For dinner tonight I was roasting a chicken. I wanted to do a special of mine that we used to do on the rotisserie grill, before it broke. I make a pesto/paste and put it under the chicken skin and then roast the chicken on the rotisserie. But we have no rotisserie right now. I thought of the beer can chicken technique and thought that if I could just stand my bird up, my recipe would work. BUT, I didn't have a beer can. And even if I did, I'm not sure about cooking meat at a high temperature on an aluminum base. I thought... hmm... what about a glass jar? I decided to google "are mason jars oven-safe" and found out that people apparently bake cakes in them. So, I guess they are oven safe. With a plan in mind I went out to the garden and picked a copious amount of lavender (including blooms), rosemary, and sage. I washed it all and spun it dry in the lettuce spinner. Then I put it in the mini-processor with some pink Himalayan salt, extra virgin olive oil, and a couple handfuls of walnuts. And the girls took turns pulverizing it. While the pesto/paste whirled I carefully pulled the skin from the flesh of my chicken -- first breast side, gently coaxing space. Then the backside, and down along the thighs and legs and wings. When the space was all opened up I stuffed my pesto/paste down in there, rubbing along the outside to spread it everywhere. Next I inserted the jar into the chicken's, um, you know. Into a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, after which I dropped the temp to 350 for another 1.5 hours or so. With 40 minutes left I added quartered fingerling potatoes.
Accompaniments were steamed broccoli, fresh bread, and what I call the Greggie salad. The salad is not named for her because she loves it -- rather because it likes to be naked! A mix of green leaf and romaine tossed with LOTS of fresh basil, cilantro, and dill, it screams, "Don't dress me!"
3 comments:
Marlyn that sounds so GOOD! I've been doing pieced chickens in our cast iron pans forever and they always come out increcible w/o lifting the skin but now you have me wondering! The can method has always made me question the inks on the printing outside more than the metal but good thoughts on that! Or maybe the leaching is nothing? Who knowS!
I know, who knows. But it creeps me a little! haha
If I can't stand or "spear" the chicken (rotisserie style) and I'm not stewing it, I also cut it into pieces for roasting in cast iron, with lots of herbs and usually some citrus. This was honestly the best roasted chicken I ever ate!
I've never thought about the can before but that's a really good point! Good to know the glass will work - we always have that on hand!
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