Classic Roast Chicken With Pan Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Truss chicken: Preheat oven to 450 F, preferably convection. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. (Optional: stuff cavity with a whole lemon to prop up the breast.) Cut about 3 feet of twine, lay it flat on a clean surface, and position chicken breast side up on the middle of the twine. Tie the legs together with a single knot. Flip the chicken over, bring twine down the length of the bird, wrap it under the wings, tighten, and tie off the twine behind the neck; trim excess twine. (The goal of trussing is to make the chicken as compact as possible, preventing hot air from circulating in the cavity and drying out the breasts.)
• Season chicken: Lift the chicken with one hand and generously sprinkle salt over it with the other, rotating the chicken to make sure it's evenly coated; place the salted chicken in a cast-iron skillet. Roast until the juices run clear, about 1 hour. (Note: As the chicken roasts at a high temperature, the fat will naturally smoke. Cleaning your oven before roasting will minimize the smoke.)
• Pan sauce: Transfer chicken to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and let it rest. Meanwhile, put skillet with pan drippings on the stove over medium heat. Peel and thinly slice onion. Use a vegetable peeler to shave off ribbons of carrot until you reach the core; discard the core. Place onions and carrot shavings in the skillet; stir with the wooden spatula, scraping up the browned chicken drippings (or "fond") on the bottom of the skillet. Deglaze the skillet with wine, stir, and allow the liquid to reduce completely, about 3-5 minutes. When it has reduced, add 1 cup of water, stir, and let the liquid reduce again until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, carve the chicken.
• Carve chicken: Cut away the twine and discard. Separate the leg and thigh from the breast by using the knife to pop open the leg joint, making it easier to sever; separate the leg and thigh into two pieces if you wish. Cut off the wings and neck. (Optional: place neck into the skillet while the sauce is reducing for extra flavor.) Run the blade along the breastbone to remove the breasts, leaving skin intact. If you wish, cut the breasts into thick slices. Transfer to a serving platter.
• Optional: Use the carcass to make chicken stock. Place it in an oven-safe pot along with vegetables (such as carrot, celery, and/or onion) and add enough water to cover. Put the pot in a 200 F oven for 6 hours or overnight. Strain the stock and store in a lidded container in the refrigerator or freezer.Once pan sauce has thickened and looks caramel-brown, turn off the heat. Leaving the vegetables in the skillet, spoon the sauce over the chicken; serve immediately.

Steps:

• Season the chicken parts aggressively with salt. Set a Dutch oven or large, high-sided sauté pan over high heat, and swirl the olive oil into it. When it is shimmering and about to smoke, turn the heat to medium high, and working in batches, add the chicken to the pan, skin-side down, setting the pieces aside to rest when they are golden and crisp on one side and just kissed by the heat on the other, approximately 30 minutes for all the meat.
• Discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan, then return it to medium-high heat and add the mushrooms, tossing to coat them with fat. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms just begin to soften, approximately 3-4 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the Cognac, and carefully ignite it with a match, or simply cook it on very low heat until the alcohol has evaporated and the mushrooms are glossy.
• Scrape the mushrooms to the sides of the pan, then add to it the chicken pieces, arranged in a single layer if possible. Pour 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock around the chicken. It should rise about halfway up each piece. Lower heat to medium, allow the mixture to come to a low simmer, then put a lid on the pan and allow the mixture to cook slowly until the meat has cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid from the pan, and transfer the chicken pieces to a platter to rest. Turn the heat to medium high, and allow the chicken stock to reduce by 1/3, then add the heavy cream, and stir to incorporate. Let this mixture simmer for a minute or 2 until it starts to thicken, then add the Madeira, and swirl again to combine.
• Continue cooking the sauce until it can enrobe the back of a spoon, approximately 2-3 minutes more, then stir in the butter, crème fraîche and chopped savory and stir to combine. Turn the heat off, add the tarragon, stir one more time and then return the chicken pieces to the pan. Spoon some sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Steps:

• After preparing Roast Chicken, remove rack from roasting pan, leaving necks in pan; place pan on stove (it may need to be set across two burners) over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until necks and chicken bits remaining in pan are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes; spoon off and discard all but 1/4 cup of the fat.
• Add 1 cup dry white wine, and boil until reduced by half, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, 4 to 6 minutes. Carefully pour contents of pan through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan; add any juices that have accumulated on platter from resting chickens.
• Remove pan from heat; add 1 tablespoon cold butter, and swirl pan just until butter has melted and sauce has thickened. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper; serve with roast chickens. (If necessary, reheat sauce but do not boil.)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425. Rinse the chicken well, then dry it with paper towel. Season the chicken aggressively with salt. Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl, and rub the mixture all over the skin of the chicken breasts.
• Heat the oil in a large, oven-safe sauté pan or skillet set over medium heat. When it is shimmering, put the breasts into the pan skin side down, and cook, unattended, until the skin is golden brown, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, turn the chicken breasts over, and place the pan in the oven. Roast until the chicken is golden brown all over and the meat cooked entirely through, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a warmed platter, and allow to rest.
• Meanwhile, put the mint, parsley, garlic and serrano into a food processor, and pulse into a paste. Add the honey and mustard, and pulse again, until combined. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture has become emulsified. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and if necessary, whisk in a few tablespoons of water to thin the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon some of the sauce over each chicken breast, and serve, with the remaining sauce on the side. Roasted potatoes with some thinly sliced lemons makes a fine accompaniment, along with sautéed greens.