August 15, Happy Birthday Julia Child.
Child, who passed away in August of 2004 was our nation’s grande dame of cuisine and my personal culinary hero.
She got her start at what would become her lifelong career because she wasn’t afraid to take a chance and then happened to be in the right place at the right moment and made it work. I don’t think even she had any idea of what her eventual impact would be.
Julia took her passion and ran with it, with wild abandon, to lead the charge to change the culinary world. She brought the style and technique of French cuisine to American home cooks first in a two volume culinary tome, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, VOLs. 1 and 2, which she co-authored. Then, she continued to influence the world via of number of her own television series. It all started with The French Chef produced by Boston PBS station WGBH in 1963 .
Thank You, Julia!
If it wasn’t for the front running efforts and strides that Julia Child took, in formulating one of the original televised cooking shows, in making it easier for home cooks to raise the bar and in simply breaking down a complicated classic recipe, I wouldn’t be doing what I do today.
And, I wouldn’t be sharing my favorite recipe for roast chicken and another for homemade chicken broth at the end of this post.
Mastering the Art of the Way Julia Cooks
One of the things I love about the way Julia Child and her editor Judith Jones set up Mastering the Art of French Cooking is that everything begins with a master recipe. From there she talks technique, equipment and ingredients. Each master recipe is followed by several others using the same technique, ingredients and ways to use leftovers in a similar or adjunct recipe.
Julia’s master recipe idea is a very smart way to learn to cook, and lots of other cookbook writers have adapted the same format every since.
Our master recipe today is for roast chicken. Julia-inspired, I’ve taken the liberty to make it local to the Carolinas by shopping at local markets for nearly all of the listed ingredients. You’ll find the where-to-buy with local farms and producers listed in the recipe by each ingredient.
Roast Chicken with a Local Twist as inspired by Julia Child
2 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
I use butter from Uno Alla Volta, available on Saturdays at the Davidson, Charlotte Regional and Matthews Farmers Markets.
1 Tbsp. your favorite current harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
My go-to these days is the Kores Estate Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Olive Crate. This is a Family owned estate Greek Olive oil with North Carolina roots. The owners live in Waxhaw, NC, while family still live at and run the estate in Greece. You can order this wonderful EVOO online here.
1/3 cup each: finely diced local carrots, finely diced local onion and finely diced local fennel or celery!
All of these vegetables are available at local farmers markets in and around Charlotte
1 Tbsp. fresh minced thyme or savory or 1 Tbsp. dried mixed herbs de Province
If its not in my home herb garden, my go to is the Savory Spice Shop in Charlotte’s Southend neighborhood; or I order online from my friends at Spicewalla in Asheville NC.
The chicken and what to roast it with
One 3 1/2- to 4-pound local chicken, washed inside and out; pat thoroughly dry with paper towels
Find locally raised chickens at many markets around town, some of my Charlotte area go to sources for local chicken are New Town Farms, Windy Hill Farm, and Evans Family Farm.
Coarse Ground Sea salt ( I love using Sea Love Sea Salt from Burgaw NC)
Freshly ground pepper, powdered dried sumac
1/3 cup Italian Flat Leaf parsley
¼ cup minced Lovage leaves (or celery leaves)
Six 1/8-inch-thick orange or lemon slices, optional
6-8 think sliced onions
1 small bunch fresh thyme leaves
4-5 fresh or new dried bay leaves
To finish the sauce:
¼ cup white Miso Masters white, red or barley Miso
Produced in Rutherfordton NC, Miso Masters is the largest producer of organic miso in the world!
1 cup organic chicken stock or vegetable broth
To make your own, follow the recipe below so you can have this readily available in your freezer!
Here is How Julia Child Would Do It…
Preheat the oven to 425.
Saute diced carrots, onion and fennel in a tablespoon of current harvest extra virgin olive oil and cook until softened. Stir in the fresh or dried herbs. Reserve.
Season the chicken inside and out with sea salt, pepper and dried suman. Then spoon in the cooked summer vegetable and herb mix inside the cavity along with handful of parsley and celery leaves and lemon or orange slices slices. You may also add uncooked, unpeeled cloves of local garlic to the caviety.
Massage the chicken all over with 1 tablespoon of the butter, then tuck under the wings tie the drumsticks together
Choose an oven-to-stove roasting pan or Dutch Oven that is about 1 inch larger all the way around than the chicken.
Set the chicken, breast-side up on a “rack” made from thick sliced onion topped with branches of thyme and bay leaves in the bottom of the pan.
During the Roasting Time
Roast the chicken in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, as follows: After 15 minutes, brush the chicken with one tablespoon of melted butter.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350.
30 minutes later, add 1/2 cup of water to the onions in the bottom of the pan.
At 60 minutes, baste the chicken with the pan juices.
To test for doneness: The drumsticks should move easily in their sockets; their flesh should feel somewhat soft. If not, continue roasting, basting and testing every 7 to 8 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165.
Spear the chicken through the shoulders; lift to drain; if the last of the juices run clear yellow, the chicken is done.
Let the cooked chicken rest on a carving board for 15 minutes; untie the drumsticks and discard the string. Remove the onions from the bottom of the pan and reserve to enjoy with the meal.
Remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the juices in the pan. Add the additional chicken stock or vegetable broth and miso and boil until lightly syrupy, 5 minutes. Use this au jus to nap over each serving of chicken.
Homemade Chicken Broth
1 chicken carcass, leftover from the roast chicken. Keep on any little bits of leftover fat or meat
additional chicken bones or necks, or a package of 3-4 chicken wings, cut into drummette, flap and tips.
2 whole onions, peeled and quartered
1-2 bay leaves
3-4 whole carrots or parnsips ( best to use a combination of both)
2-3 stalks of celery
A couple of teaspoons of whole black peppercorns
1-2 tsp. of whole coriander seeds
water
Place the chicken carcass and any additional bones plus all the veggies, herbs and spices listed here in a large stock pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for several hours, then season with salt to taste.
Allow to cool and strain the broth from the bones and vegetables. Pour into glass jars or freezer containers and cool completely before topping with the lid. Seal well and freeze for up to 6 months.
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