Roasting

Practicality is the hallmark of my cooking classes. The menu below, for example, is classic family-style stuff. But not everyone is confident about simply roasting a chicken, so they want to know the best way to roast a chicken, not the fastest way. I tell them to round out the menu with simple bistro-style dishes; I discuss some options, and show the class how to do them. As soon as people see something big — the Thanksgiving turkey, the Easter ham — completed step by step, they feel confident. It's just a matter of making it approachable. ROASTING DEFINED To cook food uncovered in a hot oven RODGERS'S ROASTING TIPS The chicken is left at room temperature 30 minutes before it is placed in the oven to ensure even cooking of the bird. When the chicken is ready to go into the oven, it is placed breast side down on a rack in a roasting pan. The rack prevents the chicken from stewing in its own juices, and the placement of the bird allows the juices from the fatty part of the chicken to run down into the leaner white meat of the breasts. After 30 minutes the chicken is turned breast side up by inserting a large kitchen fork into the main cavity. If the skin is pricked, some of the juices may be lost. Roast Chicken with Tarragon If the excess fat essential to this recipe has been trimmed away from the tail end, ask your butcher for some extra chicken fat, which will be used to help brown and crisp the skin. Uncork a California Pinot Noir. Chicken: 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 7 1/2-pound whole roasting chicken, excess fat from tail reserved, neck and heart cut into 1-inch pieces 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped peeled carrots 4 cups cold water 2 large fresh parsley sprigs 1 fresh thyme sprig 6 whole black peppercorns 1 bay leaf Jus: 1 large shallot, minced 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces For chicken: Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add reserved chicken fat and sauté until fat is rendered and solid pieces brown, about 8 minutes. Strain rendered fat into small bowl. Reserve solid fat pieces. Freeze 2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat. Heat 1 tablespoon rendered fat in same saucepan over medium-high heat. Add neck and heart pieces and sauté until brown, about 8 minutes. Add 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup carrots; sauté until vegetables are tender, scraping up any browned bits, about 3 minutes. Add 4 cups cold water and reserved solid fat pieces. Bring to boil. Add parsley, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaf. Simmer over low heat until stock is reduced to 2 cups, about 2 hours 30 minutes. (Stock can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub 2 tablespoons frozen fat over chicken. Sprinkle chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Place chicken, breast side down, on rack in heavy large roasting pan. Fill main cavity with 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup carrots. Roast chicken until skin is pale golden and begins to crisp, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Insert large kitchen fork into main cavity of chicken and turn chicken breast side up.
Roast until meat thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 180°F, about 1 hour 15 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil while preparing jus.
For jus: Pour pan juices into 4-cup glass measuring cup. Do not clean roasting pan. Strain chicken stock into pan juices, pressing on solids to release liquid. Freeze stock mixture 5 minutes. Spoon fat off top of stock mixture and place 1 tablespoon fat in same roasting pan. Heat fat over medium heat. Add shallot and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add stock mixture and tarragon and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and whisk until melted and well blended. Season jus with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with jus. Makes 4 servings.