The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 717

LET IT REST! Resting is key to making any roast poultry dinner, particularly a hectic one like Thanksgiving, both easier and tastier Resting allows time for the meat to relax and the internal juices to redistribute themselves evenly throughout it Additionally, the slightly cooler temperature will cause the meat’s juices to thicken considerably, making them less likely to flow out of the bird when you carve it (for more on resting, see here and here) I let my birds rest until their internal temperature has dropped down to 143°F or less For a chicken cooked to 150°F, this will take between 10 and 15 minutes; for a 10- to 12-pound turkey, it can take over 30 minutes But consider that an added bonus: you’ve now got an extra half hour to things like deglaze your pan drippings, heat up your casseroles, have a cocktail, and make whipped cream to cover up the fingerprints you left on the pumpkin pie WHAT ABOUT FLAVOR? To be perfectly frank, 90 percent of the time I roast a chicken, I rely on salt and pepper alone—if you’ve got yourself a really great chicken, its flavor should speak for itself But what if you want to add a little extra something to it? Here’s the good news: once you have the basic roasting techniques down, adding flavor is as simple as a good rub or some herbs applied before cooking; the actual cooking method is exactly the same Those dozens or hundreds of chicken recipes you can find online for herb-rubbed this or lemon that? They’re really all the same old roast chicken with a few flavors added to it What that means is that once you understand what makes chicken good (proper roasting technique, not overcooking the breasts, allowing the skin to render), how you flavor the bird is entirely up to you To get you started, I put together a little chart that shows you how to apply various flavors to your bird, along with a few specific recipe variations that I enjoy Of course you can mix and match all of these flavoring agents as desired In the chart, I haven’t listed any salt, because in the two basic recipes that follow, the chicken is seasoned separately with salt But you can just as easily add the salt directly to any herb rub or spice mixture to season and flavor the bird in one step FLAVORING HOW TO APPLY AGENT Tender, Leafy Herbs (parsley, basil, tarragon, cilantro, etc.) Finely chop ½ cup fresh herb leaves by hand or in a food processor Combine with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil ... makes chicken good (proper roasting technique, not overcooking the breasts, allowing the skin to render), how you flavor the bird is entirely up to you To get you started, I put together a little chart that shows... course you can mix and match all of these flavoring agents as desired In the chart, I haven’t listed any salt, because in the two basic recipes that follow, the chicken is seasoned separately...method is exactly the same Those dozens or hundreds of chicken recipes you can find online for herb-rubbed this or lemon that? They’re really all the same old roast chicken with a few flavors added to it