The successful preparation of an oven roasted chicken, as well as an oven roast of beef. These dishes are combined with the preparation of side dishes, introducing preparation of multiple dishes simultaneously and the timing required to have them finish at appropriate times for fresh service.
Sanitation and Safety
As usual when dealing with meat dishes, separate cutting boards must be used to prevent any cross contamination with vegetables being prepared. While we are preparing Hollandaise, we don't need to worry about holding it in the temperature danger zone for too long as we are simply presenting and discarding any remainder.
We must also ensure that meats are cooked to appropriate temperatures. Chicken must reach 165°F to ensure any bacteria are destroyed. As dark meat takes longest to cook on a chicken, we take the temperature between the leg/thigh and the body, ensuring the thermometer is deep enough to be reading the correct temperature. The roast beef simply needs to be cooked to appropriate doneness, but we must measure at the thickest point to ensure accurate reading of the center of the roast. Lastly, when using our thermometer, we must be sure to wash and sanitize it before placing it back in its pocket container, so that it is clean for the next use.
Information
During week 7 we prepare our first complete dishes, one on each day of class. On the first day we prepare a whole roasted chicken with pan gravy, accompanied by savoyard potatoes, glazed carrots, and broccoli hollandaise. Day 2 was the preparation of a roast beef with jus lie, accompanied by yorkshire pudding, garlic mashed potatoes, glazed beets, and duxelle stuffed tomatoes.
Both pieces of meat require attention before cooking. For the chicken, we will truss it, tying the limbs up and pulling them close to the body of the bird, forming a uniform shape. The primary function of trussing is to ensure even cooking throughout the chicken - on top of this we are also enhancing appearance. The beef requires similar preparation to ensure even cooking, and is tied to hold together and form a uniform shape for cooking.
The preparation of the individual pieces are generally something we are all familiar with, but these two days are our first preparing and presenting a whole plate at once. This means that tasks which take longer must be started earlier and at appropriate times to ensure that all dishes are finishing at the same time, allowing for a hot and fresh presentation. For day one, this means the chicken must be rubbed and placed in the oven first, as it will take the longest to cook. We will then prepare the savoyard potatoes, which will be baked as well. Lastly, we do the carrots and broccoli. When the chicken is done, it can be cut for service while the pan gravy is made. Along with the temperature reading from the thermometer, we can read the degree of doneness by the clarity of the juices running from the chicken, as well as the looseness of the joints.
A similar timeline is followed when preparing the roast beef. The roast is put in first, followed by boiling the potatoes for mashing. Yorkshire batter is prepared and set aside in a cooler to chill for half an hour. The beets and tomatoes are then prepared, and gravy is finished while the roast is resting.
We are asked to make a decision as to what doneness we want the roast beef cooked to, and then ensure that it comes out as such. The temperature ranges are:
- Rare - 125°F
- Medium Rare - 135°F
- Medium - 145°F
- Well Done - 165°F
An important factor to pay attention to when carving beef is to ensure we cut against the grain of the meat. If we cut with the grain, the meat can come out tougher and may be stringy or fall apart, while cutting against the grain ensures as much tenderness as is possible.
Practical
We start our roast chicken dinner by preparing the chicken. It is rinsed and then trussed. We rub down the chicken with a mixture of paprika, salt, thyme and black pepper, and vegetable oil. The rub covers the entire outside of the chicken as well as the inside cavities. We also place small pieces of seasoned butter underneath the skin on the breasts to add extra moisture and flavour. A bed of mirepoix is prepared in a roasting pan and the chicken is then placed on this, and set in the oven to roast. When finished, the bird is set aside to rest for 10 minutes while pan gravy is prepared by deglazing the pan with chicken stock and then thickening the liquid with a beurre manie. The chicken can be cut into appropriate pieces and is ready for service along with the pan gravy.
Savoyard potatoes are prepared by peeling potatoes and slicing them most of the way through, keeping the potato whole. Clarified butter is heated in a sauce pan and used to sweat onions and bacon. The pan is then deglazed with some chicken stock. The potatoes are placed in the pan and chicken stock is added to cover to the top of the potatoes. The pan is brought to a simmer, and then placed in an oven to finish baking. The dish is ready when the stock has been almost completely absorbed and evaporated. The potatoes can be quickly darkened under a salamander for visual and flavour appeal, and then served.
Glazed carrots and Broccoli hollandaise are prepared per our previous classes.
Before starting on the roast beef, we trim any silverskin as well as excess fat - appropriate amounts of fat are left for flavouring, but not in excess. The roast beef is then prepared by tying and rubbing down with salt, pepper, mustard seed, and a little garlic. Clarified butter is heated in a pan and the roast is seared on all sides. A bed of mirepoix is prepared in a roasting pan and the roast is placed on it and put in the oven to cook to desired doneness. When finished, it is removed and set aside to rest for 10 minutes while the jus lie is prepared by deglazing the pan with wine and brown stock. The liquid is strained, brought to a simmer and a small amount of a slurry is added to thicken it slightly. The jus lie is seasoned and ready to serve along with the sliced roast.
Yorkshire pudding batter is prepared from eggs, milk and flour mixed together and then chilled before use. Once we are ready to cook them, we add oil to the outside placements of a muffin pan and heat the pan in an oven at 475°F. Once the pan is very hot, we remove it from the oven and pour the batter into each prepared spot on the pan. The pan is then placed back in the oven to cook for approximately 20-25 minutes, ensuring we do not open the door or cause other temperature variations which may cause the yorkshire to fall. Once golden brown and firm enough that they will stay standing, they can be removed from the oven and served.
Duxelle stuffed tomatoes are prepared by peeling and seeding tomatoes, which should be halved or have the top cut off in an appropriate manner such that they can be stuffed. A mix of panko, garlic, parsley and olive oil is prepared to top the tomatoes with. We then sauté shallots and garlic in butter until tender. Finely chopped mushrooms are added and sautéed until dry. This mixture is seasoned and cooled. We stuff the tomatoes with the duxelles (mushroom) and top with the panko mixture. This is placed under the salamander to warm and add colour to the panko mixture, and is then ready for service.
Garlic mashed potatoes and glazed beets are prepared per previous classes.
Personal Observations
Having the opportunity and challenge of preparing a full dish was very exciting. It also allowed us to begin learning more about plating complete dishes rather than the single items we had been preparing previous to this. The savoyard potato dish was very interesting to me during our first day of cooking as I hadn't prepared potatoes this way before. The result was very delicious. Our hollandaise seemed a little thinner than usual, although we attributed this to the classes clarified butter having boiled over and not being of top quality. Overall, the first day went very well and the individual dishes came together to plate at the same time.
We were well organized on our second day as well, and expected everything to go well even with the specter of having to make yorkshire pudding properly hanging over us. However, with some guidance from Chef our yorkshires turned out very well, although I may have pulled them out of the oven about a minute too early. The duxelle stuffed tomatoes was a new dish to me, but very flavourful and it turned out well. The rest of the components on the plate were fairly standard fare and worked well - our group even went so far as to add to the mushroom theme by blanching and some sliced mushrooms and quickly sautéing in butter, then adding this to the center of our plate.
Chef's Observations
Chef's biggest comment regarding our chicken plate was our presentation. We had the different dishes spread out a little too much which didn't create the look he wanted, but he quickly corrected this for us and showed us what we needed to be doing the next time. This is somewhere that experience will really be the only guide to get better, and I'm happy to have his instruction.
Our presentation for our roast beef plate was much better, and the biggest flaw this time was that I hadn't sliced the meet against the grain. Unfortunately the cut we had was shaped in such a way that I thought I was cutting against the grain, but actually going with it. Fortunately, the beef was high quality and still very tender, although in most situations this would have been a very bad outcome. Otherwise, the flavour and texture in all of the components on the plate were very good, including our mushroom addition.
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