Archive for the ‘Poultry and Game Recipes’ Category

Quik Chix Tagine

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Costco is selling imported Indian vegetarian side dishes that are quite tasty and also work well as cooking sauces.  Pictured is the Madras Lentil selection with tomato, red beans,onions,chilies and lintils in a thick sauce, all in a boil-and-serve pouch.  Try ‘em.

Our tagine has been gathering dust atop the fridge for a couple months, so it was time to use it for a quick dinner.
Here’s the dish:

1.  Take the skin off of six chicken thighs, rub them with salt and pepper, and brown them in a couple tablespoons of peanut or grapeseed oil in the cast iron tagine bottom. (Don’t do this in a clay-bottom tagine.  If you have one of those, sauté the chicken separately.)
2.  Remove the thighs, carefully drain off the browning oil and then return the thighs to the hot tagine bottom.
3.  Halve about eight small red potatoes and place them around the thighs.
4.  Pour a pouch of the Indian veggie sauce over the thighs and potatoes.
5.  Add about a half cup of low salt chicken broth (not too much or the tagine will spurt all over the stove top, while cooking).
6.  Set the burner to simmer, put the top on the tagine bottom and set the timer for 50 minutes.
7.  At the 30 minute mark, lift the top and add some asparagus, as shown.
8.  When done, serve in heated shallow soup plates.

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Turkey Legs Tagine

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Regular readers know that I like the Le Creuset Moroccan Tagine.  I’ve suggested that you think of it as a heavy-duty stovetop Dutch oven, perfect for the braising of portions-for-two.  We’ve done a Pot Roast and Osso Bucco.

Turkey legs are one of the tastiest “cheap eats” items you can find in a US meat counter. In our neighborhood, they are usually packaged in threes–one each for dinner with a leftover leg to gnaw on for lunch or whenever.  Roasting and braising are the preferred methods for cooking turkey.  The legs are especially tough and need to be fired, on low heat, for quite awhile.  Why not tie the three legs together to form a tripod and braise them in the tagine?  The top of the tagine will fit snugly over the legs creating a nicely closed chamber for moist heat cooking.  So here we have:

Turkey Legs Tagine
See abbreviations, if needed
Yield:  3 servings

  • 3         turkey legs, skin on or off
  • 6         shallots, peeled and halved
  • 6         small red potatoes, skin on, halved
  • S/P      to taste
  • 2T        EVOO
  • 1T+      seasoning of choice (herbes de Provence, fines herbes, BG, Italian)
  • 15 oz     chicken broth

1.   Rub turkey legs with oil, S/P and seasoning and set aside
2.   Heat the cast iron tagine base to hot, add EVOO and then brown the shallot and potato halves
3.   Remove the veggies and set aside
4.   Brown the turkey legs to give them some color (see photo), add more oil if needed
5.   Remove the legs and when cool enough to handle, tie them together with butchers twine or wire
6.   Return the legs to the pan and stand them up as a tripod
7.   Return the veggies and sprinkle any remaining seasoning over all
8.   Add the chicken broth and BTB
9.   Reduce the heat to simmer and put the cover on
10.  Braise for about 90 minutes until the legs are very fork-tender
11.  Remove the legs and veggies and set aside in a warm place
12.  Skim the fat off the surface of the braising liquid
13.  BTB and reduce the braising liquid for sauce, adjust seasoning
14.  Serve on heated plates

Shallots are used in this recipe, which brings to mind the following:
Awhile back I was at a Marine Corps Exchange where a gruff retired navy chief petty officer cook was doing a demonstration of All Clad pots and pans.  He had a pretty good crowd.  As he was dicing up a huge yellow onion, a woman asked, “Chef, I know you are using an onion, but what are shallots?”  While still chopping, the chief looked up and replied with disdain, “They’re expensive onions . . . the French like ‘em.”

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The Rock Cornish Game Hen

Monday, December 7th, 2009
A Rock Cornish Game Hen makes the perfect dish for two.

But it is not a “game” hen.  It’s a chicken hen!

The USDA defines the Rock Cornish Game Hen as:  “ . . .a young, immature chicken (usually 5-6 weeks of age), weighing not more than 2 pounds (ready-to-cook), which was prepared [sic] from a Cornish chicken crossed with another breed of chicken.” Donald Tyson, the founder of Tyson Foods created the Rock Cornish Game Hen in 1965 as an upscale poultry product, now described by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) as a “small broiler-fryer . . . usually stuffed and roasted whole.”

Game hens are too small to be cut into pieces, so any recipe you favor for whole or halved chicken will work fine.  They cook quickly.  Roasting time, at 350F, is 50 to 60 minutes or 10 minutes less on the barbecue grill, using the indirect method.  Contrast these times to 75 to 90 minutes for a 3-4 pound whole broiler fryer or 120 to 155 minutes for a big 5-7 pound whole roasting hen—all times according to the FSIS—all times less if the bird is halved.

I prefer to cut Rock Cornish Game hens in half, not only when cooking for two, but also when preparing hens for a crowd.  Reasons:  They are too big for one person to eat when served with veggies and a starch, and they are too small to be carved.   Halving a game hen is quite easy in that the bones are soft:  First, with a sharp knife, remove the last joint of each wing and remove the ‘pope’s nose.’ Then place the bird on its back with the opening facing you.  With a poultry shears or with a sharp cleaver, cut through the breast at the center.  Spread open the cavity and then cut along one side of the backbone to separate the halves.  Finally cut along the other side of the backbone.  This leaves you with three pieces—two game hen halves and the backbone.  Discard the backbone or save it for stock.

For a crowd, The Little Woman’s Roasted Game Hens Mediterranean is a wonderful dish.  For every day cooking for two, I often dry rub the bird with salt and pepper or marinate the halves with Lea & Perrins White Wine Worcestershire Sauce.  Sometimes I use Scott’s Barbecue Sauce or a coat of a Patak sauce mixed with yogurt and a little olive oil.

Whether roasted or grilled, these birds tend to stay moist.  Before serving, make the effort to crisp the skin either over direct fire on the grill or under the broiler.  Either way takes some attention to avoid burning.  It’s worth the risk, both for appearance and to further reduce the fat content of the skin.

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Roasted Game Hens Mediterranean

Monday, December 7th, 2009

This is an old favorite of The Little Woman, who prepares it quite often when we tire of grilled game hens.  She also does it with 4 birds as a dinner-for-eight, as shown prepared in a paella pan.  It is best to refrigerate the mixed ingredients overnight in a stainless steel bowl, both to marinate the game hens and to macerate the prunes and apricots.  A rice dish goes nicely with these hens and their jus.

Roasted Game Hens Mediterranean
Yield:  4 servings
See Abbreviations, if needed

·    2           games hens, split w/ backbone removed
·    1.5 oz   EVOO
·    5           cloves garlic, minced
·    1.5 T     oregano
·    1/3 C    prunes, pitted
·    1/3 C    dried apricots
·    ¼ C      pitted and sliced black olives
·    ¼ C      capers, w/ a bit of juice
·    3           bay leaves
·    1/3C     brown sugar
·    2 T        chopped fresh Italian parsley
·    1/3 C     red wine vinegar
·    ¼ C       white wine
·                  S/P

1.  Rub hens with S/P and set aside
2.  In a large SSB, combine all the ingredients
except the hens and white wine.  Mix well
3.  Place the hens skin-side down in the mix
4.  Cover and refrigerate overnight
5.  Preheat oven to 350F
6.  Arrange hens in a roaster pan, spoon over the marinade and add white wine
7.  Roast for 60 to 90 minutes until hens are golden brown (160F)
8.  Transfer the hens to a serving platter
9.  Spoon fruit, olives and capers over the hens and keep warm
10.  Degrease the roasting pan and deglaze with water
11.  On the stovetop, over high heat, reduce the roasting liquid to serve four generously
12.  Remove the bay leaves and pour some jus over the hens on the serving platter
13.  Top the hens with a little parsley before serving
14.  Serve remaining jus in a gravy boat

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Braised Rabbit with Mustard Sauce

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Domestic raised rabbit is 3 to 5 pounds of smooth white meat fore and aft.  It’s readily available, fresh or frozen, whole or cut, if you look for it.  Rabbit is about as easy to cut into pieces as chicken but you will need a good shears or cleaver as rabbit bones are strong.  Last summer, at the local farmers’ market, an Amish farmer from Orange Virginia  had beautiful frozen whole rabbit.  I bought two and did the first one with prunes and red wine.  It was too heavy and the red wine discolored the meat–never again.  This time, inspired by a recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook, we had a braised rabbit that elicited repeated yums around the table.  The cookbook recipe was under seasoned and recommended a cooking time that was too short.    Here is my version of this bistro dish:

Braised Rabbit with Mustard Sauce
See Abbreviations, if needed
1         dressed rabbit cut into serving pieces (8-10)
3T       herbes de Provence
4T       EVOO
3/4C    sliced shallots or onion
3          stocks of celery, sliced
3T        butter
S/P      (watch the salt if using salted chicken broth)
2C       white wine
3C       chicken stock (check salt content if using broth)
2T        dijon mustard
2T        whole grain mustard
1T        cornstarch

1.  Cut the rabbit as desired and rub each piece with herbes de Provence and S/P
2.  Heat some EVOO in a big Dutch oven, add rabbit pieces in batches, brown the pieces well
and set them aside
3.  Clean the Dutch oven, add butter and some EVOO
4.  Sauté the onions and celery to translucent
5.  Add the wine, BTB and reduce by half
6.  Return the rabbit to the pot, add the stock, add a little more pepper and herbes
(be sure to place the legs at the bottom of the pot as they are tougher than the back pieces)
7.  Cover and BTB, then simmer on the stove top for about 2 hours (at very low heat–just enough to
burp a boiling bubble every second or so)
8.  When done, remove the rabbit pieces and set them aside in a warm place
9.  Scoop out the onions and celery with a strainer
10.  Spoon out about a half cup of the broiling liquid and let cool in a ramekin–when cooled
to the touch, add the cornstarch and mustards and whisk them about
11.  BTB the rest of the broiling liquid and reduce to 2+ cups
12.  Add the cornstarch-mustard mixture, BTB and then simmer the pot to thicken the sauce
13.  Taste and correct seasoning, if necessary
14.  Transfer the sauce to a heated gravy tug
15.  Transfer the rabbit to a heated serving platter and serve immediately onto heated plates
with the mustard sauce

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Korean Chicken

Friday, March 27th, 2009

The Little Woman makes this dish and it is one of our favorites. It has evolved over time. The original idea is lost in history, but it may have come out of a Parade magazine. The recipe calls for a lot of garlic but it mellows out in the cooking process to produce a well-balanced chicken dish. Here’s why:

Garlic, as a member of the onion family, contains starch. When cooked, some of the starch is transformed by heat into dextrin and free sugar that sweeten the product, form browning and caramelizing compounds and mellow the bite. But beware, this process can lead to burning if the cook is inattentive.

A trained pallet will spot burned garlic or burned onion even in trace amounts. We could never get away with it in school. The chefs tasted it every time. So, take care not to burn onions or garlic (or anything else, for that matter).

Tip: If you do burn it—start over!

Korean Chicken
Yield: 4 servings or 2 serving and 2 leftovers
See Abbreviations, if needed
• ¼ C white wine vinegar (WWV)
• 3 T soy sauce
• 3 T honey
• 1/2 t powered ginger
• 1/3 C chicken broth
• 8 skinned chicken thighs
• 2 T peanut oil
• 10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper

1. Mix together WWV, soy sauce, honey, ginger and chicken broth, and set aside
2. In a sauté pan, brown the chicken in peanut oil, then reduce heat
3. Add the garlic and red pepper and stir-cook briefly – don’t burn the garlic
4. Add WWV mixture and cook (covered) until chicken is done, about 25 minutes
5. (Optional) Remove chicken pieces and let cool
• Debone the chicken thighs and pull meat apart by hand
• Return chicken to the sauce and reheat
6. Serve over rice

Note: 1. There is lots of salt in the soy sauce, so don’t add more.
2. You may wish to prepare this dish without bothering to debone the chicken. It will save time in the preparation. Also, folks tend to eat less if pieces are whole rather than bite sized.

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Cuban Chicken

Friday, March 27th, 2009

It’s the season for poultry again and chicken is by far the most popular species. Today’s chickens are descendants of the Southeast Asian Red Jungle Fowl, which was first domesticated in India 4,000 years ago. Most of the birds raised for meat in America today are from the Cornish (a British breed) and the White Rock (a breed developed in New England).

According to the USDA, the term fresh on a poultry label refers to any raw product that has never been below 26F. Raw poultry held at 0F or below must be labeled frozen or previously frozen. No specific label is required on raw poultry stored at temperatures between 0F and 25F.

TIP: If you need to defrost a poultry product in a hurry, the only approved method is to place the product in an airtight and leak proof package and immerse it in cold water. It will thaw out in about 2 hours.

As you know, all chickens found in retail stores are either inspected by the USDA or by a state authority with standards equivalent to the Feds. While inspection is mandatory, grading is voluntary. Always look for Grade A products, defined by the USDA as “plump, meaty bodies and clean skin, free of bruises, broken bones, feathers, cuts and discoloration.”

The Little Woman has been making this chicken dish for years. Inspiration came from a 1980 Cuisinart magazine. It should be prepared on the stovetop in a covered skillet or a Dutch oven big enough to hold 10 chicken thighs. There is always rice left over and it tastes great.

Cuban Chicken
Yield: 4 servings with leftovers
See Abbreviations, if needed

· 8-10 chicken thighs, skinned
· 2T EVOO
· 2 onions, diced
· 2 cloves garlic, pureed
· ½ C olives with pimento, rinsed
· 2T capers, rinse with olives
· ½ t oregano
· ¼ t each: rosemary, sage and cumin
· 2 C basmati or other long grain rice
· 4 C chicken stock or broth
· S/P

1. Select a large skillet that takes a cover
2. Brown chicken thighs in EVOO and set aside
3. Sweat onions in same skillet, to translucent
4. Add garlic
5. Add olives, capers and spices
6. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains
7. Add chicken broth
8. Add S/P to taste
9. Return chicken to the skillet
10. BTB, cover and simmer until chicken is done, about 30 minutes
11. Remove pan from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes

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