Ring in the New Year with a Roast Chicken dinner
As this rather strange year draws to a close, we bring to you a nearly 50-year-old tradition from the Muthiah household, our Roast Chicken dinner. I wrote last week about how the Sri Lankan connections ensured that the darling daughters were hooked on to Christmas as a major family celebration. Just as we had one Christmas Cake for Christmas and one for New Year’s, dinner on both days was Ayah’s Roast Chicken spread, complete with buttery, golden roast potatoes, perfectly roasted onions, stuffing and pan gravy.
It was amazing that Ayah, the rather staunch vegetarian, could stuff and truss a whole bird in a jiffy; and could carve the bird up just as easily – Aiyah, with his arthritis was not about to tussle with a whole bird and a sharp knife! In spite my years at hotel school, I still struggle, not to mention the apprentice who scoffs at any meat on the bone despite being a hard-core non-vegetarian. Needless to say, roasting a chook was not on his Christmas list of things to do!
When I moved across the seas to Australia, a country where Yuletide meant summer and barbies (cues), this Muthiah daughter was rather flabbergasted to learn that the in-laws did not celebrate in style! I, of course, was having none of that and with some gentle urging over the years, Christmas trees and Santa and Roast Chicken dinner became a tradition at the in-laws too. With the move to Singapore a decade ago, it has become a time when the family makes a special effort to cross borders to celebrate together. While Ayah pulled out all the stops for both Christmas and New Year’s, we only had the energy to pull off a large celebration on Christmas - New Year’s fireworks took precedence over a second roast dinner. Anyway, on Christmas, as flagbearer of the tradition, preparing the roast was on me, with my mother-in-law’s able assistant, my father-in-law, on loan for the day – he’s still deciding who’s the harder task master! And we’ve had some adventures together - particularly the time when we realised that inadvertently leaving hidden strands of trussing twine in the chicken does not bode well for the guests, or the hosts! But I have to say he’s a champion chicken carver, second only to Ayah, and was sorely missed this year. Oh, and the other thing we’ve made our own tradition is the annual flambéed Christmas Pudding (different from Ayah’s cake).
While it does feel strange not to celebrate the season of joy with family this year, it has been an opportunity to have a toast with friends in a country that has been home for the last decade and be thankful that Singapore has done well enough that we can still celebrate, albeit cautiously.
Scenes from Christmas this year - a Christmas Pudding flambé on the left and a whole roasted cauliflower on the right
The one drawback of hosting a roast dinner is that I often find myself at a wit’s end about what to make for the vegetarians at the table. A Whole Roasted Cauliflower, using much the same marinade as the Roast Chicken, does offer a good substitute, good enough to fool the best of them, at least at a distance.
With that we bring you the recipe for our Roast Chicken dinner and, while we may have been too late for Christmas, we hope that you can ring in the New Year with it. Wishing you much joy and light in the year to come.
Notes:
1. Ayah and Aiyah both insisted on country chicken (leaner meat) rather than broiler (fattier) for this recipe, the smaller the chicken, the better. In Singapore, I get kampong chicken at about 750 gms per chicken.
2. While I prepare the chicken myself, it may be easier for you to get your butcher to trim the chicken - get rid of the neck and claws. However, save the innards (liver, heart, gizzard etc) as it gives a great flavour to the stuffing.
3. Cooking times will differ depending on the size of the chicken. The times given here are for a 750 gm chicken.
4. It is okay to use whatever bread you have lying around in the house, even slightly stale. I have used white bread this time, but personally prefer to use multigrain for a bit of texture. The other alternative is to use cold cooked white rice.
5. The pan gravy listed at the end of the recipe is optional, but, hey, what's a roast chicken without gravy?
6. If there are leftovers, I tend not to heat them up and use them as cold meat in a sandwich or wrap - heavenly with a bit of chilli sauce to spice it up.
7. The dinner is best served with roast potatoes. Check out the recipe here.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, preferably country chicken, 750 gm or less
Butter for greasing the pan, about a tablespoon (alternatively some cooking spray)
For marination (mix to a thick paste):
2 tablespoons red chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste (~1.5 teaspoons)
For the stuffing:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 large onion, minced
1 large tomato, minced
1 red chilli, minced
¼ tsp turmeric
2 teaspoons chilli powder
Salt to taste (~ 1 teaspoon)
4 slices bread, chopped up roughly into ½ inch cubes (alternatively ¾ cup of cooked white rice, cold)
¼ cup water, if using bread
1 egg, beaten
Optional: The innards (liver, gizzard, heart) of the chicken, finely chopped
For Pan Gravy:
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups (~400 ml) chicken stock (or water)
Salt to taste (~1/2 teaspoon)
Pepper to taste (~1/2 teaspoon)
Optional:
¼ cup (~50 ml) red wine
1 tablespoon butter
Method:
1. Prepare and marinate the chicken:
Trim the chicken - remove the neck and claws if any (or ask your butcher to do it).
Wash and dry the chicken and keep aside.
Mix the marinade items to a thick paste.
2 tablespoons red chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste (~1.5 teaspoons)Rub the marinade on the chicken – make sure to get some in the cavity of the chicken as well as under the skin. To get under the skin, slide a finger between the skin and the flesh of the chicken and separate it gently.
Pierce the skin of the chicken with a fork for better marination and even cooking. Be gentle and make sure you don’t rip the skin while doing this.
Transfer the chicken and any extra marinade to a plastic bag or container and set aside in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight, if possible.
2. Prepare the stuffing:
Heat the butter and oil in a pan.
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cooking oilAdd the ginger garlic paste, and once golden brown, add the chillis, onions and a pinch of salt and sauté till soft and translucent.
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 large onion, minced
1 red chilli, mincedIf using the innards, add at this stage and sauté until cooked.
Optional: The innards (liver, gizzard, heart) of the chicken, finely chopped
Add the tomato and sauté until soft, almost like a paste.
1 large tomato, minced
Add the chilli powder and turmeric powder and continue to sauté until raw smell goes off, about a minute or so. Add the remaining salt to taste.
¼ tsp turmeric
2 teaspoons chilli powder
Salt to taste (~ 1 teaspoon)Next, add the bread (or cooked rice, if substituting) and mix in until completely coated with the onion-tomato masala.
4 slices bread, chopped up roughly into ½ inch cubes (alternatively ¾ cup of cooked white rice, cold)
Add some water to soften the bread, if needed (skip this step if using cooked rice).
¼ cup water, if using bread
Once completely coated, remove the pan from the fire and set aside to cool.
When ready to stuff the chicken, beat one egg and mix it with the cooled stuffing mixture (the egg helps to bind and hold shape).
1 egg, beaten
3. Trussing and stuffing the chicken (watch video for detailed view):
Remove the chicken from the bag and set it on a clean flat surface or cutting board.
Stuff the mixture in the cavity of the chicken till about 3/4th full.
Optional: Use a needle and thread and stitch the cavity to make sure the stuffing does not fall out.
Lay the chicken on its back (breast facing you), cross the legs and tie them using a twine.
Slide the twine under the chicken, hold the wings close to the breast, and tie across the breast.
Optional: If you have any additional stuffing, transfer to an oven safe container, top with a few knobs of butter and bake until golden brown. Serve as additional stuffing.
4. Roasting the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 180 C (~ 350 F).
Get a roasting pan and grease it with cooking spray or butter.
Butter for greasing the pan, about a tablespoon (alternatively some cooking spray)
There are two schools of thought about how to roast the chicken – most say breast side up, but there are some that say breast side down because it keeps the white meat of the chicken (the breast) from drying out. I start out breast side down and then half way into the roasting, I turn the chicken over.
Optional: If you’re serving the chicken with roast potatoes and onions, lay them on the roasting tray and then set the chicken on top the vegetables. The vegetables roasted in the pan juices have an excellent flavour.
Put the chicken in the oven and roast for about 20-30 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Then turn the chicken over so the breast is facing up, baste with pan juices and any extra marinade and cook for another 15 -20 minutes. To check if the chicken is cooked through, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the meat (where the drumstick and the thigh join) and if there are no pink juices flowing out, it is cooked. Of course, you could invest in a food thermometer and the recommended internal temperature at the thickest part should be 75 C (~165 F).
If the chicken is browning too quickly, cover the roasting tray loosely with aluminum foil and continue roasting.
Once the chicken is roasted, take it out of the oven, cover the tray loosely with aluminum foil and rest it (breast side up) for at least 15 minutes before serving.
I am no expert on carving a roast chicken, but here is a link to view how to carve the bird. Before carving the chicken though, remember to remove the twine and the thread if you stitched the cavity up.
5. Making the pan gravy:
Deglaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of stock (or water) to it. Transfer to a saucepan and mix in the flour to make a thick lump free paste.
1/2 cups (~100 ml) chicken stock (or water)
2 tablespoons plain flourTurn on the flame and add the rest of the stock (or water) to it. Whisk the mixture to ensure no lumps form.
1 1/2 cups (~300 ml) chicken stock (or water)
Add the wine if using and keep whisking until it simmers and slightly thickened – the sauce should coat the back of the spoon.
Optional: ¼ cup (~50 ml) red wine
Add salt and pepper (and an optional dollop of butter) and serve with the roast chicken.
Salt to taste (~1/2 teaspoon)
Pepper to taste (~1/2 teaspoon)
Optional: 1 tablespoon butter
6. Serve with roast potatoes and onions. Check out our recipe here.
Serves: 4-6 people
Apprentice Rating: The apprentice has not made this, but I would rate it Hard, particularly because of the nuances of stuffing, trussing and carving the chicken.
Recent Posts:
