Broiled Butterflied Chicken Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

3 lb broiler-fryer chicken *
2 tbsp melted butter mixed with
1 tsp olive oil or cooking oil.
1 salt and freshly ground pepper.
1 pinch of thyme, tarragon or mixed herbs,, optional.

OPTIONAL DEGLAZING SAUCE

1 tbsp finely minced shallot or scallion
1/2 cup chicken stock and/or dry white wine, or french vermo
1 tb to 2 tb butter for enrichment, o, ptional
1 * butterflied as described in the p, receding paragrap

This is a basic recipe that can be dressed up any way you like. This
is one of the "Master" recipes in the book. She presents Master
recipes for each category of food then offers variations on the
themes.

I really like this book because it offers solid basics and then gets
whimsical. It really lives up to its "The Way to Cook" title.

Of course you can broil a half chicken or chicken in parts, but when
you want a handsome presentation at the table, butterfly is the way
to go.

To butterfly a chicken. First remove the backbone by cutting down
close to it on each side with a heavy knife or sturdy shears. Spread
the chicken skin side up on your work surface and bang the breast
with your fist to break the collarbones and some of the ribs; this
flattens the chicken. Cut off the little nubbins at the wing elbows,
and fold the wings akimbo by tucking the wing ends behind the
shoulders. Then make a slit in the skin at either side of the breast
tip. Push the knee of the drumstick firmly up under the armpit to
loosen the join; then pull it down and insert the tip of the
drumstick through the skin slit. The leg will be held in place.

For 4 servings:

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT SUGGESTED:

A stout knife and/or shears for preparing the chicken; a basting
brush; a baking dish about 1 inch deep (without rack) that will just
hold the butterflied chicken easily.

Broiling - 25 to 30 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Brush the chicken
all over with some of the butter and oil. Arrange it skin side down
in the baking dish, and set it so the surface of the flesh is about 5
inches from the hot broiler element. After 5 minutes, brush the
flesh, which should just be starting to brown, with the butter and
oil. Baste again in 5 minutes ++ use the juices in the pan when the
butter mixture is gone. Broil for another 5 minutes, then sprinkle
lightly with salt, pepper, and optional herbs. Turn the chicken skin
side up. Broil and baste 15 minutes or so more.

When is it done? The chicken is nearly done when brown juices begin
to appear in the pan. It is definitely done when the drumsticks feel
tender, and, when the thickest part is pricked with the sharp tines
of a kitchen fork, the juices run clear yellow. Do not overcook.

SAUCE: Remove the chicken to a hot platter; cover to keep warm the
few minutes required for the optional sauce. Skim fat off the cooking
juices, stir in the chopped shallot or scallion, and saute a moment
on top of the stove. Add the liquid and boil rapidly, scraping into
it any coagulated cooking juices. When reduced almost to a syrup,
swirl in the butter. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

SERVING: To carve, cut straight down one side of the breastbone to
separate the chicken in two lengthwise. Grab under one of the knees
with your fork to lift it up, slit the skin front and back, and bend
the knee back at right angles to break open the joint at the small of
the back. Then cut through the ball joint to separate the thigh from
the carcass. Separate drumsticks from thighs at the knee joints.
Remove the wings along with a lengthwise strip of meat from the lower
third of the breast, to make meaningful servings. You now have 2
drumsticks, 2 things, 2 wings with a breast strip, and 2 breast
sections ++ everyone has a little selection of both dark and light.

Suggested accompaniment to broiled chicken. You could serve broiled
tomatoes, sauteed potatoes, and a green vegetable, or be more
elaborate with an eggplant dish such as a souffle, or a ratatouille.
Another idea is a hot corn salad. For wine, either a sturdy white
wine like a chardonnay or sauvignon, or a light red such as a pinot
noir or Beaujolais.

From "The Way to Cook", Julia Child, Alfred Knopf, 1989. ISBN
0-394-53264-3

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; September 13 1992.

Servings: 1

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