Roast Baby Chicken and Chicken Jus
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C
Remove wishbone from the chicken ⓘ
French trim wings and legs (ankles) ⓘ
Truss the chicken ⓘ
Add oil in pan, turn up heat
Rub chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper
When pan is hot enough, place the chicken in pan on the side (wing side) ⓘ
Straight into oven to cook for 12 minutes ⓘ
Turn over (another wing side) and cook for another 12 minutes
While waiting the chicken to be cooked, wash, peel and chop vegetables into mirepoix ⓘ
When second side is done, add mirepoix and unused chicken pieces into the pan. Turn the chicken to its back and cook for another 10-15 minutes ⓘ
Rest the chicken and set aside
Strain mirepoix through a colander to degrease and put mirepoix back into the pan and oven at 200°C for another 10 minutes ⓘ
Pan onto stove on low heat, add chicken stock to simmer until reduced by half
Pass through fine sieve, keep hot
Remove trussing string, carve the chicken to remove breast and thighs ⓘ
Plate your chicken, drizzle on Jus and enjoy!
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C
Remove wishbone from the chicken ⓘ
French trim wings and legs (ankles) ⓘ
Truss the chicken ⓘ
Add oil in pan, turn up heat
Rub chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper
When pan is hot enough, place the chicken in pan on the side (wing side) ⓘ
Straight into oven to cook for 12 minutes ⓘ
Turn over (another wing side) and cook for another 12 minutes
While waiting the chicken to be cooked, wash, peel and chop vegetables into mirepoix ⓘ
When second side is done, add mirepoix and unused chicken pieces into the pan. Turn the chicken to its back and cook for another 10-15 minutes ⓘ
Rest the chicken and set aside
Strain mirepoix through a colander to degrease and put mirepoix back into the pan and oven at 200°C for another 10 minutes ⓘ
Pan onto stove on low heat, add chicken stock to simmer until reduced by half
Pass through fine sieve, keep hot
Remove trussing string, carve the chicken to remove breast and thighs ⓘ
Plate your chicken, drizzle on Jus and enjoy!
Poussin is a baby chicken, with this recipe you can use any chicken you like by adjusting the oven time.
“Mirepoix is a combination of aromatic vegetables that gives a subtle background flavor to dishes such as soups, stews, and braises.” – The Martha Stewart Show, March 2009
See this link on instructions how to remove wishbone and truss the chicken.
French trim instruction here! This is optional, you can do it without French trim. The pieces left after trimming can be saved for later use in with the mirepoix.
To test if the pan is hot enough, gently touch the chicken to the pan, you should hear a little sizzle, not too loud where oil will splash everywhere. Just a gentle sizzle.
For larger chicken, extend the time to 20-25 minutes.
We are not serving the mirepoix vegetables, so chop in any way you want, ideally about 1-1.5 cm width.
To test if the chicken is cooked through, use a toothpick and poke the thigh, if juice running out is clear without blood, it is cooked through.
Putting mirepoix back into the oven is optional, you can also skip this step and add the stock straight in.
Learn to carve a chicken here!
This recipe and tips was given to me by participating in the Cuisine Techniques Essential short course at Le Cordon Bleu London.
Icons designed by Smashicons from Flaticon