I can't believe I ate the whole thing...

It’s a chicken. It’s delicious. Let’s eat!

I thought that I might put an eye out with the button from my blue jeans. I was so full I thought sure that thing was coming off and zinging and across the room, sure to take someone out.

“You could put an eye out with that!” ~ Every Mom, Ever

You know you've been there. Celebrations that lead to overindulgence. Too much turkey. Is that stuffing delicious or what? Wow, I had no idea. I could put that many green beans away. Those things are fantastic. My mother had a funny saying, which was “hollow out a leg,” which was a warning that we were about to have a feast prepared for us, and she expected a minimal amount of leftovers.

But what if, like Shiloh and me, you find yourself on a major holiday and not really, really into cooking a 16- to 22-pound extravaganza of a meal only to have it sit in the refrigerator for a bit longer than its serviceable use? I mean, leftover turkey sandwiches are fantastic, and I'm happy to give you a recipe for those too, but really, it's often wasteful and really doesn't serve the kind of modern lifestyle that we really should be having. As a people, we need to be smarter than that. We need to conserve; we need to respect and be in balance with that which we need without denying ourselves. It can sometimes be a tricky dance.

So, without further ado, I'd like to talk about something that is the absolute staple of an Appalachian winter supper. I'm talking about chicken and gravy and biscuits.

There is nothing quite as luscious or savory, warm and comforting as the smell of the roasting chicken and biscuits. Of course, there are ways to have this in a less traditional way that would do things like reduce calories or fat, but in this case, we're not talking about the bland, poached chicken salad and sandwich that you have at work on Thursday afternoon. We are talking about a celebratory dinner that should be celebrated and enjoyed with reason and respect and lots of gravy, of course. There are places to save your calorie loading, but this is not that.

When I roast a whole chicken, the accompaniment I always yearned for is a generous poor of gravy. You know, the rich, deeply flavorful kind that gives off the soul-soothing vibes of a feast. I am not speaking about thin, runny-from-a-package stuff. Nor, am I speaking of the artery-stopping glue that you would find in a commercial kitchen. What often stops me is that great gravy typically begins with pan drippings, which means that you need to wait until the bird is finished roasting in order to make it. The best gravy also requires homemade stock and time-consuming production unto itself. (It’s worth it, but I would rather be here with you.)

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If I can find a way to prepare juicy, crispy-skinned chicken and savory gravy in tandem, I'd have my dream dinner without too much fuss. This chicken recipe starts with the removal of the backbone of the bird so that it lies flat in the skillet, helping it cook evenly and quickly under the broiler. The backbone of this chicken will make an excellent stand-in for the turkey neck usually called for in the preparation of turkey gravy. To help the chicken fat render under the broiler, I nicked the skin all over with a paring knife. This also creates escape routes for steam but otherwise prevents the skin from bubbling up and burning.

Preheating the skillet on the stovetop to jump-start the cooking of the legs and quarters, placing them in the skillet under a cold broiler, and then turning on the broiler slows down the cooking of the more delicate breast meat.

After about 45 minutes, the skin is brown and crispy, and both white and dark meats are juicy as can be.

Now, the gravy. This method would be ideal here because it primarily relies on trimmings, not drippings, for deep poultry flavor. It starts with simmering the neck (if with the bird), giblets, excess fat and skin, and a small amount of store-bought chicken broth, which extracts the juices and fat much more thoroughly than searing wood. The mixture is left to boil away until all the liquid evaporates in the pan and starts to sizzle, leaving the bottom of the pot with a gorgeous brown layer of fond, which signals that the proteins and sugars have undergone the Maillard reaction and transformed into hundreds of new flavor compounds.

Fond? Maillard Reaction? So, what exactly is that? “Small particles of browned food and especially meat that adhere to the bottom of a cooking pan and are used especially in making sauces.” (Merriam Webster) Maillard: “A nonenzymatic reaction between sugars and proteins that occurs upon heating and that produces browning of some foods (such as meat and bread).” (Same)

The mayor reaction is absolutely pure magic. It's the reason you basically brown or seer anything. As you can see in the fancy definition, it's a reaction between sugar and protein and yes it does make things brown. It also completely enhances the sweetness without the addition of sugar and caramelizes, the proteins available, increasing the wonderful rich and intense flavors made available by the interaction of the food with heat. It's a chefs total secret weapon.

Aromatics are added to the pot to soften before everything is deglazed with wine.

Deglaze: means to add a liquid, usually wine or vinegar (acid) that breaks up all the (seemingly) burnt and sticky fond from the bottom of the pan or pot. THAT is where the flavor is, saavy eater! It’s the pure umami in the flavor of anything.

THIS IS THE MAGIC STUFF I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT…

Then, in goes more broth before covering and simmering for an hour. After stirring the deeply flavored stock and thickening it up with a roux that's been cooked to just the right shade of golden brown, you end up with a truly outstanding gravy.

I started by preparing the chicken, reserving the giblet's backbone and trimmings; also, save the neck if it's included with your chicken. Once the bird is under the broiler, I turned to the gravy. After just 15 minutes of simmering the scraps in 1 cup of broth, the liquid evaporated in the bottom of the saucepan and was coated with a substantial fond. In went the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, and thyme. Once the onion was translucent, I added a splash of dry white wine, poured in three more cups of broth, and cranked the heat up to high. To speed things up, I left the lid off so that the mixture could rapidly concentrate.

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About 20 minutes later, the stock had reduced by half, so I strained it and thickened it with a toasty golden brown roux. Meanwhile, I remove the bird from the broiler and let it rest. I decided to use ultra chicken drippings to give a final boost to what was already a deep, dark, seriously flavorful gravy.

Roux. A whole world of flavor in a little space. Essentially, it’s a thickening agent. There are many of these agents, simple like corn starch, rice flour, regular flour, etc. and also very fancy ones like xanthin gum. But there is something that cooking flour in butter yields that really goes beyond words. The smell alone will convince you. The longer you cook roux, the darker it gets. You cannot leave it alone. This takes moments, not minutes. Keep your eyes on it!

Chicken Supper and Biscuits

Serves 4 Total Time ~ 1.5 hours

If your broiler has multiple settings, choose the highest one. This recipe won't work with the drawer-style broiler. You will need a broiler-safe 12-inch skillet. The backbone and trimmings provide plenty of flavor for the gravy. This is where all the secrets of chicken are. Don’t get weird or squeamish about those strange guts that come in the little white bag that you try not to touch. Every chicken soup of merit, every sauce, every chicken-ey wonder uses everything. I know. I know. Unknown bits of stuff. Your reward will be substantial.

Feel free to substitute dry vermouth for the white wine, as it too will get the job done of releasing the fond, but with a slightly different flavor.

“I often cook with wine. Sometimes, I even put it in the food!” ~ Julia Childs

In step two, the skin is dark golden brown, but the breast has not reached 155° internally. If it starts to burn, you can cover the chicken with foil and continue to broil. This will keep the skin from burning. Monitor the temperature of the chicken carefully during the final 10 minutes of cooking because it could quickly overcook.

HOT TIP: If the thermometer that you check the chicken with says 155+ when you put it into the thickest part of the bird (usually the deep thigh), then you have already missed the runway, there pilot. I recommend pulling the bird when the dial gets to 145-148 as it will still be cooking inside while it sits there and you try not to eat off of it already… hey! This will allow it to coast up to 155, as you cannot hit the brakes later quickly.

1. Adjust your oven rack 12 to 13 inches from the broiler element. Remember, do not hit the broiler first. Meaning that we are starting cold. Unusual, but you will see why. Place the chicken breast side down on the cutting board and, using kitchen shears, cut through the bones on either side of the backbone. Cut the backbone into 1-inch pieces and reserve. Trim excess fat and skin from the chicken and reserve the backbone. Flip the chicken over and use the heel of your hand to press on the book on the breast bone to flatten it. Using the tip of a paring knife, poke small holes over the entire surface of the chicken, spacing them approximately 3/4 of an inch apart. These are ‘vents’ that prevent the skin from becoming a chicken balloon and burning fast.

2. Rub half a teaspoon of Olive Oil* over the skin and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Flip that there chicken over and sprinkle the bone side with the remaining half teaspoon salt. ** Flip that there *** chicken side up, tie the legs together with kitchen twine, and tuck the wings under the breasts. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in a broiler-safe 12-inch skillet over hot heat till just smoking. Please chicken in the skillet skin side up and transfer to the oven, positioning the. skillet as close to the center of the oven as the handle allows.

   Turn the handle so it points towards one of the oven’s front corners. Turn on the broiler and broil the chicken for 25 minutes. Rotate the skillet by moving the handle to the opposite front corner of the oven and continue to broil until the skin is dark, golden brown, and the thickest part of the breast registers 155°(See my note about that. It’s important)( 20 to 30 minutes longer). While the chicken does its thing, make the gravy.

Even if you have a convection oven with a fan, this is still a good idea.

* Olive Oil. What a topic. It’s volumes on it’s own. It’s gold, baby, gold. Basics are: pomace or ‘regular’ olive oil is fine for this. Preferred actually. I usually use Spanish Olive Oil for this, as they process thiers way less. Green, spicy and aromatic. Pure Yum. Extra Virgin (whatever that is supposed to mean) is too lean. You do NOT cook with EVOO. It’s for cold use, like salad dressings. Keep it out of the pan, freinds.

** Salt. Use good salt. Use the proper salt. See last Sunday’s post about salt. (That would be cool if you really did check that out.) Use a good sea salt, not too finely ground, not too large, and do not, DO NOT spare the horses. A little more before you cook is OK. (Really, see the article.)

*** My grammar checker HATES IT when I say old country things, like ‘that there”. Ha, add Appalachian to your dictionary, there computer people…hehe

1. Bring one cup of broth and your reserved trimmings to simmer in a large saucepan over high heat. Cook, adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer and stirring occasionally until all the liquid evaporates and trimmings begin to sizzle, about 12 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until dark fond forms on the bottom of the saucepan, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, carrot, celery, parsley, sprigs, thyme, sprigs, and garlic to the saucepan, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, 7 to 8 minutes. Stirling Wine and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Add the remaining 3 cups of broth and bring to a simmer over high heat. Adjusted to maintain simmer and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until stock. The liquid only is reduced by half, about 20 minutes longer. Have some wine. Really, you deserve it. This is alchemy!

2. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl (or anything really), pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Melt the butter in the now empty saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a deep golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock. Also, do not add all the stock at once; add it in about 1/3rds. If you dump it in all at once, it will cause the flower to ‘seize’ and turn into a clump. (I will be making a face at you somewhere if you do. I will know. Really.) Increase the heat to medium-high and bring it all to a simmer, and simmer until about thickened, about five minutes.

3. Transfer that there chicken onto a carving board and let it rest uncovered for 15 minutes. That is 15 (Fifteen). Not 3, not 5, not even 10 whole minutes of “well, it seemed like 15”.) While your friend rests, transfer the fat drippings from the skillet to a small bowl and let it sit for five minutes. Spoon off the fat and discard it. (It will rise to the top. Easy) Whisk the drippings into the gravy, season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste, carve the chicken, and serve, passing the gravy separately.

   There are lots and lots of videos out there about how to carve a chicken. Pick a simple one. Do that.

EXTRA CREDIT ACTION BONUS (or something like that)

Cathead Biscuits

• Self-rising flour

• Shortening at room temperature (My family used lard and about the size of a walnut. Only for the real south and the intrepid.)

• Buttermilk

• Salt, Optional

Step 1: Work the shortening into the flour until it’s like coarse crumbs. (I use a spoon to do this). Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough forms a ball in the bowl. You can either pinch off the dough or cut it with a biscuit cutter. I use a tin can because I like to make these biscuits the size of my cat Diego’s head. (not kidding)

In Appalachia, there are as many ways to make biscuits as there are cooks. All are good when made with love and intention. If someone has ‘cathead biscuits’ on their menu, buy them. They know.

Step 2: Grease or spray pan. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until brown on top.

NOTES: This recipe only makes 8 biscuits, depending on the size you cut/pinch them. I bake them in a cake pan, round pie plate, or on a baking pan.

TIPS

• For taller, lighter, and flakier biscuits, cut straight down with the cutter.  Twisting makes biscuits uneven. For crusty edges, arrange them 1 inch apart; for softer edges, place them close together.

• For a higher-rise biscuit, ensure the biscuits are touching so they rise UP and not out.

• You can brush melted butter on the tops once cooked or even before baking.

Geeky Tips and Questions.

• Why are my biscuits always hard? They are never soft and fluffy. What am I doing wrong?

  More than likely, you are handling your dough too much. Just mix, pinch them off, or cut them and bake. Biscuits aren’t like baking bread. You don’t need to knead the dough. The less you handle the dough, the better.

  I prefer to roll my biscuits out. How thick should I roll them?

  We usually do about 1/2 inch or so.

  My dough is very sticky and wet. What did I do wrong?

  You can always add more flour to any biscuit recipe if it is too wet to make it workable. The consistency can change depending on the brand of flour, humidity, etc. Don’t be afraid to add more if it needs it.

Thanks for reading!

Chef Jonathan McCloud