The Best Roast Chicken.. En Cocotte

I recently have been exploring the new Science of Cooking Cookbook from Cook's Illustrated.

They have a recipe for French Chicken in a Pot. that makes the best tasting roast chicken I have had in a long time. It is extremely moist and generates its own delicious sauce. Different from Braising which cooks the chicken in an outside liquid, Chicken En Cocotte uses the chicken's own juices to bake it. The moisture is not lost to evaporation. It produces a very nice table sauce without external flavors. The skin in my application wasn't really worth serving.

French Chicken in A Pot
You will need at least a 6 quart Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. If you choose not to serve the skin with the chicken, simply remove it before carving. The amount of jus varies depending on the size of the chicken. Season it with 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice for every 1/4 cup.  I ended up with nearly 2 cups of jus for my 5 lb Foster Farms chicken.

1 whole chicken
Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion chopped (not to fine as it will be discarded in the end
1 small celery rib, chopped (same as above)
6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed (see above)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary (optional)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1. Adjust the oven rack to lowest possible position and heat oven to 250 degrees
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Tuck wings behind the back, season with salt and pepper.  Heat oil over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast side down: scatter onion, celery,bay leaf and rosemary sprig if using around the chicken. Cook on the burner until beast portions are slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, inserted into the cavity, flip chicken breast side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned, 6-8 minutes.

2. Off heat, place large sheet of aluminum foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook chicken until breast registers 160 and thighs register 175, 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes. (mine took 1 hour 35 with a convection oven).

3. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest of 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine mesh strainer into a fat separator. pressing solids to extract the liquid; discard solids. let juices settle for 5 minutes, then pour them into a sauce pan . Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve carved chicken passing sauce separately.

The reason this recipe works is because:

1. Browned First
2. Protected the wings
3. Cooked breast side up
4. Straining the sauce and serving it separately allows sauce to be smooth 

The french enameled dutch oven (I have a fake one from Costco) was terrific for taking the heat from the burners in the beginning stages and holding on to the heat in a long roast with overall lower heat.

It made for some really nice chicken.  I know that most people in California have access to rotisserie chickens.. Try this recipe and you will taste the difference.  : ) Pat