florisandy
Well-known member
I followed Craig LaBan’s recipe to the tee except for adding a doubled Chef Brian Johnson’s marinade under the skin and substituting Herbes de Provence for the Mediterranean oregano that I always use for Brian’s Roast Chicken Provençal that is my all-time favorite (see Image link). I just thought it would be in keeping with the flavor that Craig LaBan intended. I had been contemplating about using my hot pimentón for LaBan’s recipe, but I did and the taste is hard to describe other than ingenious and delicious! My cooking time was two hours and 50 minutes.
My bird was 17.61 lbs. and last night I had a bit of a problem brining it…….. Geez, I didn’t know you needed someone to hold the bag upright (as per Reynolds brine bag instructions) so as to prevent spillage!! Nothing major, but some of the brine spilled out – peppercorns & juniper berries right onto my counter. I had to clean up the bloody mess and add more of same and some more water. Could have been worse, right?! Trussing is another story… I couldn’t find the little “nubbie” to loop around with twine when I needed to (albeit watching Alton Brown’s video three times and using the photos that I made – hrrrrrmmmph!!) and I had measured-out over 4 ft. of twine (not enough but my bad). A mini meltdown occurred and I just Jerry-rigged it! Marilyn would be proud of me that I didn’t suffocate it! Um, it’s already dead, right? Oh, and getting that sucker off the grill with two BBQ tools (big fork bended) onto my Calphalon roasting pan on a TV table was NOT an easy task! Thank goodness for patience!
I used my big bag of Kingsford Mesquite charcoal briquettes that are about two years old. I had to add about 8 more briquettes every half hour to keep the charcoal kettle smokin’. Must be that they’re old and that’s why I didn’t bother with the Creamed Onion Gratin (Oh excuse me, I should have gotten up around 7:00 am? - Not!) Hey, I’m off tomorrow and I wasn’t going to leave this baby unattended after all that work.
I gave a generous portion to a neighbor and my next door neighbors. My next door neighbor said that it was delicious and gave me a whole pecan pie (I had to be gracious…). My other neighbor gave me a mini pumpkin pie that she baked (waiting to hear from her as I had to go back and carve/pick the carcass…)
I really enjoyed taking care of birdie, whiffing the fumes from afar, and looking at the clouds on this glorious day in my director’s chair. It was all very well worth it. My thinking is, why not cook huge if you’re going to do a lot of work? Yes I’ll need some advice for “some” leftovers – Lol.
The meat including the breast was deliciously tender and juicy. This is a keeper!
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0974.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0977.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0978.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0979.jpg
http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/20081117_The_incredible_barbecued_bird.html?c=r
http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/R/413.htm
My bird was 17.61 lbs. and last night I had a bit of a problem brining it…….. Geez, I didn’t know you needed someone to hold the bag upright (as per Reynolds brine bag instructions) so as to prevent spillage!! Nothing major, but some of the brine spilled out – peppercorns & juniper berries right onto my counter. I had to clean up the bloody mess and add more of same and some more water. Could have been worse, right?! Trussing is another story… I couldn’t find the little “nubbie” to loop around with twine when I needed to (albeit watching Alton Brown’s video three times and using the photos that I made – hrrrrrmmmph!!) and I had measured-out over 4 ft. of twine (not enough but my bad). A mini meltdown occurred and I just Jerry-rigged it! Marilyn would be proud of me that I didn’t suffocate it! Um, it’s already dead, right? Oh, and getting that sucker off the grill with two BBQ tools (big fork bended) onto my Calphalon roasting pan on a TV table was NOT an easy task! Thank goodness for patience!
I used my big bag of Kingsford Mesquite charcoal briquettes that are about two years old. I had to add about 8 more briquettes every half hour to keep the charcoal kettle smokin’. Must be that they’re old and that’s why I didn’t bother with the Creamed Onion Gratin (Oh excuse me, I should have gotten up around 7:00 am? - Not!) Hey, I’m off tomorrow and I wasn’t going to leave this baby unattended after all that work.
I gave a generous portion to a neighbor and my next door neighbors. My next door neighbor said that it was delicious and gave me a whole pecan pie (I had to be gracious…). My other neighbor gave me a mini pumpkin pie that she baked (waiting to hear from her as I had to go back and carve/pick the carcass…)
I really enjoyed taking care of birdie, whiffing the fumes from afar, and looking at the clouds on this glorious day in my director’s chair. It was all very well worth it. My thinking is, why not cook huge if you’re going to do a lot of work? Yes I’ll need some advice for “some” leftovers – Lol.
The meat including the breast was deliciously tender and juicy. This is a keeper!
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0974.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0977.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0978.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/IMG_0979.jpg
http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/20081117_The_incredible_barbecued_bird.html?c=r
http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/R/413.htm