New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Problem with 40 Garlic Chicken

post #1 of 3
8/23/10 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 

I'm making dinner for friends later this week and want to make Olney's Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic.  This weekend I made a test batch using some cheap, supermarket chicken.

 

The test batch was disappointing because there was an inordinate amount of fat and liquid discharged from the chicken (all complete legs).  I cannot recall seeing this problem in earlier preparations of this dish, but it's been quite a few years since I made it, and my memory may be faulty. 

 

Is this abundance of fat and liquid typical of the dish, or might it have been the result of fattier and water-logged chicken?  If the latter, might better quality, perhaps air-chilled, chicken help the problem?  If typical of the dish, any suggestions to minimize the effect of chicken pieces swimming in fatty water?  One thought I had is to put the chicken on a rack along with the garlic, and let the bouquet garni rest on the vessel bottom to impart flavor and aroma via the liquid.  Comments?

Reply
post #2 of 3
8/23/10 at 10:41am

Could be a lot of things, but probably not a result of injecting the chicken.  Pumped chickens must be clearly labled.

 

Anyway, no problem with the extra liquid.  When your chicken is just short of being cooked, drain your casserole, defat the liquid (as much as reasonable), reserving the fat for another purpose if there's enough of it, and make a jus with the liquid. 

 

While you're reducing the jus, crank the oven dial, uncover the casserole, turn the bird presenation side up, and get some color on it. 

 

40 clove chicken is a stone classic cuisine bourgeois recipe, not by any means original to Olney -- or anyone else for that matter. The Romertopf variation is sooooooo good.

 

BDL

Reply
post #3 of 3
8/23/10 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by boar_d_laze View Post

Could be a lot of things, but probably not a result of injecting the chicken.  Pumped chickens must be clearly labled.

 

Anyway, no problem with the extra liquid.  When your chicken is just short of being cooked, drain your casserole, defat the liquid (as much as reasonable), reserving the fat for another purpose if there's enough of it, and make a jus with the liquid. 

 

While you're reducing the jus, crank the oven dial, uncover the casserole, turn the bird presenation side up, and get some color on it. 

 

40 clove chicken is a stone classic cuisine bourgeois recipe, not by any means original to Olney -- or anyone else for that matter. The Romertopf variation is sooooooo good.

 

BDL

 

I am using a Romertopf.

 

The problem with opening the dish as you suggest is that the intensely aromatic presentation at the table is eliminated.  However, it will add color and possibly some crispness to the skin.  Still, the ckn will have been cooking in fatty liquid for quite some time, something I'd like to eliminate if possible.

 

Yes, I know that the dish isn't Olney's original, but his recipe and technique has some nice, individual twists that I'll incorporate.
 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home