Message #1833

[Bad Penny]

By kitbashing a(n) Heston Blumental recipe (in turn, and in part relevant to this recipe, derived from what Chef Blumenthal says is a traditional Chinese recipe for roast duck) with a recipe I came up with on my own via technical advice from the "America's Test Kitchen" television program(me), I managed to create what I believe to be the perfect recipe for roast chicken, which, since I invented it in Providence, I'll call "Chicken Providence".

I'll give the recipe for a single portion, in order to facilitate the math(s) for multiple portions.

Begin with an approximately one-half US pound (1/5 to 1/4 kilo) bone-in chicken thigh.  (I prefer thighs to whole chickens due to their flavo(u)r, and also due to the fact that they have skin on only one side, which means that all the skin will be exposed to the oven heat (which makes it crispy), where as a whole bird is surrounded in skin, which means the part of the skin touching the pan won't become crispy unless you use Chef Blumenthal's method of post-roasting searing in a pan of near-smoking-point oil.)  Brine (in your refrigerator) for six hours in an 8% saline solution (which gives a rather salty taste (not so salty as to be unpleasant, but salty enough to overwhelm the other spices in my mix without overwhelming the chickeny flavo(u)r, which still comes through massively), so I'll experiment with lower saline solutions of 4 to 6 percent, and I should also add that in US volumetric terms an 8% solution is equal to one-quarter cup of regular salt plus 2 and 7/8 cups of water, while a 4% solution is equal to 1/8 cup (= 2 tbsp) salt plus 3 cups water, and a 6% solution is approximately equal to 3 tbsp salt plus 3 cups water).  Following the brining, rinse the chicken piece thoroughly in cold running water, and then soak in cold fresh water for one hour, changing the water every 15 minutes.  Immediately following the soaking, immerse each chicken piece in boiling water for 30 seconds, then immediately immerse in iced water until cool to the touch.  Then plunge the cooled piece back into the boiling water for another 30 seconds, and then immediately plunge the piece into the ice water bath until cool.  (Perform this operation for each piece of chicken separately!)  Once each piece has been subjected to this operation (known as "blanching"), wrap each piece in paper toweling (to about 4-ply thickness) and place on a plate, and then place the plate into your refrigerator overnight to dry.

Once the chicken pieces are thoroughly dried, take 1/2 tbsp (which is equal to 1 and 1/2 restaurant-sized pats of butter, or 1/16 of a 1/4 pound stick of butter, or 7 grammes) of butter.  (The butter must remain cooler than room temperature to the point that it remains solid throughout the following operation.)  Then, drop spices onto the butter, to the extent of 1/8 tsp (0.75g) ground black pepper, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, and 1/8 tsp dried oregano (UK readers, you get the point: volumes of garlic powder and dried oregano equal to the volume of the 0.75g of ground black pepper).  Roughly mix the spices and the butter with your fingertips, and then, having created with your fingers a pocket of space between the skin and the meat, spread (as evenly as you can, but don't worry about unevenness) one-half the mix underneath the skin, and the other half onto the outer surface of the skin.

Once all the pieces have been thusly coated in the spiced butter, place them, evenly spaced on a baking sheet, onto the middle rack of an oven preheated to 190 degrees C/375 degrees F for one hour.  Rest for five minutes, and serve.  Pour the buttery/chickeny/spicey grease left in the pan into small bowls for use as a dipping sauce (my equivalent of Chef Blumenthal's butter melted with chicken wing tips, which he then injects into the meat).