Chicken in a pot from Cooks Illustrated - Opinions?

[EclecticEater]

Has anybody tried the Cooks Illustrated Chicken in a pot recipe? Was it any good?

[mark]

i made it a few weeks back. very simple & very good. made it for just my wife & i, so i used a smaller bird (about 3.25 lbs). served it w/ a brussel sprout & white bean dish and carmelized carrots. i did think their method of flipping the bird was unwieldy; a pair of tongs in each hand works better for me.

[ChowFun_derek]

If it was the recent "French Chicken in a Pot" (January 2008) I found it very simple to prepare and quite flavorful!

[foodwich]

i tried it too a and liked it very much. delicious and simple. will definitely make it again. cuts down mess in the oven too from the traditional roast chicken. so thats a plus for me

[Mild Bill]

I simplified it even further, and it was, both times, the best roasted chicken I've ever made... Sure, the chicken was juicy and flavorful, but it's what I did with the abundant rendered cooking juices that sent it into the stratosphere...

I have a large convection toaster kinda oven that I used... It'll cook a chicken...
I have a 2"+ tall-sided round glass pan with a matching dome lid...
Not a drop of moisture can escape!
The chicken doesn't touch the glass on top, even when the second time I used a bigger chicken...

I think I have a photo...

I seasoned the chicken with a paste under the skin and on top, and I popped it in the pan, then into the preheated 250F oven...
The glass casserole was on the low rack, just above the coil, so the dark meat was exposed to the higher heat, as desired...
I forgot about it for 2 hours, and the thing was thoroughly cooked and loosey-goosey...

But the cooking juices filled the bottom pan, stopping just short of dripping...

I poured them off and de-greased...

I thickened the juices in a pan over heat with flour and half & half...
I colored it beautifully with generous quality Paprika...
Oregano...
Juice of one med. lemon...
Some butter...
A boost of some of the seasonings in the marinade paste...

Simmered till thickened and flavor adjusted...

I chopped up the chicken, re-assembled it kinda, then poured the beautiful pink sauce over it all...

I was a scene man!

[foodwich]

droool droool will definitely try the sauce idea next time. thanks

[Mild Bill]

This is before pouring on the sauce...

[EclecticEater]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm inspired to make it and will do so tomorrow. All of you who responded really make me proud to be part of the Chowhound diualog, if that doesn't sound too corny.

[pigtowner]

Good decision! I want to chime in that this recipe is super delicious and really, really easy. And it makes a great sauce for mashed potatoes. I've been managing to get some really good chickens with the feet still on, which makes the sauce nice and velvety. I highly recommend throwing in a foot or two if you have it!

[EclecticEater]

Made it with the addition of carrots. Used rosemary from my garden. By mistake set the oven at 225 and so when the time was up, the thermometer didn't register 175 degrees in the leg, so I turned up the oven and gave it about 20 minutes more. My wife and I loved it, with a lot of jus. We ate half the chicken from Fresh and Easy and I cut up the other half for chicken salad. Very very intense flavor and tender chicken and excellent jus. Adding a little lemon, as per the recipe, made it perfect. We've put this one on the "regulars" list. Again, thanks to everyone who paved the way to making it with their suggestions and shared experiences.

[SousChefAsh]

I just made this last night and it was fantastic. I had a bottle of white wine open so I added that to the au jus and it gave it a really nice tang. I've tried several recipes in this issue and am very pleased.

[hankstramm]

As everyone has mentioned, this recipe is simple and very easy. I made it once using just leeks instead of onions and celery and it was still very good. The leeks carmelized, and although I tossed them, you could have probably served the chicken over them.

[crosby_p]

can you post the recipe?