TAKING STOCK AND FIXING CHICKEN

CHRONICLE: ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, JANUARY 2024

February is around the corner.

This week, I’m taking stock.

Back at the beginning of January, I wrote that one of my goals for this year is to finally organize my chaotic recipe collection. Here’s an update…this week I’m going to start scanning the handwritten recipes I’m fortunate to have inherited. There’s also a plan in place to make and keep a real-life recipe binder. Something I can literally put my hands on when I don’t want to confront my computer screen.

My husband and technical advisor installed Google Keep onto my computer. I use technology on a need-to-know basis. I know what I know, and the rest is…well, it’s kind of a pain in the ass. Figuring out all the ins and outs of newly updated software or the latest app is not my strong suit.

I learn best by doing, by repetition, by making mistakes.

Last night, while preparing a chicken to roast, I made a BIG mistake. More on that in a second.

Tomorrow I’ll begin scanning and organizing my recipes. I can hardly wait. Once the recipes are scanned, I’ll print them, then begin loading them into the new recipe book. Just thinking about this reminds me of those early school days when a new notebook, a fresh pencil case, a clean pink eraser, all held the promise of great things to come.

So, back to my BIG mistake.

I eat and prepare a lot of chicken. It’s one of my favorite things to eat. Chicken is versatile, packed with protein, pairs well with sauces and condiments, tastes good roasted, grilled, fried, stir-fried, is perfect on a sandwich, in a bun, or atop a salad.

No joke. I love chicken.

I also love roasting a whole chicken, coating it with spices and olive oil, surrounding it with vegetables, adding some white wine to the bottom of the pan and letting the oven work its magic.

Last night, I surrounded the chicken with leeks, potatoes, and carrots. Chopped fresh ginger, lemon and garlic went into the cavity. A schmear of mixed garlic powder and smoked paprika was rubbed all over the skin. The chicken went into a preheated 375-degree oven. Sounds amazing, right?

Within 20 minutes, the house smelled divine.

Two hours later, after the chicken had cooked and was ready to slice, I pulled off one of the wing tips (my favorite part) a pre-dinner treat for a job well done.

It was tasteless.

Turns out, I completely forgot to salt the chicken.

It also turns out, chicken needs salt. And a fair amount of it.

I ended up eating the vegetables, which of course I had remembered to salt, and they were delicious.

Today, I’ll be fixing the chicken for so we can eat it for dinner tonight.

Here’s what I’m going to do.

I’m going to re-roast the chicken. First, I’m going to cut the chicken into pieces, putting those pieces in a shallow roasting pan. Then, I’ll take the container of pan juices I saved, put it on low heat on the stove and add a bunch of salt. Diamond kosher to be specific. Then, I’m going to pour those salty pan juices onto the chicken, put the chicken into the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, letting that salty broth hopefully work some magic of its own.

This is a first for me. I make plenty of mistakes in the kitchen, and elsewhere, but I’ve not ever made this mistake. It remains to be seen how the chicken will taste later tonight. But there’s plenty of white wine in the house, so I think everything will be OK in the end.