A chicken in every pot

Chef Robert Irvine, of ‘Restaurant: Impossible,’ offers two more ways to cook your favorite poultry.

 

CONFIT CHICKEN PARMESAN 

INGREDIENTS

For the tomato sauce

• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• ½ white onion, diced
• 16 oz. San Marzano tomatoes 
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• ½ cup red wine 
• 1 tb grapeseed oil

For the polenta

• 1 cup polenta (dry)
• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 3 tb grated Parmesan 

For the chicken

• 1 tb salt 
• 2 tb brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 10 eggs, cracked and whipped
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 
• 1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 bunches broccolini 
• 5 chicken thighs 
• 3 quarts blended oil (or favorite animal fat)
• 10 oz. tomato sauce 
• 2 tb grapeseed oil

 

DIRECTIONS

Sauce

In a small sauce pot over medium heat, add onions. Allow to cook for 3 minutes. Then add garlic and allow to cook for 2 more minutes. Next, add tomato paste and red wine and allow to cook for another 4 minutes. Last, add crushed canned tomatoes and allow to cook for 1.5 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

Chicken 

In a mixing bowl, add salt, sugar and chili flakes and mix. Coat 1 tablespoon of cure on each chicken thigh 24 hours prior to cooking chicken. Place chicken in a roasting pan or a deep pot and cover with oil. Place in a 250-degree oven for 1.5 hours. Pull chicken from fat and allow to chill. Blanch broccolini in a pot of boiling water. Finish in a sauté pan over high heat.

Breading and frying 

In three separate mixing bowls, add flour in one, eggs in another and panko breadcrumbs in the third. Place already cooked chicken in flour, then eggs and last in panko breadcrumbs. Place chicken in a 350-degree fryer and cook until chicken is golden brown.
Polenta

In a small sauce pot, add heavy cream and milk. Bring to a boil. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate polenta. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. Incorporate cheese, butter, salt and pepper.

Plating

Pull chicken and place on a cookie tray. Top chicken with 1 ounce of tomato sauce, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place in a 350-degree oven and cook until cheese is melted. Plate chicken on top of polenta and broccolini. Serves 5.

 

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SAGE AND GARLIC ROAST CHICKEN WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole chicken (4 lbs.)
• 4 tb fresh sage, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 oz. unsalted butter, lightly melted 
• 1 tb cinnamon
• ½ tb coriander
• Pinch of cayenne 
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 cups (16 oz.) pomegranate juice
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Finely chop sage and garlic. Combine butter, sage, garlic and salt in a bowl and mix well until combined. Rub chicken with salt and pepper, cinnamon, coriander and cayenne pepper, and then add butter over entire chicken, including the cavity and underneath the skin. Place any additional sage or garlic inside cavity. Place chicken in the middle of a cast-iron skillet. Place chicken in oven and roast for 45-60 minutes. While chicken is roasting, pour pomegranate juice in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the juice has reduced by ¾ and formed a syrup, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and baste the chicken with half of the glaze. Return chicken to oven and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Add more syrup every 2-3 minutes. Allow chicken to sit for 5-10 minutes before carving. Spoon any additional pomegranate black pepper glaze over chicken and garnish with pomegranate seeds. Serves 4.

Recipes appear courtesy of chef Robert Irvine. For more, visit chefirvine.com and get his new book, “Family Table,” on Amazon.