Archive for the ‘chicken’ Category
CANTONESE ROASTED CHICKEN
Posted: January 30, 2019 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, RecipesTags: Asian, Cantonese, chicken, chinese, food, GF, gluten-free, recipes
I really love the deep flavor of soy sauce and the sweetness of hoisin on poultry. Peking duck is the best example of this, but since I live in Rhode Island, I don’t get a chance to jump in the car and drive to Chinatown in Boston or New York at the drop of a hat. I had to come up with a plan B…and a good plan B!
I found it while looking through an old Chinese cookbook I had bought many years ago. Written by legendary NY Times food critic Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee, “The Chinese Cookbook” has become my bible for all of my Asian dishes.
I use chicken instead of duck. It’s cheaper, easier to find, and I can easily buy a whole pasture-raised chicken from local farms here in Rhode Island. But it is just as delicious.
As long as you use gluten-free soy sauce and hoisin sauce (La Choy and Kikkoman make them and they’re found in just about any supermarket), this recipe is gluten-free.
1 whole chicken, about 6 lbs., or 2 smaller chickens (pictured)
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Remove all the giblets from the chicken and discard. Rub the soy sauce first all over the chicken. (The chicken will absorb the flavors better if you do it before you rub the bird with the oil.) Then rub the peanut oil all over the chicken.
Combine the Chinese five spice, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Season the entire chicken, including inside the cavity, with this mixture.
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the chicken in a pan lined with aluminum foil (cleanup will be easier) and bake.
Meanwhile, combine the hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. When the chicken is about 15 minutes away from being done, brush it with the hoisin/sesame oil mixture. Cook it another 15 minutes until the chicken has a nice dark glaze. Don’t let it burn!
Let it rest about 15 minutes before carving.
SALMONELLA…SOLVED
Posted: October 5, 2018 in chicken, Food, UncategorizedTags: chicken, food, safety, salmonella
I devour chicken at least three times week…fried, broiled, grilled, barbecued, smoked…it’s all good. But because of that, salmonella paranoia takes over my brain. Watch any cooking show and as soon as the host touches a piece of raw chicken, they show him or her washing their hands before doing anything else. Panicky corporate lawyers make sure you see that so nobody gets sued for something very bad that can be very easily avoided.
I use these easy steps to avoid salmonella worries in my kitchen…
I open the plastic wrapper of the chicken in the sink. You won’t believe how much stuff splatters around when you unwrap chicken. Do it in the sink and it won’t fly onto your countertop, windows, eyeballs, or nearby fruit bowl.
I buy very sharp and very cheap kitchen knives, like the one above. They go for about 6 bucks. Unlike my expensive prized chef knife which never goes into the dishwasher, these knives are easily sanitized by skipping the hand washing and letting the dishwasher do the work. I sharpen them when they get dull, but eventually, the get tossed out and I buy new ones. They’re not for every job in the kitchen, but they are perfect for any questionable food product like raw chicken.
While I’m at the store, I also buy a couple of acrylic cutting boards. The size and shape are a personal preference, but the idea is to use these boards when slicing and dicing chicken or any other nasty gooey thing. Unlike wooden boards that absorb everything, these are non-porous. The muck stays on the board, which is easily sanitized by tossing it in the dishwasher. The last thing I want to be doing with my deluxe wooden butcher blocks is bleaching and scrubbing those suckers because I cut up a couple of chicken breasts on them.
Finally, I buy myself a box of cheap disposable gloves. The main thing is to make sure they don’t slip off my hands while handling a sharp knife, or else I’ll be visiting the emergency room. When I’m done prepping the chicken, I just toss the gloves in the trash.
To be safe, I still rinse my hands with soap and water afterwards. But I don’t feel like I need to dip them in a vat of sulfuric acid to get them clean, and my kitchen workspace remains spotless.
Salmonella solved.
OMFG CHICKEN SALAD
Posted: September 26, 2018 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, Recipes, Southern New EnglandTags: chicken, food, recipes, SALAD, Willow Tree
Here in Southern New England, the most popular brand of chicken salad you can buy is called Willow Tree. They’ve made it for over 50 years, and people crave it like crack. And it’s good: moist and “mayonnaisey”.
But I’ve never been a fan of “secret” ingredients, and Willow Tree is full of ’em, so my task was to make something that was as good as Willow Tree, with known ingredients. I got close…real close! As always, I use pastured chicken and organic veggies when possible. I found that boiling the chicken breasts in stock instead of water keeps the meat more flavorful.
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 pints salt-free chicken stock (I use home-made)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I live on Hellman’s)
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped Vidalia onion
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Heat the chicken stock in a large pot. Bring to a boil and add the chicken breasts. Bring to a boil again, then simmer uncovered for about 7 minutes. Turn the heat off, cover the pot with a lid, and let the breasts sit in the pot for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the breasts to a cutting board and allow them to cool. Save the chicken stock for another use, like soup. (See below.)
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, celery, onion, brown sugar, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. Mix them thoroughly to combine.
When the chicken has cooled, shred the breast meat into bite-sized pieces and then transfer it into the bowl with the mayonnaise mixture. Mix thoroughly and chill before serving.
I love my chicken salad on a Martin’s Long Roll.
BONUS: I don’t waste the chicken stock left over in the pot. I chop some carrots, celery and onion and throw it in there. I reserve some of the chicken breast meat–just a bit–and throw it in there, too. I add a little salt and pepper, and a pinch of dried Bouquet Garni. I bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the veggies are al dente. Pasta or potatoes optional.
Makes an awesome chicken soup!

























