AMAZING, to die for chicken recipe

I think it's safe to say that I have perfected my chicken recipe. Meat so moist it falls off the bone and it's packed full of flavor with crisp, addicting skin that makes your mouth water just looking at it. Seriously, I have never had a chicken taste this good. It's a bit involved, but it's spread out over two days and SO well worth the little bit of extra effort.

Again, excuse the lack of measurements but I cook by feeling.


Brine:
Cold water
Lots of salt
Various herbs. I use rosemary, basil, thyme, lots of garlic, etc.
Brown sugar/some alcoholic drink that's sweet.

Cooking:
Poultry herbs
Salt
Pepper
Lots o garlic
a few pats of butter
EVOO

Mix brine, rinse off bird, stick bird in brine and let soak over night. Another thing to do is get a flavor injector and inject it with sweet white wine too. This tenderizes the fibers even further. Drink the remaining wine as a reward for cooking. ;)

Remove bird the morning you plan to cook it and rinse. Poke small holes in the skin and rub down with salt. Place in fridge uncovered. Turn halfway through the day. This allows the skin to dry out.

When you're ready, grab a beer, needs to be a can, drink half. ;) Spread oil, salt and pepper in the cavity of the bird. Massage bird with olive oil, salt, pepper and any herbs you wish. OR, if you have the cash grab one of those poultry fresh herb mixes from a grocery store, throw that in a food processor with lots of garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil to make an amazing, do die for rub. Carefully separate as much of the skin from the meat as possible. I then stick bits of chopped up garlic and pats of butter between the skin of the bird and the meat. Gracefully shove that can up the birds ass and sit it upright in the oven.

For the first 20 minutes, cook the bird at 400. Then drop the temperature to 350 and roast for an hour and a half, or until the juices run clear and the deepest section of the meat is no longer pink. Make sure to baste with the juices as often as possible. Balsamic vinegar is also AMAZING to baste with. :)

Don't expect left overs. ;)

Food Porn- Tonno in Tegame (Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, swordfish replacing tuna)

Tonno in Tegame Marinade

I've been cooking so much recently I figured I'd start taking some photos of my creations. Normally I wouldn't because I don't have a very flexible camera nor do I feel I'm much of a photographer, but I loved the colors in this marinade so I snapped a shot anyway.

Tonight it's Northern Italian Seafood. Tonno in Tegame (Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, swordfish replacing tuna) and Poveracce con Aceto Balsamico (summer clams with balsamic vinegar). I plan to pair this with Patate al Forno (oven-roasted potatoes) for myself... since we have the supplies for that laying around.

In the fridge I have a whole, organic chicken that I plan to roast. Seems I only like this bird when I'm the one making it. I somehow manage to pack it full of flavor and moisture. I've also got a frozen octopus stashed in my freezer that I still need to figure out what to do with it aside from boiling it in salt water. We also picked up some dough so I can throw together a pizza. I'm thinking a nice white sauce, extra cheese. Italian olives, capers, some onions, tons of roasted garlic, maybe some form of meat. Really whatever we have in the fridge and spice rack that looks good. =)