What would family gatherings be without the time-honored roast bird? But beyond the favorite chicken, all types poultry can be roasted.

roasted duck

Here are our tested tricks:

1. Protect the flavor – Before roasting, loosen the skin on the breast by gently easing it away from the flesh with your fingers. Press in softened butter – mixed with herbs or garlic for extra flavor- and smooth back the skin.
2. Wipe the bird inside and out with paper towels. Stuff the bird if the recipe directs and truss it. Spread the breast of chicken with softened or melted butter or oil. Bard the breast of a lean game; prick the skin of duck and goose.
3. Set the bird breast up on a rack in roasting tin. If you are roasting lean game bird, set the bird in the tin breast down.
4. Roast the bird, basting it every 10 minutes after the first 1/2 half hour with the accumulated juices and fat in the tin. Turn if directed. If browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
5. Transfer the bird to a carving board and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes, before serving. During that time, make simple sauce or gravy with the juices in the tin.
6. Making gravy – gravy made from the roasting juices is rich in flavor and color. It is a traditional accomplishment for roast meat and poultry.
   • To make the gravy first spoon off most of the fat from the roasting tin. Set the tin over moderately high heat on top of the stove. When roasting juices began to sizzle, add flour and stir to combine well.
   • Cook scrapping the tin well to mix all the brown bits from the bottom, until the mixture forms a smooth brown paste. Add stock or another liquid as specified in the recipe and bring to the boil, stirring or whisking constantly. Simmer until the gravy has the right consistency and then season with salt and pepper.
7. Deglazing – a thinner sauce – alternative to gravy – where liquid is added to skimmed pan juices and boiled to reduce.
   • Tender cuts of meat such as steaks, chops, slices and hamburgers, are ideal for cooking quick in a heavy pan. The juices left in the pan can be turned into an easy sauce.
     

     pan-fried meat

   • Before pan frying and sauteing, trim excess fat from the steaks then dry them thoroughly with paper towers. For cooking use a fat that can be heated to high temperatures. If using butter, an equal amount of vegetable oil will help prevent burning or use clarified butter.
   • Heat the fat in the pan over high heat until very hot but not browning. Put in the meat in one layer. Do not crowd the pan. Fry until browned on both sides and done to your taste. If pan -frying pork or veal chops, reduce the heat to moderate, once they are in the pan.
   • A reliable way to test steak is by pressing it with your finger or fork. When raw, it is soft and can be squashed. When cooked rare – it will be only slightly springy. When cooked medium – it will offer more resistance and drops of red juice will appear on the surface. When well-done, it will be firm to the touch.
   • Before deglazing, remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm. Spoon off all the fat from the pan, unless the recipe calls for shallots, garlic or the like to be softened. In that case leave 1-2 teaspoons of fat and cook the vegetables in it.
   • Pour in the liquid called for in the recipe (wine, stock, vinegar, etc). Bring to the boil, stirring well to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and dissolve them in the liquid. Boil over high heat for 1-2 minutes or until the liquid is almost syrupy. If the recipe instructs, enrich the sauce with cream or butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Preparing duck and goose for roasting – duck and goose are bony birds with most of their rich meat in the breast. There is a thick layer of fat under the skin which could make the birds greasy if it is not removed before cooking or melted out during cooking. For best results:
   • Pull out any fat from the body and neck cavities. With a skewer or cocktail stick, prick the skin all over the breast of the bird. This will allow the melted fat to run out while the bird is cooking.
   • Tie the ends of drumsticks together with string as for chicken.
   • Lean by nature – wild duck and geese are not as fatty as many farm-raised birds. They should be prepared as the game bird so the meat doesn’t dry out. Bard the breast with rashers of bacon or slices of pork fat.
9. Roasting time for poultry
   

   Roasting times for poultry
   Notes: Cooking times given here are for unstuffed birds. For stuffed birds, add 20 minutes to the total roasting time
   POULTRY	SIZE	COOKING TIME	Cooking temperature
   Poussin	450-700 g	1 – 1 1/4 hours	180 C
   Chicken	1 -1.35 kg	1 – 1 1/4 hours	190 C
   	1.5-1.8 kg	1 1/4 – 1 3/4 hours	190 C
   	2-2.25 kg	1 1/2 – 2 hours	190 C
   	2.25-2.7 kg	1 3/4 – 2 1/2 hours	190 C
   Capon	2.25-3 kg	1 3/4 – 2 hours	170 C
   Duck	1.35-2.25 kg	1 3/4-2 1/4 hours	200 C
   Goose	3.6-4.5 kg	2 1/2-3 hours	180 C
   	4.5-5.4 kg	3-3/12 hours	180 C
   Turkey (whole bird)	2.7-3.6 kg	3-3 1/2 hours	170 C
   	3.6-4.5 kg	3-4 hours	170 C
   Turkey (whole breast)	1.8-2.7 kg	1 1/2-2 1/4 hours	170 C
   	2.7-3.6 kg	2 1/4-3 1/4 hours	170 C

10. Making poultry sautes – A saute combines frying and braising, producing particularly succulent results. It is a method suitable for pieces of poultry as well as for small whole birds such as quails and pousins. As with frying the poultry should be dried thoroughly with paper towers before cooking to ensure that it browns quickly and evenly.
    • Heat a little oil (a mixture of oil and butter) or clarified butter in a heavy frying pan.
    • Add the poultry and fry it over moderately high heat until it is golden brown, turning to color evenly.
    • Add liquid and flavorings called for the recipe. Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce the heat to moderate low. Continue cooking gently until the poultry is done, turning the pieces or birds over once or twice.
    • If the recipe instructs, remove the poultry from the pan and keep it warm while finishing the sauce. This can be as simple as boiling the cooking juices to reduce them or adding butter or cream for richer result.
    • Thickening cooking juices: Thicken with equal weights of butter and flour mushed together, called “Beurre manié (French “kneaded butter”)”. Use 30 g of this paste to 240 ml liquid. Whisk small pieces gradually into the boiling sauce until it is smooth and silky.
    • Another method of thickening cooking juices is to add a mixture of cornflour and water. Use 2 teaspoons cornflour blended with 1 teaspoon water to 240 ml liquid. Boil for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly, until sauce is syrupy.

Meat in you Lunchbox

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