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Last night’s dinner: Jesse’s splayed chicken

melissa clark roast chicken by jesse peretz

These are the delicious perfectly roasted chickens my friend Jesse made for us recently. They look kind of obscene, but man were they good…

Ok so this isn’t technically last night’s dinner. That particular masterpiece is going to have to wait because I forgot to take a picture of the pot roast as it emerged from the oven. But a lovely plate of lunchtime leftovers makes an equally good (and more attractively lit) photo, so you’ll have your pot roast recipe before long,

In the meantime, I give you my friend Jesse’s take on Melissa Clark’s Splayed Roast Chicken recipe for the New York Times. You just need to pre-heat the bejesus out of a cast iron pan, cut the skin and splay open the legs of the chicken so that the thighs press against the sides of the pan, and abracadabra, you have have an exquisitely cooked 4 1/2 pound chicken in 45 minutes. Suddenly, roast chicken becomes a perfectly feasible weeknight meal.

Melissa Clark’s recipe calls for ramps, Jesse skipped that and used some scallions instead. Ramp season is right around the corner, though, so maybe we’ll have ramps the next time we make this… He also rubbed the chicken down with olive oil, salt and rosemary earlier in the day and left them in the fridge to soak up the goodness.

The chickens were perfect. The crowd went wild. Another culinary victory for my friend Jesse Peretz, the consummate host and server up of some of the best dinners around.

Read on to get the complete original version of the recipe

Melissa Clark’s Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps

Ingredients

1 4 1/2-pound whole chicken, patted dry
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh ramps (6 ounces)
1 lemon, quartered
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 tablespoon capers

Preparation

Rub the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. If you have time, do this 2 to 3 hours ahead and refrigerate the bird uncovered. Otherwise, let it rest uncovered at room temperature while oven heats.

Place a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet in the oven and heat to 500 degrees for 45 minutes. If you salted the chicken in advance, take it out of the fridge so it can warm to room temperature.

Meanwhile, prep the ramps: trim the hairy bottoms and remove the outer layer of skin. Separate the leaves from the bulbs, rinse both gently, and pat dry. Cut any fat bulbs (wider than a pencil) in half lengthwise. Tear the leaves into large pieces.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the skin connecting the legs to the body. Splay the thighs open until you feel the joint pop on each side. Place 2 lemon wedges inside the chicken.

Carefully transfer chicken, breast-side up, to the hot skillet. Press down on the legs so they rest flat on the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the bird with the oil. Roast for 30 minutes. Toss ramp bulbs (not leaves), garlic and capers into the skillet. Stir to coat them with pan juices. Roast for 5 minutes more, then stir again. Continue cooking until ramps are tender and chicken is no longer pink, 5 to 15 minutes more (for a total cooking time of 40 to 50 minutes).

Remove chicken from oven and stir ramp leaves into the pan until just wilted. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes, then serve with the pan juices and ramps, garlic and capers, seasoning everything with juice from the remaining lemon wedges, if desired.

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