The Starving Musician Recipes
Roast Chicken with
Scarborough Fair Basting Sauce, Plus Bonus Chicken Stock for Another Day.
It's easy to remember the basting sauce recipe; just like in the Simon and Garfunkel
song, it's "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme." (In our house it's
sometimes called "Simon and Garfunkel sauce.") This basting sauce is also
excellent on turkey; double the amount for a bird over 12 pounds.
For the Chicken and the Chicken Stock:
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Nonstick cooking spray, such as Pam
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1 4-pound chicken, washed and patted dry, giblets and neck removed from body cavities
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2 ribs celery, washed
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1 large onion, washed, peeled
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2 carrots, washed (optional)
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1/2 bunch fresh parsley, washed and patted dry. Finely chop part of it to make 1
Tablespoon chopped parsley for the basting sauce
For the
Scarborough Fair Basting Sauce:
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1 stick plus 1 Tablespoon butter (salted)
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2
Tablespoons chopped fresh sage, or 2 teaspoons dried, rubbed between
palms of your hands to release the oils
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1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, rubbed between the palms of your hands to release the oils
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1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, rubbed between the palms of your hands to release the oils
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1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
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3 grinds of freshly-ground black pepper
Equipment:
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knife
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9x12 baking pan
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cake rack or roasting rack to fit in pan, or see below* for how to make a disposable
roasting rack
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1 quart saucepan with lid
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1 quart saucepan
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heavy-duty aluminum foil, if you need to make a disposable roasting rack
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kitchen timer
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Instant-read thermometer
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wooden spoon
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basting brush or large spoon
Basting
Sauce: In small saucepan over low heat, place butter, herbs and pepper. Melt together, stirring
occasionally. You can do this in the microwave, but it tastes better made on the stove
over low heat so the essence of the herbs has time to release.
The Chicken: Spray baking pan and rack with nonstick spray. Place rack in pan, and place chicken on
rack. Cut each celery rib lengthwise into two pieces, then cut each in half horizontally
to make 4 long pieces. Place two smaller pieces inside chicken, toss two in roasting pan,
toss the remainder in the saucepan. Repeat with carrot. Cut onion into 8 pieces. Put 1-2
small pieces in chicken and divide the rest between the roasting pan and saucepan. Twist
off half of the half bunch of parsley, put it in the chicken. Toss a small sprig in the
saucepan, and put rest in the roasting pan. Rub chicken with 1 Tablespoon butter. Grind a
couple of grinds of pepper over the chicken and rub in. Set aside and turn on oven to
375F. (Oven rack should be in the center position.)
While oven is heating, place giblets (and neck, if there is one) and reserved parsley
stems in saucepan with vegetables. Place on medium heat and sauté until giblets and
vegetables begin to sweat and caramelize. Add water to cover, bring to boil, reduce heat
to simmer and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer another 45
minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain, place in shallow Gladware container, place in
fridge (lid will not close until steam evaporates) for another use.
When oven is hot, place chicken in oven, bake for 1/2 hour. Baste with Scarborough Fair
sauce. Continue roasting, basting every half hour, for 2-2 1/4 hours or until thermometer
inserted in thickest part of thigh (not touching bone) registers 190F and juices between
thigh and body run clear. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.
*To make a disposable roasting rack, tear off a sheet of foil about 2 feet long. Bunch it
together lengthwise to make a loose snake shape. Add another sheet, crimping it onto the
foil "snake." Repeat with one last sheet of foil. Loosely coil the snake into an
oval shape, securing the center of the circle to the first coil by crimping. Keep coiling
until you get a loose oval shape that fits the bottom of the 9x12 baking pan. Secure the
last coil by crimping foil. Spray liberally with cooking spray.
**For this recipe, dried herbs are fine (and more economical than fresh). Be sure to use
fresh parsley to liven them up. But if you're feeling flush this week, you can use fresh
in the following proportions:
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2 Tablespoons fresh sage,
finely chopped
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1 to 1 1/2
teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
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1 to 1 1/2
teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
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1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (reserve washed stems)
The strength of fresh herbs varies. Start with the smaller amount and increase to taste.
Wine suggestion for
date night or when you're feeling more flush:
Arrowood 2001 Grand Archer
Chardonnay
Sonoma Valley, California.
Recipes ©2003 Randi Reed
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