ANITA L. ARAMBULA
The surprising addition of seedless red grapes mingles with olive oil and butter to create a simple sauce for this rosemary roasted chicken
Rosemary-seasoned chicken roasted with seedless red grapes
For the amount of time I have spent in the kitchen, one would think that roasting a chicken would be old hat by now. I should have dozens of roasted chickens in my culinary past. Sadly, until last year, I could count the number of chickens I’ve roasted in my lifetime on one hand. Why? Maybe it’s the dried-out chicken breasts the teen in me remembers eating at friends’ homes that made me fearful that I could do no better.
Or maybe it’s the intimidation of staring at an entire chicken on a cutting board, string in hand, trying to figure out what the heck “truss” means?
Perhaps it’s just the convenience factor of being able to swing by nearly any grocery store these days to pick up a rotisserie chicken, no knowledge of trussing required.
You know what, though? At least half of the time, those rotisserie chickens have been sitting under hot lights long enough for the breasts to dry out anyway, and the meat on the legs becomes so hard as to render it inedible.
The idea of roasting a chicken at home was becoming more and more appealing with every disappointing store-bought rotisserie chicken.
And honestly, is there anything like the smell of a roasting chicken as it filters throughout the house? For me, the smell stirs memories of weekends spent gathered around the kitchen table, with family members fighting over who got the drumsticks.
A freshly roasted chicken straight out of the oven is comfort food times 10.
Depending on the size of the chicken, it’s also a dish that keeps on giving. Leftovers are perfect for chicken salad or shredded for chicken tacos, ideal for soups, or even tossed with greens for a satisfying salad.
I started the year determined to roast more chickens. So far, I’ve only done it a few times.
The first one I made this year, I followed the much-hyped recipe from Jamie Oliver for chicken roasted in milk with cinnamon. It was tasty and different and a recipe I plan to try again. (I had no sage when I made it, and in hindsight, it needed the bitterness of sage to balance out the sweet warmth of the cinnamon.)
Then there’s this version of roasted chicken inspired by a book I recently added to my Kindle library.
After having “The Flavor Bible” mentioned to me at least a half-dozen times in less than a week, I bought it and I’m so happy I did. “The Flavor Bible” is not a recipe book. It’s a reference book with more than 600 entries listing compatible flavor combinations. I find the book inspiring, sparking new ideas for recipes. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of using the same ingredients and the same familiar recipes, but this book helps me in truly creative ways by listing unique ingredient combinations I would not have thought of on my own.
For example, roasting chicken with grapes.
This idea came about after reading the entry for grapes. It was in the middle of summer and I had a large bag of ripe red Muscato grapes sitting in my refrigerator. Although excellent for eating out of hand, they were screaming for more creative use.
According to “The Flavor Bible,” grapes pair perfectly with nearly all of this dish’s ingredients. I just went down the list of compatible flavors under the grape heading, checking off ingredients I already had on hand to come up with this recipe. Not having tried this combination before, I bit the bullet and went with it, adjusting amounts as I experimented. This roast chicken is moist, fragrant and utterly delicious. It’s an elegant dish easy enough for everyday cooking but fancy enough for company.
Muscato grape season has just passed, but any seedless red grape will do. Some of the grapes burst while roasting, their juices mingling with the butter and olive oil, creating a lovely sauce for the chicken. I left a few grapes on the vines just for the photos; I suggest you take them all off the vine when you make the recipe.
As for trussing the chicken — which involves tying the wings and legs close to the body — skip it if you like, but it helps keep the breasts from overcooking by limiting the amount of air circulating into the breast cavity.
Afraid to truss? Head on over to Youtube and watch this amusing video (https://youtu.be/x3bieeeyeak) on trussing from Chef Brian Polcyn, a butchery expert.
For guidance on how long to roast chickens, I rely on Julia Child’s expertise to determine roasting time: In a 450-degree oven, start with 45 minutes and add 7 minutes for each pound. You’ll need a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast iron, although my cast iron is only 8 inches, so I used my commercial grade Calphalon skillet).
Another pro tip: Preheat your skillet. Doing so not only shortens the cooking time, but it gives the thighs a little more heat, so they start cooking immediately. Just wait until you hear that sizzle the moment the chicken makes contact with the hot pan — it’s a beautiful sound!
Arambula is the food section art director and designer. She blogs at www.confessionsofafoodie.me, where this article originally published. Follow her on Instagram: @afotogirl. She can be reached at anita.arambula@sduniontribune.com.