I feel like chicken tonight....

OK – that’s a bit of a play on a commercial but I must admit probably my favourite for meat – the first being lamb – something I never tried until I moved to England – how sad is that?! I found out at the store that whole free-range chicken was on offer. It is far cheaper per pound to buy a whole chicken and cut it up or roast it whole (and get a second/third) dinner from it than just buying already cut pieces. Don’t believe me? Compare the price per kilo. It does work out to be far cheaper and more economical. What is really the hard part is insisting that you use everything you have to make it go further.

So this posting will be about my initial dinner – roast chicken. I’ll chronicle only roasting the chicken and then I’ll chronicle the second and if I’m lucky third meal about it. With a whole chicken it depends on the time and my mood as to what I’ll do with it. I make this spicy blend (I had bought something similar to it originally but it was too salty so I looked at what was in it and then made my own – of course!) that I often just rub on the whole chicken and roast it just like that. Or I’ll soften some butter and add a bunch of herbs and spices and place that under the skin and let it roast. Sometimes I will put lemons in the cavity or there is always the plain but simply delicious option of salt, pepper and that’s it! If I’m feeling really decadent I’ll brine the chicken but because I stick to free-range or organic chicken that’s really not necessary (turkey is another matter!).

Today’s chicken I’ve decided to roast with my special spice rub. I like how it crisps the skin and also adds flavour to the stock that I make afterwards. I did this previously and it came out so good. I always wash it inside and out before I prep it. I pat it dry so that the spice rub adheres to the skin. I will even rub a bit on the inside of the bird as well – it seasons the underside of the meat. This is what the chicken looked like before I roasted it. I put a bit of oil on the bottom of the pan to keep the chicken from sticking while cooking.

The recipe I use for the rub is as follows;

Spice Rub (can be used on chicken, turkey or pork)

Equal quantities of each;

Paprika (sweet –not the hot kind), coriander, chilli pepper (I usually cut this to half as I’m not too keen on it being HOT), onion, garlic, nutmeg (again about the same as chilli pepper), salt and finally black pepper.

All spices are ground to begin with but lately I've been roasting them whole and then I put in a mortar and pestle to give them a extra grind but then add the other ingredients to combine and thoroughly mix. I then add some parsley flakes to the mixture and a bit of mixed Italian herbs once I’ve decanted it to a jar. I then have it ready for whatever meal I wish to use it for.

I roast the chicken at a higher temperature – about 220 degrees Celsius for about an hour or so until I know it’s done (and depending on the weight of the chicken). This is the chicken after I roasted it. Yummy!

I once saw a program about cheap chicken and how Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was trying to get everyone to switch from the cheap chickens to at least free-range or organic ones. To me he was preaching to the converted – I already do that. What I found shocking was those people who simply bought a cheap chicken – ate what they wanted and tossed the rest. This is why people and this planet are in trouble! We have to use everything that we have. Some of those old war mottos are right!
So come back next week to see what my meal number two is out of this fantastic roast chicken feast. I hope you’ll find something that appeals to you and that you try – that’s what this is all about – trying. Enjoy!

Wonderful after thoughts....

I was going to have a piece of toast with my breakfast but alas the bread by now has gone a bit *hard*. So I decided I had enough bread crumbs and would make instead some croutons for the coming summer salads.

There is no hard and fast rule for me with croutons other than they need to be crunchy. I am all into the crunchy! Anyway, I usually just stick to the basics which might look a bit weird but trust me – you’ll never, EVER, buy anything in the store again once you have had these! And have you checked out how much they cost in the store? There is some serious mark-up on these (think about it - they cost more than a whole loaf of bread!) when really everyone can make them in less than 5 minutes prep time and about 10 minutes cooking. It really is so simple and delicious!

So I cube the bread and put onto a baking tray (cookie sheet for those on the other side of the pond). I have a really sort of basic pan here that I use for anything oily/messy. I find it keeps my good pans in great shape and this one well I don’t care about it so it can get as messy as I like.

I then assemble my flavour enhancers as I call them, things like salt, pepper (always a must!) and a few other spices – namely oregano, ground coriander (I did this myself with my mortar and pestle – I just kept it in the same jar with a card that tells me what it is – I usually use the carton), ground cumin, garlic/onion granules and a good amount of olive oil. If you want them spicy - use some cayenne pepper or how about some sweet paprika? Anything goes in this - just don't use too much and keep it to about 3-4 herbs/spices. Each time I make them I try something different but the basic salt/pepper/garlic is always a pleaser if you just want to keep them plain for your use.

I put on as much pepper as I like, and about a ½ teaspoon of the other spices. I used only a pinch or two of cumin but more coriander as I like this spice. I then added about two to three good pinches of salt. I then add about 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and stir this all up on the sheet. You could do this in a bowl but I like less clean-up. I add more oil if needed – sometimes the bread dictates how much is used but never more than another tablespoon or so. As I said – hard to say exactly how much as I just sprinkle or do it till I think – yeah that’s enough.I then put into a pre-heated oven at about 190 degrees Celsius or about 375 degrees Fahrenheit depending on which side you live. I leave this until I begin to smell it – about 10-15 minutes and they come out all toasty and crunchy. I leave to cool and put them into a zip lock baggie for storage until they are needed. The bottom picture is me trying to use the macro setting on the new camera - not bad for a first attempt... =)They keep for about a week at room temperature. They are great for salads and I love how the bread crumbs from the cutting board soak up the spices – I used it all. They are especially great with my blue cheese dressing (recipe given previously). I have done this with store bought bread but usually with my own. It ensures that everything is used and nothing goes to waste. As it ought to be! Enjoy...