Herb Roasted Cognac Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• 1. slice 3 cloves of garlic set aside
• 2. poke about 10 holes in each chicken breast with a knife and use about 2T Cognac to pour onto all the holes, stuff the holes with the sliced garlic then pour the rest of the cognac over them and place in a zip lock bag and place in the refrigerator for about an hour.
• 3. chop herbs and put them in a bowl, add cumin, red pepper flakes and paprika, toss with your fingers set aside.
• 4. slice the rest of the garlic and scallions and set aside
• 5. pre heat oven to 350 degrees
• 6. in a cast iron skillet or oven safe skillet put 2T butter and 2T olive oil heat over high flame
• 7. take chicken out of the bag(reserve cognac) sprinkle with salt and pepper now take herb mixture and spead it into breasts, patting lightly to make it stick.
• 8. place herb side down in the hot skillet we are searing them not cooking through , turn after 2 minutes and then flip to the other side for 2 minutes, flip back to herb side REMOVE FROM HEAT THEN add any leftover herb mixture, garlic, scallions, 2T butter and 4T of the reserved cognac to pan, if it does not flare on it's own, light a match to ignite cognac and burn off alcoholand return to burner, once the flames have gone out remove pan from heat and place the whole pan in the oven to finish cooking about 25-30 minutes. ***Remember that if the pan is hot and you add cognac, which is a high alcohol liquor, it may flare up. I would always suggest that you take the pan off the heat when you add any alcoholic ingredient, then put it back on heat to flame. Safety before all else in the kitchen. :) (Thanks Pam)
• 9. I served this with potatoes and a tomato-cucumber-mint salad (recipe to be posted seperately)

Steps:

• Pat the chicken dry; generously season the skin and inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 4 hours or overnight to dry out the skin. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before roasting.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mash the butter with the chopped thyme and chopped rosemary in a small bowl. Gently slide your fingers under the chicken skin on the breasts and legs to loosen it. Scoop some of the herbed butter with a spoon; slide the spoon under the skin and hold the skin in place while you remove the spoon. Smooth the skin to distribute the butter. Repeat with the remaining butter.
• Squeeze a lemon half into the cavity of each chicken, then stuff the lemon half inside. Stuff 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 thyme sprig and 1/2 rosemary sprig into each chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with twine. Set a rack in a large roasting pan; put the chicken on the rack and roast 25 minutes. Toss the scallions, tomatoes, olive oil and a large pinch of salt in a bowl, then add to the roasting pan. Remove the twine from the chicken and continue roasting until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 50 more minutes.
• Transfer the chicken and vegetables to platters and let rest about 10 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from chicken; rub 1/4 cup butter under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. Tuck wings under chicken; tie drumsticks together. Pour broth around chicken., Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter; brush over chicken. Drizzle with orange juice and wine. Combine garlic, salt and pepper; rub over skin. Place rosemary, thyme and sage in roasting pan. , Roast until thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 1-1/2 to 2 hours (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.) Remove chicken from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving; remove toothpicks. If desired, skim fat and thicken pan drippings for gravy. Serve with chicken.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place a heavy roasting pan to preheat in the oven.
• Season the capon cavity with salt and pepper. Put the crushed garlic, chopped onion and dry herbs inside the cavity. Using the twine, tie the legs closed. Rub the entire outside of the capon with an even coat of the olive oil. Pick the herbs from their stems, coarsely chop them, and sprinkle them evenly on the chicken. Place the chicken into the pre-heated roasting pan and roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast for an additiional 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced. Allow to rest on a platter for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
• While the chicken is resting, place the roasting pan on top of the stove, remove any chicken fat with a spoon, and, over medium heat, deglaze the pan drippings with the chicken broth. Use a spoon to scrape up all the crusty bits (that's where the most concentrated flavor is) and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a gravy boat to pass at the table.

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine the chopped rosemary, sage, garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Season generously with salt. Using your fingertips carefully work your way under the skin of the chickens to separate the skin from the breast to develop a pocket. Schmear the herb paste under the skin of both chickens. Use all of the paste and try to distribute evenly. Drizzle each chicken with more olive oil and massage the skin. The idea here is to lube them up like suntan lotion. This will really help to get a nice brown crispy skin. Sprinkle each chicken generously with salt. Truss each chicken.
• Place the diced veggies, bay leaves and thyme bundle in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the 2 chickens without touching. Usually a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan will be perfect. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and season generously with salt. Arrange the chickens on top of the veggies in the roasting pan and place in the preheated oven.
• Check the chickens about 15 minutes into the cooking process, the skin should be starting to turn a lovely brown. Lower the heat to 375 degrees F and continue roasting. After another 15 minutes, remove the chickens from the oven and turn over. At this point check the level of liquid in the roasting pan. If most of the liquid has evaporated, add another cup of stock and return the chickens to the oven. When the chickens have browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and turn them back over. Return the chickens to the oven for the final 15 minutes of cooking. During this time the skin on the chickens should be very brown and crispy. Remove the chickens from the oven and take the temperature in the crease between the thigh and the breast. (When doing this be sure not to have the thermometer probe touch a bone or you will get an inaccurate reading.) The thermometer should read between 160 and 170 degrees F. When cooking poultry in general the rule is 17 minutes per pound. If the thermometer reads less than 160 degrees F return the chicken to the oven for an additional 10 minutes and then re-check the temperature.
• When chickens have reached the proper temp remove them from the roasting pan, place them on a warm platter and cover loosely with foil. Let sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
• After the chickens have been removed from the roasting pan, skim off the excess fat from the surface of the liquid. The easiest way to do this is to prop up 1 end of the pan and allow the fat to run to the other end of the pan. You may not be able to get all of the fat, which is ok-fat tastes good! Put the roasting pan on a burner, add the wine, bring to a medium heat and reduce by half. Add the remaining chicken stock and taste. Add salt if needed- you probably will need salt. At this point you can decide if you are a "strainer" or not a strainer, meaning if you would like to strain the chunky vegetables out of the sauce or not. I myself, am not a strainer. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency and flavor remove from the heat and pour into desired serving vessel.
• To carve the chickens: Cut off the twine. Pull the thigh and leg away from the breast of the chicken until the thigh bone "pops" out of the socket. This is also a sign that the chicken is cooked properly. Separate the thigh and drumstick. Remove the breast from the carcass by feeling for the ridge of the breastbone in the center of the chicken and slicing around the rib cage. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter or on individual plates with the mashed potatoes and gravy

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the pancetta in a heavy-based frying pan and gently fry until crisp - if you start the pancetta slowly from a cold pan you shouldn't need to add oil. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add shallots to the pan, there should be some pancetta fat left, then fry for 10-15 mins until golden and starting to soften. Tip the shallots into your largest roasting tin.
• Rub the olive oil over both chickens, season well with salt and pepper, then snuggle the chickens into the tin. Roast for 1 hr 20 mins until golden and cooked through. To check they're cooked, pierce the thighs through to the bone - the juices should run clear. Lift the chickens onto a plate or another tin, cover with foil and rest while you finish the veg.
• Put the roasting tin directly on the hob and stir in the stock. Bubble for a few mins, scraping up any stuck bits, then stir in the peas, pancetta and most of the chopped tarragon. Bubble for a few mins more until the peas are cooked, then season and sit the chickens back on top, or transfer everything to a serving dish if you want a smarter presentation. Scatter the chickens with the remaining tarragon, and serve with potatoes - mashed, jacket or roasted, or boiled new potatoes.

Steps:

• Combine herb leaves and garlic with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, pouring in oil in a slow, steady stream. Stir in zest; season with pepper.
• Place chicken on a cutting board. Tuck wing tips under. Season cavity with salt and pepper. Place lemon halves and herb stems in cavity. Make two 1 1/2-inch slits in each leg and thigh. Loosen skin from breasts with your fingers. Rub paste all over chicken, into slits and under skin. Tie legs with kitchen twine. Refrigerate chicken, covered, at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or roasting pan in oven 15 minutes. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Carefully place it in the skillet in the oven, breast side down. Roast 15 minutes. Turn chicken onto its side; roast 10 minutes. Turn onto other side; roast 10 minutes. Turn chicken onto its back; roast until golden brown and juices run clear or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 degrees. about 20 minutes.
• Lift chicken so that juices run into skillet; transfer chicken to a platter. Cover chicken loosely with foil; set aside. Pour off fat from skillet, leaving juices; discard fat. Heat juices over medium-high heat. Slowly add wine, stirring to loosen the browned bits. Bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Serve chicken with the pan sauce.