I was embarking on Julia's recipe "Poulet poele a l'estragon" - i.e. Casserole roasted chicken with tarragon.
This was a different way of roasting from where I normally just shove the chook in a roasting dish with a sprinkle of a few herbs, into the oven. Following Julia's recipe you truss the chook, brown in butter and oil, then set to roast in a covered casserole with herbs and seasonings. Julia was absolutely right when she described this as "lovely method as the buttery, aromatic steam in the casserole gives the chicken great tenderness and flavour". The chicken was tender and moist, and my normal reliance of a gravy was not required.
Trussing is used as a technique so when you present the bird on the table it will look neat and attractive. For a chook there are two ties, one at the tail end to secure the drumsticks and one at the breast end to fasten the wings and neck skin. So as a good student I followed Julia's instructions and I thrust the needle in and tied that little chook up. Coming to serving time (which I must admit was late) the family was so hungry, that I could have served them bake beans on toast and they would have been happy!
Our eiffile tower candle was lit, as we sat down to eat out poulet for dinner and reflect on the tragedy of the terrorist attacks in Paris - vive la France
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| Truss me! |
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| Tarragon.., courtesy of Millstream gardens (check out their website) |
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| Vive la France |
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