Recipe: Whole Roasted Chicken with Tomatillo and Ancho Chile Sauce
Enjoy this Texas style poultry dish with Chardonnay
Ingredients
Tomatillo and Ancho Chile Sauce
- 10 tomatillos, husks left on
- 2 dried ancho chiles, seeded, stemmed and steeped in 1 cup hot chicken stock
- 3 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded, stemmed and chopped
- 2 tsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tbsp Champagne vinegar
- 2 tbsp canola oil
Roasted Chicken
- 1 4-pound whole organic chicken
- 3 springs fresh rosemary, plus 2 for basting
- 3 springs fresh thyme, plus 2 for basting
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp piment d'Espelette (may substitute 1 tsp cayenne pepper)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup white wine
Tomatillo and Ancho Chile Sauce
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the tomatillos on a sheet tray and roast them for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool. Keep the oven at 350 degrees F for the chicken.
When the tomatillos are cool to the touch, remove the husks and cores. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the softened ancho chiles just until they are chopped. Add a little of the hot chicken stock if needed to process the chiles, but be careful not to puree the chiles. Add the tomatillos, garlic, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin, Mexican oregano, vinegar and oil. Pulse for a few seconds, or until well incorporated. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper to taste, transfer to a serving dish and set aside.
Roasted Chicken
Remove the wing tips and middle joints of the chicken wings. Remove the organs from the bird and discard. Stuff the bird with 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and the lemon slices. Salt and pepper the inside of the bird. Using butchers’ twine, tie the legs together.
Line the inside of a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken comfortably with foil. Oil the bird liberally with your hands and then season well with salt, black pepper and espelette.
In a 2-quart saucepot over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chicken stock, lemon, white wine and the remaining fresh herbs. Just bring the mixture to a simmer, then turn off the heat. This liquid will be used for basting the chicken during the cooking process.
Roast the chicken for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting the bird with the liquid every 10 minutes. When the chicken is golden brown and crispy, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Untie the legs and remove the herbs and lemons. Arrange the herbs and lemons on a serving platter and place the whole bird on the platter. Baste the bird once more, carve and serve with the tomatillo and ancho chile sauce on the side.
Recipe by Helen Thompson from The Mansion on Turtle Creek: Haute Cuisine, Texas Style ($45, Rizzoli). Photo by Robert Peacock
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