by Julia Child
BROILING
Broiling, where the heat comes from above, is of course the opposite of barbecuing, where the heat source comes from below. Broiling, however, has the advantage that you are more easily in control. If your broiler is so equipped, you can raise or lower the heat, or in any case you can move the food nearer or farther from the broiler element. In some instances you simply broil on both sides until the food is completely cooked, and in others you may find that broiling just on one side is sufficient. In still other cases, especially when you have something large like a butterflied roasting chicken, you will want to broil and brown the two sides but finish by roasting—very convenient when your oven is both broiler and roaster. There are no rules, and it is quite up to you to decide. Here are some examples.
MASTER RECIPE
Broiled Butterflied Chicken Serves 4
Rather than broiling a chicken in pieces, which is easy to do but not wildly exciting, and rather than roasting it whole, which takes an hour or more, butterfly your chicken. It cooks in half the time and makes a great presentation.
A 2½-to-3-pound broiler-fryer chicken, butterflied
2 Tbs melted butter blended with 2 tsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ tsp dried thyme or an herb mixture
For the Deglazing Sauce
1 Tbs minced shallot or scallion
½ cup chicken broth and/or dry white wine or vermouth
1 to 2 Tbs butter, for enrichment
TO BUTTERFLY A CHICKEN. With heavy shears or a cleaver, cut down close to the backbone on each side, and remove the bone. Spread the chicken open, skin side up, and pound on the breast with your fist to flatten the chicken. Cut off and discard the little nubbins at the wing elbows, and fold the wings akimbo. To hold the legs in place, make ½-inch slits in the skin on each side of the lower breast and tuck the drumstick ends through the slits.
Preheat the broiler to high. Brush the chicken all over with butter and oil and arrange it skin side down in a shallow pan. Set it under the broiler so the chicken surface is about 6 inches from the heat source. Let broil for about 5 minutes, then baste rapidly with the butter and oil, and continue for another 5 minutes. The surface should be browning nicely; if not, adjust the heat or the distance of chicken from broiler. Baste again, this time with the juices accumulated in the pan, and broil another 5 minutes. Then season with salt and pepper, turn the chicken skin side up, and season the surface. Continue broiling and basting with the pan juices every 5 minutes for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is done.
Remove the chicken to a carving board and let it rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, make the deglazing sauce by first spooning cooking fat off the juices in the pan. Then stir the shallot into the pan and simmer for a minute or so on top of the stove, until the juices are syrupy. Swirl in the enrichment butter, pour over the chicken, and serve.
VARIATIONS
BROIL/ROASTED BUTTERFLIED ROASTING CHICKEN—AND TURKEY. Broil/roasting a big 6-to-7-pound butterflied roaster or capon or a 12-pound turkey takes, again, half the time you’d need if you roasted it whole. Use exactly the same system as for the preceding broiled chicken except that, when you have browned the underside, and given the skin side the beginning of a brown, you then switch from broiling to roasting. Just finish the cooking in the oven—I like to roast mine at 350°F. A 6-to-7-pound bird takes 1 to 1¼ hours; a 12-pound turkey, about 2 hours. See the broil/roast times box for more details.
BROIL/ROAST CHICKEN AND TURKEY TIMES
Always allow an additional 20 to 30 minutes, just to be safe.
Butterflied Roasting Chickens
4 to 5 pounds / 45 minutes to 1 hour
5 to 6 pounds / 1 to 1¼ hours
Butterflied Turkeys
8 to 12 pounds / 1½ to 2 hours
12 to 16 pounds / 2 to 2½ hours
16 to 20 pounds / 2½ to 3 hours
DEVILED GAME HENS OR POUSSINS. For 2 birds, serving 4 people. Butterfly the birds and broil as in the master recipe, but give them only 10 minutes per side. Meanwhile, whisk together, to make a mayonnaise-like sauce, ⅓ cup Dijon mustard, a large minced shallot, pinches of dried tarragon or rosemary, drops of Tabasco sauce, and 3 tablespoons of the pan juices. Paint this over the skin sides of the birds, then pat on a layer of fresh white bread crumbs. Baste with the remaining juices. Finish cooking under the broiler.
FRESH BREAD CRUMBS. Whenever bread crumbs are called for, always make your own out of fresh homemade-type bread. Cut off the crusts, slice the bread into 1-inch chunks, and pulse not more than 2 cups at a time in a food processor, or 1 cup at a time in an electric blender. It’s useful to make a lot while you are at it and freeze what you don’t need.
Broiled Fish Steaks—About ¾ Inch Thick
For salmon, swordfish, tuna, bluefish, shark, mahimahi, and so forth. Here you concentrate on browning the top of the fish; no need to turn it. Dry the fish, paint both sides with melted butter or vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a shallow pan that will just hold them comfortably. Pour around the steaks ⅛ inch of dry white wine or French vermouth and set 2 inches below a preheated broiler. After 1 minute, brush a little soft butter on top of each and squeeze on drops of lemon juice. Continue broiling about 5 minutes more, or until lightly springy to the touch—cooked through but still juicy. Serve with the cooking juices spooned over.
VARIATIONS
THICK FISH STEAKS—1 TO 2 INCHES THICK. Broil to brown them nicely, then finish off in a 375°F oven.
FISH FILLETS. For such fish as salmon, cod, hake, mackerel, trout. Leave the skin on, to keep the fish in shape during cooking, and follow directions for the preceding fish steaks.
Lamb Brochettes
Cut roasting-quality lamb, such as leg or loin, into 1½-inch chunks. You may wish to marinate them for several hours or overnight, as suggested below; otherwise, season and oil the meat. Thread onto skewers, alternating each piece with a square of blanched bacon and a piece of imported bay leaf. Arrange on an oiled broiling pan or in a hinged rack. Broil 2 inches from heat, turning every 2 minutes for several minutes, until the meat is just springy to the touch.
HERB AND LEMON MARINADE FOR LAMB OR BEEF. Here is a basic formula that you may vary as you wish. For every 2 pounds of meat, mix the following in a bowl: 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon ground rosemary, thyme, oregano, or Provençal herbs, 2 large cloves puréed garlic, and ¼ cup vegetable oil.
OILS—FOR COOKING, FLAVORING, AND SALADS. Use fresh-tasting, neutral-flavored oils for cooking, such as light olive, canola, or other vegetable oils. Olive oils for flavoring and salads can be mild or fruity, and since they have become a status symbol, you can pay enormous prices for some of those labeled “extra virgin.” Test them out yourself to find the brand or brands that suit you.
NOTE: “EVOO” is contemporary cook talk for “extra virgin olive oil.”
Broiled Flank Steak
To keep the meat in shape while cooking, lightly score the surface (cut crosshatches ⅛ inch deep) on each side with the point of your small, sharp knife. Give it the marinade treatment if you wish, for ½ hour up to a day or two; or season with salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce, and brush with vegetable oil. Set close under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until just beginning to take on springiness to the touch—for rare. To serve, cut into thin, slanting slices across the grain.
Broiled Hamburgers
Prepare them as described for sautéed hamburgers but omit the flour coating. Brush with cooking oil and set close under the hot broiler for 1 to 2 minutes on each side—when just beginning to take on springiness to the touch, they are medium rare. You might want to top them with one of the flavored butters.
Butterflied Leg of Lamb
Half an hour or the day before cooking, trim off excess fat and spread the lamb out skin side down. Make lengthwise slashes in the 2 large lobes of meat and spread out to even the mass. Brush
the flesh side with the meat marinade, or season with salt, pepper, and rosemary or Provençal herbs, and oil both sides. Set 7 to 8 inches under the hot broiler element and brown nicely for about 10 minutes on each side, basting with oil. (Browning may be completed an hour or so in advance. See box below.) Finish in a 375°F oven, roasting for 15 to 20 minutes to a meat-thermometer reading of 140°F for medium rare. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving, which allows the meat juices to return to the flesh.
BROIL/ROASTING AHEAD OF TIME. For a large piece of meat, like a butterflied roasting chicken or a boned and butterflied leg of lamb or pork loin, you can do the preliminary browning somewhat in advance. Cover loosely and leave at room temperature, then finish it off later.
Roast/Broiled Butterflied Pork Loin
Here you roast it first, until almost done, then finish it off under the broiler to brown and crisp the surface. For 8 people, buy yourself a 3½-pound boneless pork-loin roast and untie it; it is already butterflied. Remove excess fat but leave a ¼-inch layer on top. Slash the thick sections of meat lengthwise to even it out, and rub the meat either with dry spice marinade, or with salt, pepper, allspice, and pulverized imported bay leaf. Oil the meat, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Roast it fat side up for about an hour at 375°F, to a meat-thermometer reading of 140°F. Half an hour before serving, make decorative cross-slashes in the fat side and rub in ½ tablespoon or so of coarse salt. Brown slowly under the broiler to an internal temperature of 162° to 165°F.
DRY SPICE MARINADE FOR PORK PRODUCTS, GOOSE, AND DUCK. Blend the following ground spices in a screw-topped jar and use ½ teaspoon per pound of meat. For about 1¼ cups: 2 tablespoons each of clove, mace, nutmeg, paprika, thyme, and imported bay; 1 tablespoon each of allspice, cinnamon, and savory; and 5 tablespoons white peppercorns.
SALT PROPORTIONS. In general, the proportion of salt to use in liquids is 1½ teaspoons per quart. The proportion of salt to raw meat is ¾ to 1 teaspoon per pound.
FLAVORED BUTTER TOPPING—FOR BROILED MEATS, FISH, CHICKEN. To make the standard maître d’hôtel, beat drops of lemon juice into a stick of softened unsalted butter, adding a teaspoon each of minced shallot and parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Other alternatives or additions can be puréed garlic, anchovies, Dijon mustard, chives or other herbs, and so forth. Make a larger quantity, roll it into a sausage shape, wrap it, and freeze it; it is ready for instant use.
ROASTING
Roasting or baking means to cook food in the oven, usually in an open pan—sometimes with a cover, but not with a liquid. Roasting with a liquid is officially called braising or stewing. Roasting is certainly the most painless way of cooking a whole chicken or turkey, prime ribs of beef, legs of lamb, and so forth. Fortunately, a roast is a roast is a roast—all of them are done in much the same way. Give yourself plenty of time. Always preheat the oven at least 15 minutes before you begin, and start testing rapidly with your instant meat thermometer 10 to 15 minutes before the end of your estimated roasting time. Remember that the roast needs a 15-to-20-minute rest before carving, which allows the hot and bursting juices to retreat back into the meat. A large roast will stay warm a good 20 minutes at least before being carved, so plan accordingly. Note: All roasting times in this book are for conventional ovens.
MASTER RECIPE
Roast Prime Ribs of Beef For a 3-rib 8-pound roast, serving 6 to 8 people
Roasting time at 325°F: 2 hours for medium rare—internal temperature 125° to 130°F (about 15 minutes per pound).
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the Deglazing Sauce
½ cup each chopped carrots and onions
½ tsp dried thyme
½ cup chopped fresh plum tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Rub the exposed ends of the roast with oil and a sprinkling of salt. Arrange the roast rib side down in a roasting pan and set in the lower third of the preheated oven. After ½ hour, baste the ends of the roast with accumulated fat, strew the carrots and onions into the pan, and baste with the fat. Continue roasting, basting again once or twice, to a meat-thermometer reading of 125° to 130°F at the large end.
Remove the roast. Spoon fat out of the roasting pan. Stir in the thyme and tomatoes, scraping up coagulated roasting juices. Blend in the broth and boil several minutes to concentrate flavor. Correct seasoning, and strain into a warm sauceboat.
ROAST BEEF: SIZES AND APPROXIMATE ROASTING TIMES TO MEDIUM RARE (125° to 130°F)
5 ribs, 12 lbs / serves 12 to 16 / roasts about 3 hours at 325°F
4 ribs, 9½ lbs / serves 9 to 12 / roasts about 2 hours and 20 minutes at 325°F
3 ribs, 8 lbs, serves 6 to 8 / roasts about 2 hours at 325°F
2 ribs, 4½ lbs / serves 5 to 6 / roasts 15 minutes at 450°F, 45 minutes at 325°F
ROAST BEEF: TEMPERATURES AND MINUTES PER POUND
Rare, 120°F, 12 to 13 minutes per pound
Medium rare, 125° to 130°F, about 15 minutes per pound
Medium, 140°F, 17 to 20 minutes per pound
Roast Top Loin (New York Strip) of Beef
A boneless ready-to-roast 4½-pound strip serves 8 to 10. Timing: 1¼ to 1½ hours; roast at 425°F for 15 minutes, then at 350°F, to internal temperature 120°F for rare or 125°F for medium rare. (It’s the circumference of the meat that dictates the timing; thus all lengths roast in about the same time—a little less or a little more, depending on weight.) Oil and salt the 2 exposed ends, and roast fat side up on an oiled rack, strewing ½ cup chopped onions and carrots in the pan halfway through. Make the sauce as suggested in the master recipe.
Roast Tenderloin of Beef
A boneless ready-to-roast 4-pound tenderloin of beef serves 6 to 8. Timing: 35 to 45 minutes at 400°F, to internal temperature 120°F for rare, or 125°F for medium rare. Just before roasting, salt the meat lightly and brush with clarified butter. Set in the upper-third level of the oven; rapidly turn and baste with clarified butter every 8 minutes. For sauce suggestions, see the box below.
SIMPLE HORSERADISH SAUCE—ESPECIALLY FOR ROAST BEEF. Whisk 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard into 5 tablespoons bottled horseradish. Fold in ½ cup or so of sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.
Roast Leg of Lamb
A 7-pound leg, hip and sirloin removed, weighs about 5 pounds and serves 8 to 10. Timing: about 2 hours in a 325°F oven to internal temperature 140°F for medium rare; to 125° to 130°F for rare; to 120°F for blood rare. Before roasting, you may wish to puncture the meat in a dozen places and push in slivers of garlic, then brush the surface with oil, or paint on a mustard coating. Roast fat side up in a preheated oven as described in the master recipe, rapidly basting every 15 minutes with accumulated fat. After an hour, strew in ½ cup of chopped onions and several large cloves of smashed unpeeled garlic. Make the sauce as described in the master recipe, adding ½ teaspoon of rosemary, and 2 cups of chicken broth. See also the box below for other suggestions.
A SIMPLE SAUCE FOR LAMB. Have the lamb hip- and tailbones (plus other lamb bones or scraps if available) chopped or sawed into ½-inch pieces, and brown with a little oil in a heavy pan with a chopped carrot, onion, and celery stalk. Sprinkle on a tablespoon of flour and brown, stirring for a minute or two. Add a chopped plum tomato, an imported bay leaf, and a big pinch of rosemary, plus chicken broth and water to cover. Simmer slowly, loosely covered, for 2 hours, adding more liquid as needed. Strain, degrease, and boil down to concentrate flavor. Use this plus ½ cup of dry white wine to make your deglazing sauce.
Simple Sauce for Meat and Poultry. Follow the same general system as above for other meat and poultry sauces, using beef or poultry bones and scraps, other herbs, and beef rather than chicken broth, as appropriate.
Port or Madeira Sauce. Use exactly the same system, substituting dry port or Madeira wine for the dry white wine.
LEG OF LAMB NOTES. Whether you buy the whole leg, the shank end, or the sirloin end, you roast it in the sa
me way. The leg is much easier to carve when the hip- and tailbones have been removed. Don’t buy a whole leg weighing more than 7½ pounds unless you know it has been properly aged—otherwise it can be unpleasantly tough.
Imported Legs of Lamb (New Zealand, Iceland, etc.)
These are smaller, younger, and tenderer than most American lamb. Either roast at 325°F as described above, counting on 25 minutes per pound, or, since they are so tender, you may wish to roast them at 400°F, counting on an hour or less.
Rack of Lamb
Two racks serve 4 or 5 people, 2 to 3 chops each. If the racks have not been “frenched,” scrape off the fatty meat between the ribs and from the chop bones. Score the fat side of the ribs lightly and paint with mustard coating (see box below). Roast for 10 minutes at 500°F, sprinkle ½ cup fresh bread crumbs over the meat, and drizzle on a little melted butter. Roast 20 minutes more, or to internal temperature 125°F, for red rare, a little longer, to 140°F, for medium rare. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting into 1-rib chops.
HERBAL GARLIC AND MUSTARD COATING. Whisk together to a mayonnaise-like consistency ⅓ cup Dijon mustard with 3 large cloves of puréed garlic, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ teaspoon ground rosemary, and 3 tablespoons light olive oil. Spread all over your leg of lamb and let marinate ½ hour or cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. If you use this, no basting is necessary and you will have few if any roasting juices; you may wish to make a separate sauce.