Pot Roast Chicken with Garlic

Picked up a recipe from another blog site last weekend, as I was looking for something to do with Chicken and garlic. Turned out really well - here's the recipe on their website:

http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=205

Tweaked it a bit for my tastes, so left mine uncovered and didn't bother moving the bacon off. The fact that that meant I could nip down the pub whilst it was cooking was probably also a factor!

Here's how it looked before it went in the oven:



I served this with dauphinois potatoes, so that the creamy sauce from that would run into the garlicky juices from the chicken. Very tasty once it was done, plus lots of left overs for other things. A fair bit of it became a sort of chicken stronganoff with the addition of mushrooms, cream and parsley, and that went on for a fair few more meals in itself, especially good stuffed into pancakes, topped with a little grated cheddar and then under the grill for 5 minutes.

The beauty of the cheaper cut - The Spare Rib

Well no Rib of Beef at the butchers this week - all been sold already. That's what comes from buying your meat from a proper butcher - you have to have what he's got if you don't order ahead of time. So Pork last Sunday, and a nice little Spare Rib at that. It's been my choice of pork cuts for a while now, as it's very cheap but has a great flavour, cooks up nice and moist, and has lots of great crackling! What more could you ask for out of a pork roast - you can keep your legs and loins.

I've found the best method is the 20 min hot bit at about 220°C, and then down to 160°C for 30 minutes per 500g, plus of course resting time after that.

And the trick with the crackling? Well I just rub in a good amount of maldon sea salt, getting it right into those cracks, and that's it - no oil, no pepper, no basting, no nothing. Just leave it be and it will work, trust me! Served this with mash and carrots, so pretty basic stuff really.

Now I know my photography leaves something to be desired - maybe I'll fix that one day.

The other thing about a spare rib roast is the left overs are great for making your own schnitzel. May sound a bit odd I know, but try and it and you'll be very pleasantly surprised. Just slice relatively thickly, maybe just less than a cm, do the old dipping thing (flour/beaten egg/breadcrumbs - twice through is always good for a nice crust, and do remember to season all three I say) and then shallow fry and until crispy, maybe 5-10 minutes each side. These can be eaten hot, or even left to cool and then shoved into a pitta bread with some fresh salad, squeeze of lemon juice and maybe some mayo. Yum. Beats cardboard sandwiches.