I enjoy confit a good deal and I use locally grown organic ducks over here in our tropical, SE Asian home. And yah, as with Ms Roman, I am always looking for shortcuts that still deliver a solid result. There is no mention here of marinating the chicken overnight in mixes of salt, thyme, garlic, onion, etc. but then, as she says, the goal is 'On the dinner table sooner' My only potential worry about this is that it wouldn't provide that crispy skin so desirable but...you can't have everything!
The chicken was extremely tender with great flavor. I added mini red potatoes cut up in small triangles. The dish has great flavors. I enjoyed it. Next time I am going to add a few other vegetables to see how it comes out. BTW, the misses enjoyed it as well!!!
The chicken was undercooked at 55 minutes...so we cooked it an additional 20 minutes at 375F Convectiopn Bake and then it was done.
We made this exactly as specified in the recipe, and it was terrific. The ratio of flavor to work is extremely favorable. Do squeeze some lemon juice over at the table. Put a big spoonful or two of that oil on every serving, and dip some crusty bread in it. Yum!
I grew up with a mother who used chicken fat in her cooking almost daily. She would render it with onions herself, and the aroma was Brooklyn perfume. As good as it was, I swore off the stuff after suffering a heart attack at age 49. Chicken fat and arteries are a bad combination. The takeaway is good health beats good taste by a mile.
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Tried this recipe last night. Kept in the oven for 65 minutes, and the meat was quite tender. But there was very little flavor infused into the chicken and the skin was rubbery. Chicken was bland and the carrots and onions were unevenly cooked. But I've got some oddly infused oil for later.
I guess I'll be more wary when the lede says the chicken isn't the best part.
I'm going to be a family hero this weekend.
Great recipe. Thanks.
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Adding it to the list of things to make within the next few days. How and for how long could one store this flavorful fat?
"I can make a classic buttercream so stable you could caulk a tub with it."
Really? There's something I probably am missing here, but to me comparing your cake frosting to tile caulk is not a good thing. I'm not very fond of frosting to begin with. Anything stiffer than freshly whipped cream I can live without.
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@Cilantro Liberation Front As a frosting person, I read that sentence completely differently. To me it was the best sentence in the article. Buttercream is not easy to make because it “breaks” unless the ingredients are at the right temperatures and the egg whites are perfectly whipped and the whole mixture is beaten a long time. To make a buttercream that is stable enough (but not like PlayDoh) to pipe through a decorating tip (aka caulk a tub) is a real skill. One that I haven’t mastered. And I, too, love whipped cream on anything.
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First time I've used a NYT recipe and flawless. I had it in my oven for an hour and just put it back in for 5 minutes. It was up to temp according to my thermometer but not quite peel off the bone. For a family this is an easy meal for less than $10. As for me, a bachelor, dinner tonight and tomorrow. Well Done!
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The cooking time is off. I think more time in the oven is required to get a crispy exterior on the chicken and cook the carrots. No mention of turning the chicken pieces?
I'm a bit worried.
@lenore conroy I would start out with a 450 oven for 20 mins and then turn down to 300 for 40 mins...or longer.
Why would you turn the chicken pieces? They're in the oven, which means they're surrounded by heat; no need to turn as you would on a stovetop or open grill.
It would be nice of the NYT to post the recipe for a week or so before hiding it behind the NYT Cooking paywall.
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My culinary motto is "Live dangerously, cook vicariously, and fear not to commingle your own creativity with others' reciles".
I think that only this approach may lift the chicken from a level of a plebeian bird to something more refined.
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Don't forget this aromatic fat could also be used for vinaigrette (if it's a bit heavy on the schmalz side, then a warmed dressing would be better).
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