Roasted Chicken with herbs and Wine

Polla Arrosto Al Vino

Cooking With Nick Stellino
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Ingredients:

1 (4-pound) chicken, washed and patted dried
2 cups white wine
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:
1 tablespoons chicken fat, spooned from the cooking juices.
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2/3 cup reduced wine marinade
1/4 cup defatted chicken roasting juices
3/4 cup Chicken Stock
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh chopped sage

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Chicken Stock

Serves 4

Printable Version

Marinate the chicken overnight in the white wine, turining at least once, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place the garlic, salt. pepper, rosemary and sage on a chopping board and with a sharp knife, chop and blend them together. Do not do this in a blender as it will ruin the texture. Chop the mixture as fine as you can.

Take the chicken out of the marinade, reseving the marinade for the sauce. Dry the chicken well with paper towels. Loosen the skin, pushing with your fingers around the breast, thighs and back. Stuff 2/3 of the chopped seasoning mixture underneath the skin over the thighs, legs, breast and back. Place the chicken on a vertical roaster, brush it with the olive oil and rub the remaining herb mixture over the skin.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F. Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn the chicken1/4 turn clockwise and brush it well with the juices that have accummulated in the bottom of the pan. Cover the top part of the chicken with a piece of foil just up to the wings to keep it from getting too brown. Roast for 1 more hour, repeating the turning and basting every 30 minutes. Test the chicken to see if it's fully cooked by inserting the tip of a sharp knife in the thickest part of the thigh. If it's fully cooked, the juices that run out will be clear. If they're not completely clear, cook 10 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and cook over high heat until reduced by 2/3. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the chicken is done, take the chicken off the vertical roaster, taking care not to spill the juices that have accunulated in the pan. Cut it into serving pieces as you wish. Place the chicken pieces on a warm serving platter and keep warm while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, pour the cooking juices into a defatting cup, reserving 2 tablespoons fat. In a small nonstick saute pan on medium heat, cook the chicken fat and onion for 3 minutes. Add the reduced marinade and cook for 1 minute. Add the defatted roasting juices and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock with the cornstarch and stir into the boiling sauce, stirring well until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to a simmer, taste for salt, adding the additional 1/8 teaspoon if you wish and the sage for added flavor.

When you're ready to serve, pour the accumulated juices from the serving platter into the simmering sauce and seve it in a gravy boat along sice the chicken.

Chef's Tip:

If you don't have a verical roaster, you can roast the chicken in a more traditional way. Start with the chicken, breast-side-up, for the first 30 minutes. Turn it over onto its other breast and cook for 15 minutes. Turn on each thigh side and its back for 15 minutes each and finish with a breast-side-up, for the last 15 minutes. Remember to baste the chicken at every turn. The chicken will be wobbly as you balance it on its different body parts: just balance it as best you can against the pan.