2.353
24 (Sat) December 2011
Lemon-in-the-Ass Rosemary Roast Chicken with Roast Potatoes and Pan Gravy
3.0
by me
at home
-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with W and DJ
Lately, I’ve been reading the book Man with a Pan: Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for Their Families. It’s a collection of essays by various men: their musings on food, memories of eating and cooking food, and meditations on the modern man’s roles and responsibilities in the kitchen. Each essay is accompanied by a recipe or two, in most cases for dishes discussed in the text. About a third of the way through, it’s been a fun read thus far.
In the first piece, “Putting Food on Your Family” (in reference to “You’re working hard to put food on your family….”, George W. Bush’s remark at a voter rally during the 2000 presidential election campaign), author Jack Hitt offers a recipe for “Really Good Chicken.” I skipped the initial brining but followed the remaining steps. What I like about the recipe is the part about sticking a whole lemon or lime up the chicken’s butt. According to the author: “The idea is that once the high temperature hits the goods in the cavity, the lemon juice will evaporate, taking the flavors around it directly into the flesh of the bird; so whatever you stuff around the lemon or lime will become a slight flavoring in the meat.” Any cooking tip laced with pseudo-science seems to make sense.
(See also FOODS.)
(See also PLACES.)
Was it actually called that in the book? Sounds so brutal, non-PC. Maybe not on the level to get you cancelled though.
On a more serious note, I have seen and tried some recipes for “beer can chicken”, where you cut up a beer can, put it up the chicken’s behind and then grill it either over a bbq or in the oven. Have you tried that?
the recipe was called “Really Good Chicken,” but it involved brining and other tricks, like putting butter under the skins, which i didn’t bother with, only the lemon. i don’t think “lemon in the ass” is non-PC, just very literal.
never tried beer can chicken. i never had a grill or oven big enough to cook a chicken standing up (small chicken yes, but not a large chicken that could take a beer can up its butt).