Pollo a due limoniAnd on that note, I bought 1 whole chicken and 2 lemons (as the name of the recipe indicates). I followed the procedures exactly but for some strange strange reason, it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to... ie, the lemons, that were supposed to have turned a soft golden brown, remained as they were when i first put them in!?! BUT, the chicken, as promised, was extremely juice so i guess not all was lost. i'm starting to suspect that she was using a normal oven where as i am using a microwave convection oven...
the premise of the dish is this: take a whole chicken, put two beatup and poked lemons inside, bake and wait for magic to occur. great, i mean, how bad can that be, right?
WRONG!!
my chicken definitely came out as juicy as promised, but that beautiul lemony brightness hadn't infused the entire chicken and the lemon had NOT turned into the so-said "by now" light golden browness called for in the recipe. what did i do wrong?!?! i swear i followed the recipe as it said!!!... well, sorta...
my chicken WAS a little smaller than what was asked for and my lemons where HUGE in comparison. i mean, there was NO way that 2 were entering that chicken... let alone one... can anyone say homone-enhanced GMO??? but, as with anything, i charged ahead hoping that it would turn out well.
can i just say how strange it is to have to wash the inside of a chicken? you feel the ribs along your palm, the dark coolness enveloping your hand, all under the impression that any time now, your chicken is going to go flying out of your hands because it's a little slippery with the skin and the fat... great feeling, really. try it if you haven't...
so, after washing, pat drying (again, something i don't usually do to chickens... you know, maybe myself after a shower, but not a chicken...) and seasoning both the outside AND the inside (yup, more dark cool goodness), i turned my attention to the lemons. "roll and poke with at least 20 holes" ok, i can do that. roll i did. it's actually really cool how you can feel the inside segments of the lemon breaking down as you roll it along the countertop. i took the prescribed fork and with a force like no other, proceeded to perferate the skins of the lemon. poke, poke, poke. CRAP my frok wasn't making anything but DENTS in the skin, time for reinforcements. out come the steak knife. "THERE WILL BE HOLES IN THIS LEMON IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!!!"
the perferated lemons are now sitting on the counter waiting to be placed into the chicken cavity, when i encounter the problem of actually getting both lemons to fit. i thought that if i flipped it over and pushed as hard as i could on the lemons entering from the back, it would pop out the front and enough space would be had. boy, was i ever wrong. no matter how hard i pushed, the lemons would go no where!! in the end, i could only fit one in and put the 2nd one back in the fridge (where it proceeded to create a sticky puddle of juice :S ) i carefully put in my well seasoned, well loved chicken in hopes that it would puff up and become this magnificent roast fowl that i could show off here... opps, when i went to turn it, the skin on the breast ripped a bit and dasked that hope :(
1.5 hrs later, out came the chicken, smelling sooooooo goood but much to hot to handle, so i let it sit for 15 mins before pulling out the steak kinfe again and carving off a leg... YUM!!! the meat was so juicey and succulent, but lacked in the lemon flavours that i caught closer to where the lemon actually sat.
here are some alterations i would do for the next time:
- buy a bigger chicken
- buy smaller lemons
- wedge up the lemon and use that inside the chicken (it wouldn't matter if it touched the roof of the chicken cavity, because it would start on on surface and roll over when you go to flip the chicken)
- i know that the recipe doesn't call for any fats of any kind, but to prevent the skin from sticking to the pan, i think a little butter on the breast of the chicken in the first part of the cooking process would prevent it from sticking
with that ends the 514th recipe, meaning 513 to go!
:-) nice adventure! Lemons are coming from Sorrento? Anyway, are u using microwave?? I guess is better normal one. Ciao Ciao Piccola Cuoca!
ReplyDeletethat's amazing Victoria!! it is funny as I was planning to cook chicken today....so here a good recipe to try..I'll let you know the result!! btw,this blog is a great idea...I loved the movie!! we should meet and make the tiramisu together!
ReplyDeleteClaudia
That looks good! Try using making a lemon paste with something sweet and rubbing it on to the chicken; it'll add more lemon flavour and it'll improve the look to the nice golden brown that you want.
ReplyDeleteLater Days,
Sol
while i wish the lemons were from sorrento, alas, they are not. :( ship me some and i promise to make it again!!! hahahaha!
ReplyDeleteclaudia, i'd love to get together to make tiramisu. we'll have to use you're recipe becuase my book doesn't come with one - yes i know, very very strange.
sol, i'll keep your idea of a lemon paste in mind. i'm thinking a mix of the zest of the lemon, salt and pepper would do the trick (both under the skin and inside the cavity); then to add the zested and poked whole or wedged lemons to the cavity. i think the lemon flavour would come out with that. hmm.... i think i'm going to have to do that very soon...