Cook Like a Rock Star (28 page)

Authors: Anne Burrell

BOOK: Cook Like a Rock Star

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Don’t be scared, trussing is super-simple: Take about 30 inches of butcher’s twine (don’t bother to measure; just cut off a nice long piece) and, with the legs pointing away from you, center the string under the legs. Pull the legs gently back toward you and make an X with the string. Drop the cross of the X away from you and between the legs, pulling it tightly to create loops or “handcuffs” around each leg. Then pull the loops tightly around the chicken. Pull the string back toward you and around the back of the chicken, then tie it in a bow or a knot, whatever. Look at you, all trussed up and ready to go!

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms & Almond Purée

SERVES: 4 • TIME: ABOUT 1½ HOURS

I LOOOOOVE dark meat chicken! Especially chicken thighs—they’re succulent and delicious, the perfect portion size (two thighs per person), and they’re cheap. I also love nuts. In this recipe I put these two ingredients together and take the humble chicken thigh to a totally new level. I braise these lovelies with lots of mushrooms and then thicken the sauce with toasted almond purée. The result is a dish that is surprisingly rich and, thanks to the nuts, has an excellent mouthfeel. It’s definitely one of the best recipes I’ve ever come up with.

MISE EN PLACE

Extra virgin olive oil

8 chicken thighs

Kosher salt

2 onions, cut into ¼-inch dice

Pinch of crushed red pepper

2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 pounds assorted mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, or cremini are all great), trimmed, cleaned, and sliced

1 cup dry white wine

4 to 6 cups
chicken stock

1 thyme bundle, tied with butcher’s twine

2 bay leaves

½ cup whole blanched almonds, toasted

Chopped fresh chives, for garnish

1
Coat a large, wide, straight-sided pan with olive oil and bring to high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and add it, skin side down, to the pan—you should hear a big sizzle. If you don’t, remove the chicken and wait. When you put chicken in a hot pan, the first thing it wants to do is stick there and the first thing you want to do is move it. Resist the urge. It will unstick itself when it’s ready. When the skin is brown and crispy, 5 to 7 minutes, turn the chicken over and brown the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve.

2
Ditch the fat and lower the heat. Add another splash of olive oil to the pan and add the onions. Season with salt and red pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and aromatic; then add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

3
Add the mushrooms, season with salt, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft and aromatic. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes.

4
Return the chicken to the pan, pour in enough stock to almost cover the chicken, and add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Bring to a boil (BTB), reduce to a simmer (RTS), and cook for 30 minutes. Add a little more stock if the liquid level gets low.

5
While the chicken cooks, purée the almonds in a food processor. Once they are ground, drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running to make a loose paste. Season with salt and reserve.

6
When the chicken has simmered for 30 minutes, remove it from the pan and reserve; remove the bay leaves and thyme bundle and discard. Stir the almond purée into the sauce and taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Bring to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS) to thicken the sauce if needed. Serve the chicken draped with the sauce and garnished with chives.

Now that’s nutty
and
saucy!

Duck Breast with Dried Fruit & Vin Santo

SERVES: 4 • TIME: ABOUT 45 MINUTES

Duck is one of those dishes that can be intimidating because it seems fancy and elegant. But there’s nothing to be scared of—making great duck just takes patience. To get a really beautiful, crackling, brown piece of skin you have to take your time and render the fat SLOWLY. If you rush it, you’ll end up with crispy skin but a thick layer of fat between the skin and the meat—which is totally icky. Taking your time to render the fat will not only make your duck absolutely delicious, but it will also leave you with a treasure trove of duck fat—an ingredient that in restaurant kitchens is considered liquid gold and makes killer
Crispy Crunchy Duck Fat Potatoes
.

I think that duck lends itself to sweet flavors, so in this dish I use a sweet Tuscan wine—Vin Santo—to reconstitute dried fruit to make a chutney-like sauce with rich chicken stock. Together the rich, meaty, succulent duck and the intense, fruity sauce make this dish perfect for a holiday, a special occasion, or even a Tuesday.

MISE EN PLACE

½ cup dried apricots, cut into quarters

½ cup dried apples, cut into ½-inch chunks

½ cup dried cherries

1 cup Vin Santo

4 small or 2 large duck breasts

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

1 cup
chicken stock

Leaves from 5 or 6 sprigs of fresh thyme

1
In a small bowl, soak the apricots, apples, and cherries in the Vin Santo.

2
Using a knife, cut or score the fat of the duck breasts in a crosshatched pattern, cutting through the fat, down to the meat, but not into the meat (this allows the fat to escape more easily as it cooks). Season generously with salt.

3
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

4
Coat a large sauté pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Place the duck breasts skin side down in the pan (be sure that the duck fits in the pan comfortably and is not crowded). Bring the pan to low heat and render the fat from the duck breasts. This needs to be done S-L-O-W-L-Y; otherwise the fat will be sealed into the skin and will not render out. This process will take about 20 to 25 minutes, maybe more. As the fat builds up in the pan, scoop it out, but SAVE IT!

5
When the fat has rendered from the breasts you will see the meat through the score marks. At this point, crank up the heat and brown both
sides of the duck, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Then move the duck to a rimmed baking sheet and place it in the preheated oven for 5 to 6 minutes for medium-rare. Remove any remaining fat from the pan and set the pan aside to make the sauce (look at me—saving you dishes!). Remove the duck from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.

6
Strain the Vin Santo from the dried fruit, add it to the sauté pan, bring to medium-high heat, and reduce it until it’s almost a syrup. Add ½ cup of the chicken stock, all the dried fruit, and the thyme leaves to the pan; season with salt. When the chicken stock has reduced and the sauce looks kind of chunky, add the remaining chicken stock; bring to a boil (BTB), cook for 2 to 3 minutes, and turn off the heat. Taste to make sure the sauce is yummy and reseason if needed.

7
Slice each duck breast on the bias, fan the meat on a plate, and spoon some of the sauce on and around the duck.

What fabulous fowl!

SERVES: 6 • TIME: ABOUT 2½ HOURS

When I worked at Savoy in SoHo, we had salt-roasted duck on the menu but we served only the breasts, so there was always an excess of duck legs hanging around. We’d eat the legs at our family meal, but after a while everyone was sick of them. Then one night, I was in a pinch for an hors d’oeuvres idea, and that’s when I came up with my cheater’s confit. As they say, desperation can be inspiration!

My confit tastes just as good and authentic as a traditional confit, but it’s SOOOOO much faster. As far as I’m concerned, the time you save with my recipe is outstanding (this is one streamlined operation!) and so is the flavor.