Hurricane Chicken

You might have heard about this Hurricane Irene chick who came barreling through NYC. While she wreaked havoc, destruction, and sadly, even death in other states, she lost a lot of steam by the time she got to the Empire State. This meant we had a lot of provisions that, well, we didn't really need so badly any more. I decided to take some of the leftovers from my storm supplies and make what I dubbed "Hurricane Chicken."



I had half a bunch of leftover cilantro, some garlic that was starting to sprout, and some fading celery and onions.

I washed and trimmed all the veggies, taking out the bitter green shoot from the otherwise-fine garlic, and arranging everything in a roasting dish.
It doesn't look like much, maybe, but it's worth using, and I always feel better when I don't waste food.

I tossed the garlic, leftover cilantro, and unsalted butter into my mini food processor and made a delicious-smelling compound butter.

I took about 1/3 of it and shmeared it under the chicken skin (I have yet to do this without poking at least one hole in the chicken skin--don't worry--it still comes out just fine). I put the rest of the butter in the fridge for later.

I sprinkled a generous tablespoon of salt over the bird, stuffed a quartered lime in the bird's cavity, poured a cup of leftover white wine in the pan and...um... do you see anything wrong with this picture? I'll explain later..

I cooked the bird at 450 for just over an hour, and tossed some seasoned zucchini in for the last 20 minutes. I didn't baste the bird at all, just let the butter layer do its work.

The chicken was dreamily delicious...no, succulent! The lime and cilantro gave it a nice Caribbean kick, and the butter made the skin nice and crispy. The pan juices? ZOMG.

It wasn't until the next day that I realized I put the chicken in the pan UPSIDE DOWN. Listen--severe weather can be stressful! Regardless, the bird was super juicy and scrumptious, and I nibbled on plenty of chicken as I plated the rest and put it up in the fridge. Oh, lunch this week is going to be great! Chicken sandwiches, chicken soup, chicken salad, chicken quesadillas....

"Hurricane" Chicken

1/2 bunch cilantro (or any leftover fresh herbs)
1 stick butter, softened
3-4 cloves garlic
1 lime, washed, scrubbed & quartered
1 3-4 lb roasting chicken
leftover veggies
1 cup white wine
salt & pepper

Trim veggies and arrange in roasting dish. Mix butter, garlic and herbs in mini food processor. Take 2-3 TBS of the butter and rub it over chicken, underneath skin.
Reserve the rest of the butter (don't touch with the hands that just touched raw chicken!) for later--it's great on warm rolls. Put lime quarters in chicken cavity, sprinkle bird with generous 2 Tbs of salt, fresh cracked pepper, and pop it in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until done (165 on meat therm, or when juices run clear).

Enjoy--and may all your storms bring more hype than harm!

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