nekkid chef's chicken

char buddy

I did a butterflied version of this roast chicken recipe. I tried it after watching The Naked Chef (a FoodTV show by the same production company that did the
Two Fat Ladies). This is basically a roast chicken with a ton of flavored butter stuffed under the skin. The butter is flavored with prosciutto, fresh thyme, garlic,
lemon zest and I added a minced shallot. I butterflied the chicken and then stuff the butter under the breast and thighs. I also slashed the legs the way you
might put slashes into a snapper or trout and rubbed some of the butter into the slashes. I took what was left of the butter rubbed it on the outside of the chicken
skin. Then I put the chicken on a v-rack. I put the v-rack in a Weber drip pan full of carrots and celeraic. I added some of the flavored butter to the veggies and put them on the egg first at 350*. I wanted the veggies to cook at least an hour and a half so that they soften and sweeten up. When I cook them right root vegetables are practically like candy. My son loves'em. [p]After a half-hour, I put the chicken in its v-rack on top of the veggies and kept the cook going for another hour or more until the thigh reachs 180*. (I like my leg and thigh less moist. Normally folks cook legs and thighs to 175*.) I used apple wood chips.[p]As the Nekkid Chef says, the chicken turns out fantastic. [p] FANTASTIC ROASTED CHICKEN[p] Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver[p] 2 pounds chicken, preferably organic
1 large lemon
8 slices prosciutto or Parma ham, thinly sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 good handfuls fresh thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces softened butter
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large celeriac, peeled [p] Preheat the oven and an appropriately sized roasting tray to 425
degrees F. Wash your chicken inside and out and pat dry with kitchen
paper. Using your fingers, part the breast skin from the breast meat.
It’s important to try to push your hand gently down the breast, being
careful not to rip the skin. With a peeler, remove and chop the
fragrant yellow skin of the lemon, keeping the peeled lemon to one side.
Chop prosciutto and add to the bowl with the lemon skin, garlic and
thyme. Season, with salt and pepper and then mix it all into the butter.
Push this into the space you have made between the meat and the skin –
rub and massage any that’s left over in and around the bird. It’s all
tasty stuff. I could tell you to tie the chicken up but I’ve decided it’s a
palaver and not worth it in this case. Slash the thigh meat to allow the
heat to penetrate a little more, which makes it taste better. Cut the
peeled lemon in half and push it into the cavity. Then put chicken in the
hot roasting tray and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. [p] While the chicken is cooking, parboil the potatoes in salted water for 10
minutes and drain. Cut the celeriac into irregular chunks around the
same size as the potatoes. Remove the chicken from the oven, by which
time the tasty butter will have melted, flavored and cooked out of the
chicken into the bottom of the tray, awaiting your potatoes and
celeriac. Normally I put a fork into the cavity of the chicken and lift it
off of the tray for 20 seconds while I toss and coat the vegetables in the
butter. Put the chicken back on top of the vegetables and cook for
around 40 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. Once the meat and
vegetables have been removed, a little light gravy can be made in the
tray with a splash of wine and stock, a little simmering and scraping. [p] Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hours 15 minutes[p] [p][p]On the FoodTV The Naked Chef (aka chef and cook book writer Jamie Oliver)