Saturday, April 9, 2011

Chicken Breasts with Pan Sauce

I'm constantly learning new techniques for roasting chicken. The goal is to get a crispy skin and juicy, tender flesh. This takes lots of practice and experimenting with oven temperatures, utensils, and little details here and there that seem so insignificant that you would never imagine they make such a huge difference in the end product. Follow these instructions carefully on how to prepare this chicken.


Ingredients:
1 skin on, bone in split chicken breast (this is actually 2 breast halves)
1/4 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 heaping tbsp. of dijon mustard
2 shots of brandy
1/4 cup of low sodium chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 sprigs of thyme and rosemary, stems removed, leaves chopped

5 hours before you roast the chicken, rinse under cold water, dry well with paper towels, and liberally season with salt. Put the breasts on a plate (uncovered), and place in the fridge. 1 hour before roasting, take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Add black pepper and rub into skin. Place the chicken into an oven proof saute pan or casserole dish. With the point of a sharp knife, prick the skin in several places. Pierce the skin but do not stab the meat. We are creating spots for the fat to drain out of. Place into a 475F oven. You do not need any olive oil or butter...you want the meat dry so that the skin will crisp. In exactly 20 minutes lower the temperature to 350F and wait another 10 minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven, and cover with tin foil. Put the pan onto a stovetop burner over low heat and saute the onions and garlic, along with the thyme and rosemary, until fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock and brandy. Careful with the brandy...or you will burn off your eyebrows! Whisk the sauce, scraping the pan to get all the burnt on bits of chickeny goodness. When the sauce starts boiling and has reduced by half, whisk in the butter (a small piece at a time). When the sauce has emulsified you are done. Pour the sauce over the chicken and enjoy!!! We paired our chicken with some oven roasted potatoes and a quick arugula salad.

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