It’s rare that I covet a kitchen item that I don’t actually let myself have, but I have a special affinity for Le Creuset Dutch ovens that I am trying to keep a lid on (pun intended). Right now, I have three – all round – a small one in aubergine (I believe it’s call the “risotto pot”), a green one that can hold a chicken or a medium amount of stew, and a large red braiser with lower sides. I use them all the time. They also weigh about 1 ton each, and every time I need to get one out I have to sit on the floor and try not to drop them on my toes as I unstack and restack and protect myself from avalanching lids.
However, a friend with great taste whose home I was at a few weeks ago for dinner has a matte navy, oval 9-quart oven, and I’ve become obsessed. Partly because I already have the beautiful matching lidded casserole dish, and partly because this hulking beast looks like it would be perfect to make just about anything in. A roast! A duck! A chicken with lots of vegetables tucked inside! Chili, stew, you name it! The problem is the equally hulking price tag, and the diminishing storage space for such large, heavy items in my apartment. But a girl can dream, can’t she?
The good news is that you don’t need a 9-quart matte navy Dutch oven to make this roast chicken, which is one of the best roast chickens ever (at least, one of the best I’ve ever made). It is a Julia Child recipe so it is, unsurprisingly, perfect. It’s perhaps a little involved, but very worth it for a one-pot meal, because pearl onions and potatoes do count as vegetables. Julia has you truss a chicken (which once again reminds me, I should really buy that trussing needle). I did this step using kitchen twine and a metal skewer with a partially closed loop at the end- a mostly ineffective method, but you have to admire my ingenuity. In the end, my chicken’s limbs were tucked in tightly and it was ready to be slathered with butter inside and out, except that I had, once again, forgotten to bring the butter to room temperature. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to smear butter straight from your fridge onto the skin of a chicken, but it’s about as easy and pleasant as it sounds.
The last piece of this puzzle that threw me for a loop was the pearl onions, which are just adorable (and delicious once cooked) but it took me about a million years to peel them. Once I had lost what felt like most of an afternoon doing this, I was schooled by a brilliant friend that a quick way to remove the skins is to cut an X in the bottoms and pop them in boiling water for a few seconds. The skins come right off. Live and learn.
Despite several kitchen mishaps during the preparation of this chicken, all of my own doing, the resulting dinner was outstanding, and extremely cozy. Since you can learn from my mistakes, I think you’ll have a much easier time preparing it, which will probably make you like the finished product even more (I don’t know about you, but I sometimes get filled with resentment towards the thing I’ve labored over.) It’s perfect for a Sunday dinner this time of year.
I am off tonight on a last-minute, whirlwind jaunt to London, the coziest city in the world during the coziest time of year. If you’d like to follow my adventures which undoubtedly will center purely around food, you can find me and my elastic waist pants over on Instagram. See you next week!
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. slab bacon
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 3-lb. ready-to-cook roasting chicken
- 15 to 25 peeled white pearl onions
- 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. boiling potatoes or small new potatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- A medium herb bouquet containing 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf and 1/4 teaspoon thyme tied in a washed cheesecloth
Instructions
- Season the cavity of your chicken with 1 tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper. Then truss the chicken and pat the skin dry. Rub the skin with another tablespoon of butter.
- Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons, about 1/2-inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long. Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water and dry. In the Dutch oven, saute the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes in 1 tablespoon of butter until very lightly browned. Remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the casserole.
- Set your Dutch oven over moderately high heat with the fat still in the bottom. Lay in the chicken, breast side down. Brown for 2 to 3 minutes, regulating heat so the fat is hot but not burning. Turn the chicken on another side, using 2 wooden spoons or a towel. Be sure not to break the chicken skin. Continue browning and turning the chicken until it is a nice golden color almost all over, particularly on the breast and legs. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Add a little oil if necessary to keep the bottom of the pot filmed. Remove the chicken to a side dish and pour the fat out of the casserole.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Drop the onions in boiling, salted water and boil slowly for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- If you are using large potatoes, peel them and trim into uniform ovals about 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. If you're using new potatoes, keep the skins on. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Drain immediately.
- Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the casserole until it is foaming. Add the drained potatoes and roll them around over moderate heat for 2 minutes to evaporate their moisture; this will prevent their sticking to the casserole. Spread them aside, salt the chicken and place it breast up in the casserole. Place the bacon and onions over the potatoes and the herb bouquet. Baste all ingredients with the butter in the casserole, lay aluminum foil over the chicken, and cover the Dutch oven with a lid.
- Heat the casserole on top of the stove until the contents are sizzling, then place in the middle level of the preheated oven and roast for one hour and 10 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done (175 to 180 degrees). Baste once or twice with the butter and juices in the pan.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/12/12/casserole-roasted-chicken-with-bacon-onions-and-potatoes-poulet-en-cocette-bonne-femme/
