before carving.

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)