Chicken & Poultry

Rich in flavor, tender and moist, and practically impossible to overcook; when we’re not roasting a whole bird, we are almost always cooking up chicken thighs in the Oui, Chef kitchen.  There are probably dozens of chicken thigh recipes in our archives here, so the bar is set pretty high for another to be added to the collection.  When I saw this recipe recently on Epicurious,  I suspected that it might make the grade, but one whiff of the seductive marinade as I poured it over the chicken sealed the deal.  The potent flavors of garlic and curry, tempered by creamy, Greek yogurt and left to infuse the chicken overnight (the recipes says you can let it sit for as little as 3 hours, but overnight is the way to go) is only half the magic.  The rest comes when you mix pan drippings with some fresh yogurt, lemon juice and herbs for a sauce to serve up with the roasted chicken.

To die for!

Read More »

I arrived home the other night a little on the late side, and was so happy to have the awesome time-saving technique of spatchcocking in my repertoire.  My wife had bought a chicken and pre-heated the oven so the wheels were in motion.  A few quick snips with my kitchen shears to remove the bird’s backbone and a tender little butter massage, and this beauty was ready to roll.  Spatchcocking (or butterflying) the bird does two things.  It allows it to cook more quickly by splaying it out and opening up its body cavity, and also encourages even cooking by better exposing the dark meat portions of the bird, the legs and thighs, to a more direct heat. In the time it takes you to truss a bird you can spatchcock it, and once split open, is considerably quicker to the table.  Whether you’re grilling or roasting a whole chicken, and aren’t bothered with the unconventional appearance of poultry that looks like it was run over by a truck, then you owe it to yourself to try spatchcocking.

Read More »

Have you ever encountered one of those marketing cards you sometimes get with your bill at the end of a restaurant meal?  You know, the one tucked in next to the comment card that is pitching a special event at the restaurant, or advertising a new cookbook that the chef just authored.  Well, a couple weeks back the boys and I were enjoying a Sunday brunch at one of Todd English's restaurants and we received one of these cards when presented with our bill.  It was pitching his new cookbook entitled Cooking In Everyday English: The ABCs of Great Flavor at Home, and as a teaser for his new tome, it  included a recipe from the book on the back.  This is the recipe we found, and if its any indication of the quality of the rest of the recipes in his new book, Todd clearly has another best seller on his hands.

Read More »

Here is yet another Thomas Keller recipe that we at Oui, Chef can wholeheartedly endorse.  As you all must know by now, we are big fans of braised chicken, as we’ve cooked this dish, this one, and this one over the past couple of years.  We love these dishes not just for their bold, deep flavors, but for their economy as well.  It really is hard to beat chicken for feeding a crowd on the cheap.

 This braise marries some of our favorite flavors, sweet fennel, briny olives, and bright, fruity citrus.  All of these elements combine with the rich, moist thigh meat and meld into a truly satisfying meal.  As with most of his recipes, Keller offers up a trick for this dish that will change the way I finish all chicken braises in the future.

Read More »