This Mustard Roasted Chicken is from Ina Garten’s new book Foolproof, which is on my wishlist. A few bloggers have posted it and I couldn’t wait to give it a try. Just look at that crunchy mustard and thyme crumb coating…it’s enough to make you forget all about holiday cookies, at least until after dinner.
Ina Garten has a way of zeroing in on what makes food delicious, without any unnecessary steps, frills, or ingredients. She is always right on, and truly foolproof. In this case, though, Alexandra from Alexandra Cooks, one of my favorite blogs, made a couple of minor changes which I think are spot on. She substituted buttermilk for white wine in the coating/marinade for the chicken, and used fresh bread crumbs instead of the panko crumbs Ina calls for. I think they are brilliant changes, so I’ve kept them. Use your favorite parts of the chicken. Ina calls for a whole chicken, cut in 8 pieces. Alexandra used thighs and legs, and I used breasts and my new favorite cut, the whole leg (drumstick and thigh attached).
Ina Garten’s Mustard Roasted Chicken
What You Will Need
- 2 chicken breasts and 2 whole leg/thighs, bone in, skin on
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 4 peeled garlic cloves
- a small handful fresh thyme leaves
- zest of one lemon
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs *
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Put the chicken pieces in a large zip lock baggie or other container. Mix the buttermilk and the mustard and pour over the chicken. Coat all the surfaces, and marinate, tightly covered, for a couple of hours or overnight.
- Set oven to 400F
- Set up a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With the machine going, drop in the garlic cloves to mince them. Turn off the machine and add the crumbs, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper to the bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse the machine to combine everything.
- Put the crumbs into a pie plate, or other wide shallow bowl, and press each piece of chicken, skin side down, into the crumbs. The marinade will help the crumbs adhere to the meat. Press the crumbs in with your hands to completely coat the top. Set the chicken down — crumb side up — on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Press any remaining crumbs onto the bare spots on the chicken. Don’t waste any!
- Bake the chicken for about 40 minutes, until the topping is browned and the chicken is cooked through. I ran mine under the broiler at the very end to get a little more color.
Notes
To make fresh breadcrumbs, put fresh bread into a food processor and process briefly. If using a crusty baguette, it will take a little longer to get uniform crumbs.
This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten, via Alexandra Cooks
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http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2013/12/ina-gartens-mustard-roasted-chicken.html
*Recipe from [The View from Great Island|http://theviewfromgreatisland.com] All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to use this recipe, please link back to this page.
This chicken is everything you’d hope it would be. Moist and perfectly done inside, with a golden, crunchy mustard and thyme crust. It’s just what I needed to revive me from my gumdrop and marshmallow stupor.
Now I feel so much better. More sweets coming tomorrow!