Pan Roasted Chicken and Risotto

I've come to like roast chicken almost as much as pork shoulder. I completely fell for chicken since I got my new grill with rotisserie. But it's winter now; and the rotisserie motor is mounted in a way to short out in the rain. So I've been looking for alternatives. Leave it to Dad Cooks Dinner to come to the rescue.  This disk is incredibly simple; if you have an oven proof pan (I used my cast iron skillet) and a strong pair of kitchen shears to cut out a chicken backbone you can make this - really.

My detailed copy of the recipe can be found here. In the morning (or up to 24 hours before) snip out the back bone of the chicken, flip it over and press hard on it to flatten it out. Sprinkle salt, paprika, and ground pepper on the front and back. I also put some under the skin on the breasts and thighs. Put on a wire rack in the refrigerator to allow it to dry brine.

Chicken butterflied (or spatchcocked) and rubbed with salt, paprika, and pepper. I've never seen a nice picture of raw chicken.

Put your oven proof skillet in the oven and turn it on to 400° F. When the oven comes up to temperature, turn a burner on high and transfer the pan to the stove. Do I need to remind you it will be rocket hot? Use good pot holders. I used these awesome gloves that I got for handling a hot rotisserie rod. Put a bit of oil in the pan and swirl; put the chicken skin side down and fry for 4-5 minutes. Carefully flip it; if it doesn't come up easily given it another minute or use a spatula. Put in the oven and roast until the thickest part of the breast is 160-165° and the thighs are about 170°. Start checking around 30 minutes. Pull from the oven and let rest 10-15 minutes; cut and serve.

Out of the oven; this was a bit over done and you can tell by the split drumstick.

I used a cheapo timer/thermometer unit that read too low. When it showed 158° my Thermapen read 180°, That was all the incentive I needed to use my Christmas Amazon gift card to order a Thermapen Chef Alarm.

This was an excellent roast chicken; I gave it 5 stars. Some people may find it too salty; in that case simply avoid the skin. If you want a new chicken recipe, give this a try. It's really easy and delicious.

Mike Vrobel also has a recipe for risotto that I thought would be a good accompaniment. Mike altered his recipe to accommodate his kids so he used edamame and butter. I took his suggestion to use cheese and peas as substitutes to produce a more traditional risotto. Take a look at his blog entry to get an idea of the options.

Risotto ingredients minus the chicken broth.

Unfortunately I was so focused on the chicken I didn't get good pictures of the risotto.

I've never made risotto but apparently it takes a long time where you have to slowly add chicken broth a little at a time and stir almost constantly. Pressure cooker to the rescue. Sauté the onions in a combination of butter and olive oil; add the rinsed arborio rice and sauté for a bit. Add some wine and cook until absorbed; dump in the chicken broth and cook at high pressure for a short time then stir in the cheese then peas. Voilá!

Dinner is served

We had leftover lemon pie for dessert.