Can a person ever have too many ways to roast a chicken? I think not! Roast chicken is a real family favorite around here. Most members of my family would rather have roast chicken than roast turkey. It is something which we never tire of.
And in a world where the cost of food keeps rising and rising all the time, roasting a chicken makes great economical sense! A person might balk when they see the initial cost of a roasting chicken, but when you consider that you are going to be getting two or three meals from it, depending on its size, it becomes quite an economical choice!!
Depending on the side dishes you choose to serve with it, you can get a hearty meal on the first day, of carved chicken, with stuffing and a variety of vegetables and gravy.
If you haven't made pigs of yourselves, you can often have sandwiches the day after, and then a soup from the spent carcass. Very economical indeed.
The recipe I am sharing today comes from a book entitled The Country Cooking of Ireland, by Colman Andrews. This is one of the books I chose to replace when I moved back to Canada. It is filled with lovely recipes.
The photos of the recipes are all very delicious looking and the recipes all sound and using simple, readily available ingredients for the most part.
Photography by Christopher Hirsheimer
Interspersed between the gorgeous photographs are wonderful snippets of history, interesting people and facts.
In short it inspires one to get into the kitchen and start cooking!
This recipe for roast chicken is attributed to Myrtle Allen of the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, where it is served with bread sauce, crisp bacon, homemade sausages, black pudding and Colcannon. A hearty repast indeed!
I'm not sure I could eat all that at one sitting!!! Must be meant for farm folk who labor hard all day!
The end result of this recipe is a deliciously tender and juicy roast chicken, with golden skin, a fabulously tasty herbed bread stuffing and a lovely tasty gravy.
I always add potatoes to my roasting tin because we like to have roasted potatoes with our chicken. Just par boil them, toss with some oil and then scatter them around the chicken in the roasting tin.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BALLYMALOE HOUSE ROAST CHICKEN WITH HERB STUFFING
Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way!
- 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock
- one (4 to 5 lb / 2 to 2 1/2 kg) roasting chicken, with neck and giblets
- 3 TBS butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups (120g) fresh white bread crumbs
- 1 TBS chopped parsley
- 2 TBS chopped fresh thyme or winter savory, plus 5 to 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 TBS chopped fresh chives
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS white flour
Do be sure to buy the very best roasting chicken that you can afford. I buy free range if possible. This chicken was a President's Choice Free From Roasting Chicken.
If you can, try to get one with the neck and giblets included. This adds flavor to the stock you will be using to make the gravy. If you can't get them, then just use the stock without them. The gravy won't have quite as much flavor, but it will still be very good.
HOW TO MAKE BALLYMALOE HOUSE ROAST CHICKEN WITH HERB STUFFING
You will begin by making the stock which will be used for the gravy. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium sized saucepan, then reduce to medium low. Add the chicken neck and giblets. Simmer for half an hour, until the stock has reduced by 1/3. Set aside to cool, then strain, discarding any solids.
Melt the butter in another saucepan over low heat. When it starts to foam add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, without coloring, for 6 to 8 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the bread crumbs and herbs. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Allow to cool completely to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6.Season the chicken all over, inside and out, with salt and black pepper. Fill the cavity with the stuffing, taking care not to pack it in too tightly. (Any extra can be cooked separately in a small dish along with the chicken, see below.)
Push the thyme sprigs into the stuffing, so that they protrude a bit. Secure the opening with a small skewer. Place onto a rack in a roasting tin.
Put into the oven and roast for half an hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Place any extra stuffing into a small covered casserole and pop into the oven. Continue to roast the chicken for an additional 20 minutes per pound/40 minutes per kg. The chicken is done when the juices run clear when a skewer is poked into one of the thighs. The legs will also be a bit loose in the socket.
Remove the chicken and stuffing from the oven. Remove the chicken to a large plate and lightly tent. Skim off and discard any excess fat from the juices in the roasting tin.
Place the tin over low heat on top of the stove. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly until a roux forms. Whisk in the reserved stock. Increase the heat to high and whisk to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits, etc.
Cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens. Leave to simmer for several minutes. Remove the stuffing from the cavity of the chicken and stir together with the extra stuffing. Carve the chicken and serve hot with the stuffing, gravy and any extra vegetables you want to serve.
With the chicken carved into thin slices and gravy ladled over top, it makes for a very lovely meal, with plenty of leftovers to be enjoyed in either a casserole or sandwiches the next day and a soup after that with the bones.
If you don't want to make a soup right way, you can pack the bones into a zip lock freezer bag and freeze them until you do!
These are our favorite kinds of meals to enjoy. How about you???
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Irish Roast Chicken with Herb Stuffing
Yield: 6-8
Properly roasted, moist and tender chicken. Well flavored with a delicious stuffing and gravy. Buy the best roasting chicken that you can afford.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock
- one (4 to 5 lb / 2 to 2 1/2 kg) roasting chicken, with neck and giblets
- 3 TBS butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups (120g) fresh white bread crumbs
- 1 TBS chopped parsley
- 2 TBS chopped fresh thyme or winter savory, plus 5 to 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 TBS chopped fresh chives
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS white flour
Instructions
- Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium sized saucepan, then reduce to medium low. Add the chicken neck and giblets. Simmer for half an hour, until the stock has reduced by 1/3. Set aside to cool, then strain, discarding any solids.
- Melt the butter in another saucepan over low heat. When it starts to foam add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, without coloring, for 6 to 8 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the bread crumbs and herbs. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Allow to cool completely to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6.
- Season the chicken all over, inside and out, with salt and black pepper. Fill the cavity with the stuffing, taking care not to pack it in too tightly. (Any extra can be cooked separately in a small dish along with the chicken, see below.) Push the thyme sprigs into the stuffing, so that they protrude a bit.
- Secure the opening with a small skewer. Place onto a rack in a roasting tin.
- Put into the oven and roast for half an hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Place any extra stuffing into a small covered casserole and pop into the oven. Continue to roast the chicken for an additional 20 minutes per pound/40 minutes per kg. The chicken is done when the juices run clear when a skewer is poked into one of the thighs. The legs will also be a bit loose in the socket.
- Remove the chicken and stuffing from the oven. Remove the chicken to a large plate and lightly tent.
- Skim off and discard any excess fat from the juices in the roasting tin. Place the tin over low heat on top of the stove. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly until a roux forms. Whisk in the reserved stock. Increase the heat to high and whisk to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits, etc.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens. Leave to simmer for several minutes.
- Remove the stuffing from the cavity of the chicken and stir together with the extra stuffing. Carve the chicken and serve hot with the stuffing, gravy and any extra vegetables you want to serve.
Thank you for visiting! Do come again!!
My sister has been following a low carb diet for a few weeks now. She is pre-diabetic and was also wanting to lose a few pounds. She is quite skinny compared to myself, but I suppose that is why.
She makes the effort to take the pounds off as soon as a few extra start to creep on. Sigh . . . I wish I was more like that. I am rather hopeless when it comes to weight loss. Dieting has only ever made me fatter.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Yesterday when we went into Kentville to go to the Doctors we stopped at Bulk Barn so she could get some strawberry extract. She was wanting to make this low carb strawberry ice cream recipe which she had found here.
I looked at the recipe and thought to myself, that almost looks too good to be true!! It looked to be ultra creamy and delicious.
And made in a mason jar? Say what??????
She made it last night and dropped me off a small container of it on her way to work today and oh my goodness! This is AMAZING!!! It is as delicious or maybe even more delicious than regular strawberry ice cream. And it contains only 3 carbs per serving!
Plus you don't need any special equipment to make it. No ice cream machine. No churning involved. Its easy peasy and all you need is a 2 cup (1 pint) mason jar with a tight fitting lid to make it and five minutes of time! I kid you not!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY LOW CARB STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
Just a very few ingredients, a mason jar and five minutes of time!
- 2 medium (40g) strawberries
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- heaping tsp strawberry extract
- 1/8th tsp red food coloring
- 3 TBS (24g) Swerve icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
It doesn't say how large the berries are, but I would imagine they are medium sized. Not the small ones. The author does recommend weighing out the ingredients rather than measuring them.
Cooking and baking by weight is more actually accurate. There is no room for error. A gram is a gram is a gram. Cooking scales are readily available these days. I bought mine on Amazon.
Mason jars are the jars which are normally used for canning. I dare say you could use any straight sides jar for this however, so long as it holds 2 cups/1 pint and has a tight fitting lid.
Swerve is a brand of sugar replacements. You can readily buy it in some grocery stores here in Canada as well as online. It measures one to one with sugar, and comes in granulated, brown, and confectioners/icing sugars.
It is meant to be eaten on the day. The original poster recommends that if you are going to keep it for more than one day you substitute a portion of the Swerve with Xylitol (1 to 2 tsp), or halving the recipe.
Do note that Xylitol is toxic/harmful to pets. Make sure that any dishes used are rinsed within an inch of their life so that there was no risk to your pets!
Swerve, on the other hand, is completely safe for pets. Although in all honesty I wouldn't still be careful.
HOW TO MAKE EASY LOW CARB STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
Wash the berries, pat dry and hull. Cut into small dice. Set aside.
Place the remaining ingredients into a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Add the berries.
Shake the jar for several minutes until the cream thickens and almost doubles in size.
Place the jar into the freezer and leave to freeze for 4 to 5 hours. Scoop and enjoy!
This was incredibly delicious. So rich and cream and very nicely strawberry flavored. I am keen to try some different flavors if I can.
My favorite ice cream of all is Vanilla. (I know boring.) I think it would be very easy to make in the same way. Or Banana ice cream using diced banana and banana flavoring. Mind you, you can just freeze banana and blitz it and it is pretty much like ice cream anyways!
The possibilities are endless though when you start to think about it!
I really like that it doesn't make a ton of ice cream, so there's not a lot around to tempt you with after. Three scoops is quite manageable. If you made a vanilla one you could stir sugar free chocolate chips into it and have chocolate chip ice cream.
I really, really hope that you will be inspired to want to make this Low Carb Strawberry Ice Cream for yourself. I know it is sure to become a favorite and frequent treat in my home from time to time! Its amazingly delicious!
Easy Low Carb Strawberry Ice Cream
Yield: 3 scoops
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 HourTotal time: 5 H & 5 M
This is deliciously simple! Rich, creamy, keto friendly, sugar free, and low carb. You will need a mason jar that holds at least 2 cups or one pint.
Ingredients
- 2 medium (40g) strawberries
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- heaping tsp strawberry extract
- 1/8th tsp red food coloring
- 3 TBS (24g) Swerve icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
Instructions
- Wash the berries, pat dry and hull. Cut into small dice. Set aside.
- Place the remaining ingredients into a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Add the berries.
- Shake the jar for several minutes until the cream thickens and almost doubles in size. Place the jar into the freezer and leave to freeze for 4 to 5 hours.
- Scoop and enjoy!
Notes
Best if eaten on the day. If you are planning on freezing this for more than a day it is recommended that you use allulose instead of the Swerve confectioners sugar. This helps to prevent the ice cream from freezing solid.
Thank you so much for visiting! Do come again!
How To Make Your Own Charcuterie At Home
There is a bit of art as well as a lot
of science involved with making your own charcuterie at home. It isn’t an easy
process and mistakes will inevitably happen. Why bother with making your own
salami or ham at home then? The reasons all vary from
wanting to have control over the ingredients, to the cost savings, to the
satisfaction of learning a new skill.
Whatever your reason for wanting to
surely meet yourself, the process is not as difficult as it seems. The learning
curve may seem daunting at first, but when you are prepared and have done your
research it will be a much easier process than you imagined. In this article,
we will go over how you can cure your own meat at home.
What you need
You’ll need some specialized equipment
to be able to make your own charcuterie. You can go as high-end or bare-basic
as you like as it doesn’t necessarily require spending a lot of money. If you
can satisfy some basic requirements that you need to have then you can make
cured meats successfully.
It starts with two essentials. Salt and
humidity. You’ll definitely need to buy bulk salt to be able to have enough to cure your
meat. Salt is what creates an environment within the meat that bacteria can’t
grow in so it doesn’t spoil. Without salt, you can’t cure meat, it’s that
simple.
The next essential factor is humidity.
You need to create humid conditions that stay consistent. Assuming that you
don’t have a curing chamber beneath your house where you can maintain a
constant temperature and humidity then this means having to buy a mini fridge
or curing chamber. You can buy a small dorm fridge that can be converted into a
curing chamber. Or, you can buy one already made and ready to go if you’re
willing to spend more money.
The key is that you have a temperature
between 50°f and 60°f. Higher than that and you have an environment that
bacteria love and can spoil the meat even though it’s salted. The humidity
level should be around 70 to 75%. The idea is that you want to dry your meat
out slowly so it needs to be over 70% so the outside doesn’t dry out too fast.
On the flip side, it shouldn’t be over 75% because then the moisture from
outside works its way into the meat and it won’t cure.
If you buy a dorm fridge then you have
to modify it by allowing it to run at a higher
temperature than the typical 37°f.
The process
How to cure the meat depends on what
type of charcuterie you are going to make. The basic premise is that you will
salt the meat, then you will hang it up to dry in your curing chamber. After a
few months, it will be ready to eat.
The best way to go is to start out with
the so-called “easy” charcuterie. These are the ones that only need to be
salted and dried. Capocollo is a good example as is duck breast prosciutto.
When you have to grind the meat and put it in a casing, it gets more
complicated. More can go wrong as it has to be very sterile.
If you decide to make capocollo (no it
isn’t called gabagool!) Since it is easy and delicious it
starts with getting your spices ready and the salt. The meat will be from the
neck of the pork near the shoulder as it has the right fat to meat ratio that
makes for a delectable and a melt in your mouth experience.
Start out with a load of salt that
should come to 3% of the weight of the meat. Then add some spices to taste like
black pepper, garlic, and chili flakes if you like it. Mix everything together.
You can wash your meat in red wine like they do in Italy or skip right to the
seasoning stage.
Rub the meat with the seasoning making
sure to massage it into the meat. Then use a vacuum packer to seal the meat and
leave it in your regular fridge to cure for seven days.
At this point, you’re ready to hang it
up and let air and nature do their work. Let it hang in your curing chamber for
at least 40 days or until it loses about 35% of its original weight. Then, it’s
ready to slice and enjoy on your grazing table or charcuterie board!
I have always been a huge lover of salads and of coleslaw in general. I never tire of them, and if they are quick and easy to make, so much the better.
That is the way with this crunchy cashew slaw salad recipe I am sharing with you today. Not only is it very quick and easy to make, but it is incredibly delicious!
I know I say that about everything I cook and make, but its true. It is delicious. Its a fabulous combination of all things crunchy, salty, sweet and tangy!
Plus it only uses six (if you count all the nuts and seeds as one) basic ingredients. It makes for a great mid-week salad for the whole family, filled with plenty of color, fiber and crunch!
The recipe is one which I adapted from a cookbook I have by Gooseberry Patch, entitled Best Church Suppers and is attributed to Lori Comer of North Carolina.
I have always loved the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. I used to have quite a few of them. I can remember when they put out a lovely catalogue a few times a year filled with sweet little illustrations and the company used to sell all sorts of things besides cookbooks.
I loved their catalogues.
I cut the original recipe in half today because I just did not need 12 servings of anything. I will save the full recipe for sometime when I have a potluck or some such to go to. God willing we will not be restricted from gathering for too much longer.
Who would have ever thought that this would carry on for more than two years? I can remember at the beginning of the pandemic I thought maybe six months or so at most. I think we all did.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CRUNCHY CASHEW SLAW
Very simple ingredients that can be as complicated or as uncomplicated as you wish.
- 8 ounces (226g) of coleslaw mix (grated cabbage and carrot)
- 1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
- 1/2 cup (55g) roasted cashew halves
- 1/2 cup (55g) shelled sunflower seeds
If you are not able to get the ready made coleslaw mix where you live (and I can appreciate it is not available everywhere) then you can very easily make your own. Just shred cabbage and carrot in the same measure.
I would use 1/3 carrot to 2/3 cabbage. I do not recommend using anything other than the white/hard cabbage for this. Red cabbage would dye everything an unsightly color.
Ramen noodles are those square packages of instant noodles that you see in the stores. They come in a lot of different flavors. Some spicy some not so spicy.
You will need the chicken ones for this recipe and you will also be using the flavor packet which is included.
I used Chinese rice wine vinegar in this. You can use just plain white vinegar. It will work just as well.
I like to use light olive oil, but you can use canola oil if you wish. I also have a confession to make here. I used a one to one sugar substitute in this as I am a diabetic. Swerve granulated sugar. It works very well.
Also I used salted cashew nuts and unsalted sunflower seeds.
HOW TO MAKE CRUNCHY CASHEW SLAW
Nothing could be easier. This goes together in a flash, especially if you are using a prepared package of coleslaw mix. Otherwise you will need to take the time to shred your own, but even so, that doesn't take too long.
Place the coleslaw mix in a bowl. Crush the noodles from the packet of ramen and add them to the coleslaw. Reserve the seasoning packet.
Whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar and reserved seasoning mix.
Pour this dressing over the coleslaw/noodle mix in the bowl and toss to combine. Cover and chill for two hours. (Don't chill it overnight as the noodles become soggy.)
When you are ready to serve add the cashew halves and the sunflower seeds, tossing to mix them in well. Serve immediately.
It is not recommended that you make this much more than a few hours ahead of time as the noodles will soften in the dressing. That doesn't really bother me overly much however, and so I am just as happy with this the second day as I am on the first day!
Its all a matter of taste I guess! Crusty bread goes very well with this as well. It also makes an excellent side dish for a week night supper and I will be honest, I enjoy it in a packed lunch, but again, I don't mind soggy noodles.
There are a lot of versions of this salad out there. You can add all sorts of things. I have even seen it with mayonnaise added. Spring onions go well.
I like it in this very basic version myself. It quick, easy and delicious. That works for me on every level!!
Cashew Slaw
Yield: 5 to 6
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 5 M
Simple to make and scrumptious. I could eat a bowl full of this and nothing else. It is crunchy, salty, sweet, yummy.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226g) of coleslaw mix (grated cabbage and carrot)
- 1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
- 1/2 cup (55g) roasted cashew halves
- 1/2 cup (55g) shelled sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Place the coleslaw mix in a bowl. Crush the noodles from the packet of ramen and add them to the coleslaw. Reserve the seasoning packet.
- Whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar and reserved seasoning mix.
- Pour this dressing over the coleslaw/noodle mix in the bowl and toss to combine.
- Cover and chill for two hours. (Don't chill it overnight as the noodles become soggy.)
- When you are ready to serve add the cashew halves and the sunflower seeds, tossing to mix them in well. Serve immediately.
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