Lemon Curd + Black Pepper Roast Chicken (TTH)

Believe it or not, this my first ever experience roasting a chicken.  I know, weird, right?  But that kind of summarizes my whole kitchen story.

FOR THE BRINE

• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns (optional)
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds [I would argue that coriander seeds and Szechuan peppercorns are similarly difficult to get.  Neither are all that obscure though you'll have to hit up both an Asian and Indian market unless of course it makes sense to hit up Christina's Spices and Specialty Foods.]
• 8 cups water
• Scant 1 cup Kosher salt
• 1 fresh red Thai chile, slice, or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes [former]
• One 4- to 5-pound free-range chicken

Toast spice except for chiles.  Except, you know, I didn't notice.

Add 2 cups of water and salt.  Stir until salt is completely dissolved.

Remove from heat.  Add 6 cups of water and chile.  Let cool to room temperature.

Blais thinks you have to rinse the chicken for some reason, but ATK (which I usually hold as gospel) says this is unnecessary.  I swish some water around in the cavity and rinse that part.

Technically, you're supposed to brine the bird in a tall, narrow plastic container just big enough to fit the bird.  It was hard for me to settle on something without buying something new so I went with my enameled cast-iron dutch oven.  It's been showing battle scars lately, but I'm sure it's still very non-reactive.

Brine for at least 2 or 3 hours or preferably overnight.

FOR THE LEMON CURD

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest and juice of 2 leomns
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried [fresh]
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried [Now if there was a dried herb that really did look like pot, it's gotta be this one]
• 1 tablespoon water

Or, hey, you could just be lame and use 1/2 cup store-bought lemon curd  mixed with two tablespoons of water, but don't expect me to respect you at the end of the day on this one.
Every time I make lemon curd, it tastes like a revelation.   I think I've had store-bought stuff before and it was not the same thing.

Lemon curd mise.

In a medium saucepan, whisk everything except the butter to combine.  Stir over low heat constantly until mixture is very thick and hot.  I stopped when it started looking like lemon curd since I've made lemon curd a few time over for MMB's Arnold Palmer Cake.

Remove from heat and whisk the butter in a little at a time until smooth.  Press mixture through fine-mesh strainer to remove the zest and inevitable lemon seeds.

Coarsely crush peppercorns and coriander seeds with a mortar and pestle or on a cutting board with the bottom a small pan.  Though good luck with that second option.

Not that I once didn't have proper equipment before and still do not in all cases.

Mix this all up with the rosemary and sage.

Add 3/4's of the mixture to the lemon curd, along with the water, and stir to combine.

The perhaps weirdest thing about roasting a chicken for the first time is the whole loosening its skin so just can jab stuff under it, like a compound butter, herb paste, or in this case lemon curd.  It's hard not to think, "Well wouldn't it be weird if someone was doing this to me?"  Or am I psycho for thinking stuff like that?
Anyway, 1/2 the curd goes under there and then you paint the rest of the thing with lemon curd and sprinkle it with the remaining spice/herb mixture.

Pour 1 cup of water into baking pan with rack and chicken set on it.  Tie the chicken's legs together, and I guess you were suppose to tuck the wings in under the bird (Blais leaves out the darndest details about how to cook something).  Roast at 450 for 30 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 325 and continue roasting until the chicken is golden brown and juices run clear when thigh is pierced, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.

I couldn't stop myself from picking at this.  I almost want to have one of these in my fridge constantly even though that'd probably be a bit dangerous.  Maybe this should be a biweekly thing.
Happy I didn't fuck up my first roast chicken.  Far from it.

Chicken Confit with Green Olives + Kumquats (TTH)

FOR THE DRY CURE

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 2 whole star anise, finely crushed with the side of a knife [Probably better done in a mortar and pestle]
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried [dried]
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest or dried orange peel [former]
• 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers [I did my best here in trying 3 different stores.  My third store was Christina's Spices and Specialty Foods in Inman which is the one store in Boston where if you can't find that spice/herb/rice/flour/tea/chile/pantry item here, you probably should order it online.  I guess they usually carry it, but they were all out.]
• 8 large bone-in, skin -on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), patted dry.

Mix it all up.

Pat thighs dry with paper towels.  Layer a third of the salt on the bottom of a pan that will hold the thighs as tightly as possible.  Throw in the chicken and evenly sprinkle another third of the salt in.  Pack the last of the salt so well that the chicken is completely covered.

Cover with another plate, pan, or saran-wrapped box of kosher salt in my case.  Weigh this down with a couple heavy cans.  Throw this in the fridge for a couple hours.

FOR THE CONFIT

• 2 cups vegetable or canola oil, or as needed
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers (optional)

My pyrex isn't quite stove-top safe so I moved the operations to my dutch over where things are a bit roomier.  Pour over oil to cover the thighs you have rinsed of salt and patted dry again.  Toss the spices in and confit in a 300 degree oven for I don't know how long.  Blais doesn't tell you, but a paring knife met with no resistance at the 1 1/2 hour point.

Transfer thighs skin side up to baking sheet to drain excess oil.

Heat up 2 tablespoons of the confit fat (You can apparently strain it and use it as many times as you like for 30 days, but I don't really think I'm going to confit again so soon.).

Dip skin side down into the flour seasoned with black pepper and crisp up the skin over medium heat.

FOR THE SAUCE

• 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 18 kumquats, thinly sliced and seeded, or 1 small tangerine, peeled and finely choppes, any seeds removed [After cooking this, I think it would be nuts to use a tangerine over kumquats, but if you need to use a tangerine to get you by...]
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted green olives, such as Picholine or Cerignola
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sauce mise en place.

Toast the mustard seeds.

 
Add sugar and water and stir to dissolve.

Add kumquats and cook until they break down a bit.  Season with black pepper.  Later on, add olives.

You know, I've never been a fan of duck confit.  It's one of those hoity-toity ingredients I don't get that all foodies seems to love like foie gras that I simply can't fathom why they're interesting.

However, I do love cooking chicken thighs, it was fun to go through the confit-ing process using vegetable oil (rather than duck fat which will set you back a considerable amount unless you're rendering duck skin all the time), and...  This was insanely good.
Remarkably well-seasoned even without the lavender I failed to source.  Beautiful texture, beautiful skin, the kumquat-olive relish the perfect foil.  Great dish all around though not necessary one I'm going to cook all the time unlike the recipe in my next blog entry.

Pork Shoulder Cooked in Green Chiles (TTH)

• 6 large poblano peppers (about 2 pounds)
• 2 pounds tomatillos, husked and washed
• 1 boneless pork shoulder (about 5 pounds), cut into 6 equal pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalk celery, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
• Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish [Nope]
• 4 lime wedges for serving [See above]

Mise en place.  Spoiler alert: much of the sheer volume of the dish gets thrown out at the end.

Char the skin on the poblanos.  Do this well because this step is key in peeling the chiles later.  Kind of tedious.  Blais says you can do this in a oven, but does offer directions.

Peel (basically rubbing the skin off with your hands), seed, de-stem and I thought it was worth it to cut them up a bit before throwing in a food processor.

Trying to do an okay job charring the tomatillos.  They at least don't have to be peeled.  All of them were pretty softened.  A couple were even juicy like a tomato.

So Richard Blais doesn't even care if I core the tomatillos?

In a bowl, coarsely chopped.

Browning the hunks of pork.  I'm getting there when it comes to my expertise butchering a whole pork shoulder.

Oh yeah and you dredge them with flour and season them before you throw them in the pot.

Transfer pork to a plate and supposedly drain off extra fat.

Should I not have spent the time trimming the fat on the pork shoulder?

Add onions, celery and pepper along with a little salt and pepper.  Cook until softened.

Add spices and tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste begins to caramelize.

 

Tomatillos and poblanos get thrown back into the mix.

Pour in chicken stock and add the pork pieces, along with any accumulated juices.  Cook until liquid begins to simmer.  Cover throw it into a 325 degree oven until the meat easily shreds with a fork.  A couple hours, you know?

 

This is the part where you get rid of all the vegetables.

A dish too austere for me to even figure out a half decent side dish.  I wound up eating it with that white bread I got for the Swedish meatballs and eventually a nice round of sourdough but that was later.
However, one day it bothered me how long I had had the bread at room temperature and it yet to go bad at all.  This happened at work and a pile of meat doesn't really make for workday lunch.

Though enough with the bad even though I think this dish probably calls for homemade tamales as well (I'll try that sometime, but I've read that it's way more tolerable as a cooperative thing).  It's a beautiful dish if not really the right fit for my lifestyle.

Savory + Aromatic Swedish Meatballs, Kind Of (TTH)

• 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon umami paste or anchovy paste
• 2 slices stale white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 4 ounces pork fatback, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill [Though it would work well in this, one tablespoon isn't enough to justify buying a bunch of dill]
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons store-bought low-sodium broth
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum or cornstarch (Missed my golden opportunity to buy xanthan gum for the first time]
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Lingonberry jam (from iKEA or elsewhere) for serving [Nope]

Mise en place for the meatballs themselves.  Decidedly more than the number of ingredients in your average Swedish Meatball recipe and with different spices.  Apparently the traditional spices are nutmeg and allspice.  Forget fresh herbs, anchovies, and fatback; even onion and garlic.

Oh, by the way, you shred the white bread into tiny pieces and pour the milk over it.  It's like a panade?

Which seemingly isn't a popular enough usage of the term to have a page on wikipedia.  Interesting.

Cook onion, garlic, and salt until the onion softens.

Add spices and cook for another two minutes.  Add umami paste (Eh, just minced some anchovies even though that's not even the same thing as anchovy paste) and stir until combined.

Let cool.

Mix mixture with lamb and panade with a wooden spoon until roughly combined.

Add herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Overmixing is apparently an issue, but I made sure to season aggressively and yet avoid overdoing it while searing off pieces in a pan.

I did a good job.

Final mise en place.  The meatballs don't exactly stay spherical like that.

One is supposed to sear the meatballs just lightly until they begin to brown, but I wasn't paying as much attention as necessary on the first batch.  Didn't ruin it, but I learned my lesson.

 
Transfer the meatballs to a plate.  Add sherry and deglaze.  Cook until nearly evaporated.
Add meatballs back to the pot along with 3/4 cup of chicken broth.  Simmer until cooked through.
Mix xanthan gum (Damn, I should have totally bought some) with remaining 2 tablespoons chicken stock.  Push meatballs to one side of pan and whisk mixture into bubbling liquid.  Stir the meatballs back in and cook until sauced has thickened.

Season with sherry vinegar (I think it only needed that 1 tablespoon), lemon zest, salt and black pepper and...  It was awesome.  The most complex succulent Swedish meatballs I've ever had though there's not much to compare these to except Stouffer's and one trip to Ikea.  Dill makes so much sense, but it was still totally good without it.

Potato Chip Omelet (TTH)

• 12 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 6 cups plain kettle-cooked potato chips
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable oil

Mix everything except butter together.  Let sit until it softens a bit.

Heat butter over medium-heat in oven-safe skillet until melted.  Swirl to cover bottom and pour potato chip mixture pan.  Spread evenly.

Cook over low for 15 minutes until set and bottom is golden-brown.  If the latter is true but not the former, bake in a 375 degree over for a few minutes.

Invert onto a large plate and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Dotted with ketchup and served alongside some microwave garlic cauliflower (I could've chosen something more assertive) and skillet toast.  Yeah this seems like it would totally be a great last minute brunch dish.

Corned Beef on Rye with Sauce Maria Rosa and Brussels Kraut (TTH)

FOR THE BRINE

• 10 cups water
• 5 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons coarse salt
• 8 garlic cloves
• 12 juniper berries, crushed
• 8 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon allspice berries, crushed
• 1 bay leaf, crushed
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 beef brisket flat cut, fat cap intact (about 4 pounds)     

Combine 2 cups of water with remaining brine ingredients and bright to a simmer.

Let cool.  Put brisket in heavy-duty gallon-sized resealable bag or large non-reactive container.  Pour brine over and add remaining water.  Refrigerate in bring for at least 12 hours, and up to 3 days.

I managed about 24 hours.

FOR COOKING THE BRISKET

• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, roughly choppes
• 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped

Place well-rinsed brisket over chopped vegetables and cover with water.  Bring to boil.  cover and simmer until brisket is fork-tender, about 2 hours.

Remove brisket and let cool slightly.  Although it was much easier to cut when it had been sitting in the fridge for a bit.

FOR THE SANWICHES

• 8 thick slices rye bread or pumpernickel-rye swirl
• 1/4 cup Pastrami Mustard
• 1 cup Brussels Kraut
• 8 cornichons, sliced lengthwise
• 1/4 cup Sauce Maria Rosa

PASTRAMI MUSTARD 

• 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup Beer Mustard [No, I don't this I'm making a subcomponent.  Plain dijon I think will be fine here.]

Toast coriander and mustard seeds.

Run them and the peppercorns through a coffee grinder and combine with paprika and mustard.

SAUCE MARIA ROSA

• 2/3 cup Aioli or good-quality store-bought mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup San Marzano Ketchup or store-bought ketchup
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Cholula hot sauce
• 3 drops Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Richard Blais' take on Thousand Island dressing is pretty awesome.

BRUSSELS KRAUT

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds

Sandwich mise en place.

Regarding the Brussels Kraut, they are supposed to be cut in a "chiffonade" and blanched.  I didn't see much point in going through the trouble of blanching so I just skipped that step.

Combine with the vinegar and caraway and refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.

Spread one slice of bread with 1 tablespoon mustard and arrange slices of brisket over.  The brisket wasn't really sliceable at the moment.

 

Top with Brussels Kraut and cornichons.  Spread other slice of bread with the Sauce Maria Rosa.

Really amazing, complex sandwich just like the one I used when I made mortadella.  It didn't take a lot of effort to make a slaw and a couple sauces.  Spread the sandwich around to various friends who all really liked the sandwich.
Eric S even said I should open up a sandwich store.  Ha.