Smoking...

(no, not that kind!)

My friend Randy has a smoker.  An electric smoker.  I thought these things didn't exist, but alas, they do.  Currently we have a 3 lb. brisket going, with some mesquite chips helping flavor the meat.  I'll post up when it's done, but needless to say, we opened up the door to the balcony just so we can smell that incredible blend of wood and meat.

So it's not very "haute," but hell, sometimes you need to enjoy the simple things.  Like smoking a beef brisket on a school night.

White Truffle Oil

Yes, I know it's fake and not made from real truffles.  Yes, I know it's not the same as having actual truffle slices or shavings.  But . . . the flavor!  I used this with making a sauce for lobster, and to say it interacted well with the lobster meat would be an understatement.

Sometimes, when we cook, we have go-to ingredients.  For a while, mine was curry powder.  Curry is so flexible and so easy to use in small quantities.  See, when we season, we almost always overdo it.  That's the nature of the beast . . . we need to have more to compensate for our perception of inadequate flavor (especially those who cook a fair amount, largely because you get used to salt very quickly; the opposite is also true, btw--more on this later!).  But I think after this past week of experimenting, I feel that WTO will soon be it.  It's so versatile, and simply adds a richness and a depth, that when used appropriately, enhances the umami and meat flavors of a dish.

Stay tuned for some more recipes; in the past week, I've done a scallop dish and a lobster dish to a variety of degrees of success.  I have one lobster left, and I will probably tackle that beast in the next day or so.

So my apologies for the lack of posts, it was my break, and boy oh boy did I need it.

My Perfect Roast Chicken

". . . I knew then I couldn't call myself a chef just because I ran a kitchen.  In the end, of course, the importance of trussing a chicken meant far more than actually trussing a chicken." - Thomas Keller

Trussing a chicken, in the words of the great TK, makes the bird.  It cooks more evenly, and it protects the thinnest part of the breast, which is usually what's overcooked.  It provides for a bit more area near the darker sections, where the chicken is habitually undercooked.  Here's how you truss a chicken:

"Position the chicken so that its cavity faces you.  Place the center of a 2-foot-long piece of butcher's string beneath the chicken's tail, the little triangle at the bottom of the cavity.  Lift the string up outside each leg and pull it down between the legs, reversing the direction of each end so that they cross.  Pull the strong over the thighs (the drum sticks should squeeze together at this point) and the wings.  Maintaining tension on the string, turn the chicken on its side, wind the ends of the string over the neck, and tie securely." - The French Laundry Cookbook, p. 171.

Some caveats.  I used cotton string, because Target isn't exactly the end-all for cooking supplies.  My chickens didn't have the neck (I know, I know), so instead I tied a fairly tight knot where the neck would be.

Roast Chicken


1 Chicken, as fresh as possible.  Mine was approximately 3.5 lbs.
2 tsp White Truffle Oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 tblspoon thyme.

Clean the chicken and pat it dry, removing any extraneous feathers.  Coat the cavity in salt, pepper, and thyme.  Truss the bird.  Place the chicken in a roasting pan, breast-side up, and with your hand, rub in the truffle oil, coating the skin as completely as possible.  I did it tsp by tsp, so as to enhance the surface area rubbed in and (to hopefully) rub more into the places that need it.  Coat with sea salt and pepper.  I go a bit heavier on these, preferring to see the individual crystals.  Cook at a high temperature--425-450--until the thigh meat, at its deepest point, hits 165.  Like TK says, the sooner the dark meat is done, the moister the breast will be.

I used the drippings and made a simple reduction.  Add about a tablespoon of dijon mustard, a tablespoon of thyme, a tablespoon of old bay/baltimore spice (thanks Art!), a bit of water (I usually do a cup per 2 cups of drippings), and reduce by half.  Serve over a piece of bread, with a generous amount of sauce.  I prefer the sauce to be a bit liquidy for chicken; I'm not sure why, other than I used to get freaked out by jellied sauces on my Thanksgiving turkey early on in life, so the habit has just stuck to make them a bit "loose."

Disclaimer: some like cooking chicken to about 150 or 160.  You can do that, just keep an eye on the dark meat and make sure that it's done.  More often than not, it's the last to finish and it will be undercooked if you take it out when the breast hits 160.  So be careful!

1 chicken serves 2-4.  For tonight, I have 2 chickens.  Simple meal, with simple flavors, done right.  Does it get better than this?

Enjoy.