TFF: Another chicken

Still trying to find a roast chicken recipe that has us all loving roast chicken. It shouldn't be this hard. I shouldn't have to try recipe after recipe. After all, we all basically like chicken. We like it in lots of different ways, but are struggling with the roast chicken dinner!

This time I added a twist - I keep reading and hearing that it really makes a huge difference to the flavor of a chicken when you get a free range organic bird, as opposed to a super market chicken. So for this specific recipe, I went out and found myself a local, free range, organic chicken, paying at least twice what I would normally pay, for the bird.

And you know what?

It tastes like chicken.

Which in itself was a bit disappointing as I'd used Tyler Florence's "Ultimate" chicken recipe for this, with a tonne of herb infused butter under the skin, with herbs and lemons stuffed into the chicken. I'd hoped to at least taste some herbs. (This was from Stirring the Pot.)

Okay, this was one of the better chickens I've made. Heck, even the picture is much better than some of the awful, white looking, chicken pictures I've taken. The skin was crispy, and the chicken was moist. But was it moist because it was a "better" chicken or because of the scary amount of butter slathered on and in it?

I dunno. Maybe I will have to find another organic chicken, and buy a supermarket one and make it again, with both chickens side by side for a proper test.

The highlight of the meal for me, however, was the Parmesan Potato Gratin I made with the chicken, from Tyler's Dinner at My House. Wow, I love creamy, cheesy potatoes. So does my hubby. (Too bad they don't take well to pictures when you make one pan and start scooping before you pull out the camera.)

Here you go, two more Tyler Florence dishes for Tyler Florence Fridays. And I'm not late again!

I'm heading off to music lessons soon with my children - think I'll bring Tyler along with me so that I can plan while they practice.

14 comments:

Sara said...

roast chicken is my least favorite way to cook chicken, i'm never happy with it.

Megan said...

Ha ha ha ha - I have been sitting here laughing for 10 minutes. "It tastes like chicken". Well of course it did! What were you expecting? Carrot Cake?

I'm going to go and laugh some more.

NKP said...

I am willing to help you out with eating up the chickens on taste testing day!
Have you ever tried the George Foreman chicken contact roaster? It makes the whole thing crispy.
We tried those spuds too - absolutely delicious.

BC said...

Tastes like chicken.... that's not bad, is it?

Joanne said...

Roast chicken is hard. My mom never got it right. I've started to think that the only way to save it is to throw it in the slow cooker.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

I tried the side by side with a free range, organic and super market - between 6 adults, we couldn't call a difference in taste.
Sometimes it just burns me that the 'not so good' photos are what tasted the best.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Even if the chicken wasn't a complete hit, the potatoes more than make up for it!

pam said...

The chicken looks wonderful! I buy free-range, I don't know if I really taste a difference, it just makes me feel a little better about eating it. I tried a different Tyler roasted chicken this week, and I liked it much better.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Tyler's pretty much an old hand with the scary butter quantities, isn't he? I made a similar turkey, which is fine for T-giving but not every day, imo. I wish you'd already found the perfect roast chicken recipe because I am making one on Sunday! I have a lot of recipes bookmarked so I'll pick one.
Nancy

Kim said...

I bought the expensive organic chicken for this recipe and was impressed. My organic chicken was bigger than the supermarket size and the dark meat was much better quality. Sometimes when I am forced to buy supermarket chicken I notice the dark meat is slimy and the chicken is much smaller. I think the price equals out when you consider the quality. I loved the recipe in Stirring the Pot and was really impressed with it, but it could've been one of those freak things. I might make it again and it wouldn't be as great. It certainly does call for a very scary amount of butter!

Anonymous said...

I have to admit that roasted chicken is difficult. I find brining to be the only way to get a chicken to taste decently. The potatoes look and sound delectable! Thanks for sharing!

Heather S-G said...

I love a good roast chicken, it is one of my favorite meals...I hope you're at least having fun on your journey to find the perfect roast chicken! This sounds yummy and so do the potatoes :P

Michelle said...

I love the pic of this chicken....PERFECT!

Have you tried the pre-salting method for roasting a chicken? I could not believe the difference in flavor and I always pre-salt now. Let me know if your interested and I will direct you to my blog post.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Hi, I'm back again to talk chicken! I made a roast chicken tonight using the Union Square Cafe's recipe. We loved it (but I can't compare it to Tyler's, as I haven't prepared his). Only 2 T. butter for a 4.5 lb bird wasn't too bad, I thought. Anyway, when looking for an online version to link, I came across this article called "In Search of the Perfect Roast Chicken":
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/IN+SEARCH+OF+THE+PERFECT+ROAST+CHICKEN-a083862971
When I saw this I thought of you! It has the Union Square recipe; you have to scroll down a bit.
Nancy