Roasting chickens is my favorite winter sport. I wake up most Sunday mornings to rinse the bird that has spent the night in a salt and sugar brine before patting it dry for a return to the fridge to chill, uncovered for a few hours (an air-chilled bird begets crispy skin).
My roasting technique involves seasoning the bird aggressively with salt & pepper, stuffing the cavity with aromatics and basting regularly with melted butter. Inspired by butter a few weeks back, I decided to up the ante by using Bagna Cauda as the basting component for roasted chicken.
Bagna Cauda (literally a "hot bath") is one of my favorite Italian starters. It's basically a hot mix of butter and extra virgin olive oil flavored with lots of garlic and anchovy. Traditionally, it's served in a warmed bowl as a dipping sauce for raw veggies and bread. I thought it would, as a basting component, ratchet up my roasted chicken.
It did! The flavor was unique and satisfying; the anchovy added a tawny glaze.
Give it a try, and feel free to tinker with the portions of garlic and anchovy (I go heavy) and use the leftover Bagna Cauda as you see fit.
Happy Roasting!
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Roast Chicken Bagna Cauda
4
servings20
minutes1
hourIngredients
1 4 lb. 1 whole chicken
six cloves six garlic (peeled, stemmed, minced)
1 stick 1 unsalted butter
1/2 cup 1/2 extra virgin olive oil
6 6 anchovy fillets (drained from oil or rinsed of salt)
salt & pepper (see note)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 °F.
- Season the chicken inside and out with salt & pepper.
- Truss the chicken with kitchen string.
- Put on a rack in an oven proof baking dish and add to the oven.
- While the chicken begins to roast, add the olive oil and minced garlic to a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Over very low heat (do not burn the garlic) warm the oil.
- When the oil is warm and the garlic is pale, add the anchovies (3-4 minutes).
- Allow the anchovies to breakdown, coaxing gently with a wooden spoon (2-3 minutes).
- Off the heat, add the butter and allow it to incorporate into the sauce.
- Baste the chicken with the Bagna Cauda every 15 minutes until it is done (the chicken should cook around 1 hour total).
- Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest, covered loosely in foil, for 15 minutes.
- Carve and serve.
- If desired, use the remaining Bagna Cauda as a sauce for the carved meat.
Notes
- Go easy on the salt when seasoning the bird as the anchovies are salty.
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