So I did! And now you too can make chicken sum'n sum'n.
Pour 1/2 bottle of a good wine into a large, stain-free bowl. I used a Mirassou pinot noir. I would have drank it, but I had opened it the night before and fell asleep after two glasses and left it out over night. Interestingly enough, it turned from a fruity, woody flavor to one more like green olives. Mmmm... green olives!Add about a 1/4 cup hoisen sauce. Or more. I really can't remember how much I put in, but it was AT LEAST 1/4 cup! Mix in 3-4 TBS thyme, 1 tsp celery seeds, and a TBS sea salt.
Place a whole chicken into the mix and let marinade for about an hour or so.
Place the marinaded chicken in a pan for going in the oven. I used the clay pot cooker, but you could use regular pan or a dutch oven. Whatever you got. In a regular pan, I would suggest adding about 1 inch of the marinade to the bottom of the pan to keep the chicken from going dry.Sprinkle 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp ground rosemary over the chicken. Add 4 TBS pomegranate arils and a whole onion cut into 2 inch pieces into the pan around the chicken.
In the clay pot cooker, I cooked it for two hours at 450 degrees. I'm not sure what it would be in a regular pan: 1-2 hours on 350 degrees? I would cover with tin-foil for first hour if in a regular pan, and then crisp the skin for twenty minutes without tin foil.When cooked in the clay cooker it is so tender that you can use a fork to get meat off the chicken.
I served this chicken with garlic & rosemary mashed potatoes and a salad made with red lettuce, chopped pecans and the rest of the pomegranante arils with a fat free honey dijon dressing. Oh Joy!!
Some were wondering about cleaning the clay pot cooker and I had said that it would build a nice patina that would make it gradually easier and easier to clean. Here you can see it is building a nice one. This is about the fourth time that I have used the cooker and it was easier to clean than even the last time I used it. Took me about 3 minutes with some baking soda, hot water and a scrub brush.
The top isn't getting much of a patina, but then not much food touches it so there's not much to clean.
13 comments:
How talented you are! I could never make up anything. I'm lost without a recipe. I tell people I can't cook, I just follow directions extremely well. I'm so jealous!
OldRoses, thanks. I learned how to cook from watching my dad, the Cajun Chef, and just having an amazing sense of taste and smell. I can smell or taste something and tell what it would go well with. I generally can even tell how much of each you would need in order to not overpower other flavors. So I'm really not afraid to just start throwing things together.
Although... I have had quite a few dishes that didn't turn out the way that I wanted and I just threw them right in the garbage. I don't waste my time with bad food.
The only thing that I would do differently with this recipe is maybe add MORE spices. The flavors in this ended up being pleasantly layered and subtle, but I might want to just jazz it up every now and then.
Okay, spring needs to come so you'll stop making me so freaking hungry! That sounds delish!
Garden Obsession, welcome to my blog!
You know, I gain about five to ten pounds during the winter from all the cooking and blogging.
But I lose it during the summer from all the gardening and blogging ;)
Not good to read this when still a long time from dinner! :)
Dredom Man, welcome to my blog! I have a habit of talking about food when everyone around me is starving. I'd be the first to die if stranded on an island with a bunch of people. They'd kill me!!
I always get hungry when I stop by for a visit. Good to see you are putting the clay pot to use. I saw something similiar in a kitchen store yesterday. Very pricey. I know you got a deal but would you spend lots of money on one?
Sandy, now that I know what they can do, yes, I would spend a lot on one. If anything ever happens to mine, I would for sure replace it!
I have been looking at them online and they have some pretty good deals over the internet. I think I would check there after I checked my thrift store first!
Here is a website I found for a brand that I have heard was pretty good:
Romertopf
Thanks Sylvana!:)
I just checked out that site. These prices are very reasonable. The kitchen store I was at wanted 150.00.
Sandy, I KNOW!! When I first started looking for one, that was what I was facing too. I was able to find a few for under $100, but they were still pretty expensive. I don't think I would ever buy something to try at those prices! I would have to know that it was worth every penny.
The unglazed one is the one that you want. Buying a glazed one defeats the whole idea of clay pot cooking. It is OK if it is a little glazed on the very bottom, but it is best if completely unglazed.
I thought that these Romertopfs looked real cute too!
Seriously, baking a tender, juicy chicken was never so easy! They even make them big enough for TURKEYS!! Goodbye dry turkey!
These would work great for pot roast and pork roast, too.
Can you tell I'm excited about mine? ;)
My mom wants want now too!
Sandy, I think that these would make a great gift. I really like mine since the base fits in the lid for easier storage.
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