2 Butterflied chickens
The mustard and herb coating
The cooking juices from the
-chicken
6 tb Dijon-style prepared mustard
3 1/2 tb Finely minced shallot or
-scallion
1/2 ts Tarragon or mixed herbs
4 dr Of hot pepper sauce
2 c Crumbs from fresh home-made
-type white bread
This is what I did with the basic butterflied chicken in the previous
recipe. Although there are a lot of instructions in these two
recipes, they are really not complex and go together pretty quickly
and easily. The coating is tangy and nicely crunchy. Pay attention
to it when broiling though++it can over brown easily.
The chicken is broiled until almost done, then coated with mustard,
herbs, and fresh bread crumbs for a crisp brown finish.
The chickens. Follow the preceding recipe, but broil the 2 chickens
for only 10 rather than 15 minutes on the second (skin) side.
Mustard and herb coating. Drain the fat and juices out of the
broiling pan into a small bowl; skim off and discard all but 2
tablespoons of fat from the top of the juices. Blend the prepared
mustard in another bowl with the minced shallot or scallion, herbs,
and hot pepper sauce. Beat up the remaining juices; blend half of
them into the mustard. Spread the mustard over the top (skin side) of
the chicken, then pat on a coating of crumbs. Baste with the
remaining juices. Ahead-of-time note: May be prepared somewhat ahead
to this point; set aside at room temperature.
Final cooking and serving. Roast in the upper third level of a 400F
oven for 10 to 12 minutes if cooking is delayed).
When is it done? The chicken is done when the drumsticks are tender
if pressed, and the crumbs should brown nicely.
Grilling note. The crumb coating does not work for barbecuing since
it will fall off and burn when you turn the chicken. However, you
can use just the mustard and herb mixture, basted on during the last
few minutes of cooking (beat a few tablespoons of oil into the
mustard to take the place of chicken fat).
Makes 8 servings.
From "The Way to Cook", Julia Child, Alfred Knopf, 1989. ISBN
0-394-53264-3
