John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Red Wine and Chocolate Chicken

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SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS 20
DIFFICULTY Easy
Matt Preston's red wine and chocolate chicken
Matt Preston’s red wine and chocolate chicken

For Easter, the chocolate doesn’t have to come in bunny form – we love this recipe too.

INGREDIENTS

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 3 x 5mm-thick slices speck, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 16 whole eschalots
  • 200g button mushrooms
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1.8kg whole chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
  • 2 tbs plain flour
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 3 cups (750ml) red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 oregano sprigs, plus extra to serve
  • 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped, stalks reserved
  • 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
  • 6 allspice berries
  • 2 each whole cloves and cinnamon quills
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 20g dark (70%) chocolate, grated
  • Buttered steamed brown rice, to serve

METHOD

  • 1: Preheat oven to 180°C. Place half the butter and oil in a casserole over medium heat. Cook speck, celery and eschalots for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add mushrooms and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. Return casserole to medium heat with remaining 25g butter and 1 tbs oil. Season chicken with salt and cook, in 2 batches, turning, for 6-8 minutes until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • 2: Return all chicken to pan. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until browned. Add tomato paste and cook for a further 1 minute, then add wine, scraping the bottom of the pan. Tie together bay, oregano and reserved parsley stalks to make a bouquet garni and add to pan with stock and spices. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid. Transfer to oven and cook for 50 minutes or until tender.
  • 3: Strain chicken and vegetables and set aside, discarding cinnamon and bouquet garni. Return sauce to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened, then whisk in chocolate. Pour sauce over chicken and scatter with extra oregano. Serve with buttered brown rice.

Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders with Five-Spice BBQ Sauce

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INGREDIENTS

  • ¾ cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
  • 2 tbsp. sesame seeds54f8b3a511672_-_oven-fried-chicken-tenders-400
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 kg chicken-breast tenders
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1½ tsp. cider vinegar
  • 1½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. In 10-inch skillet, toast bread crumbs and sesame seeds over high heat about 5 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Transfer crumb mixture to plate.
  2. In medium bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix egg white, 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder, and salt until foamy. Dip tenders in egg-white mixture, then in crumb mixture to coat. Place tenders on cookie sheet. Bake tenders 13 to 15 minutes or until they lose their pink colour throughout. Do not turn tenders over.
  3. Meanwhile, in same skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until soft and lightly browned. Remove skillet from heat; stir in ketchup, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and remaining five-spice powder. Pour sauce into small bowl; serve with tenders.

(Delish, 2013)

Martha Stewart’s Buttermilk Chicken

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INGREDIENTS 02edf21_e_vert

  • Vegetable oil, for baking sheet
  • 8 slices white bread
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 1/2 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 kg chicken parts (preferably legs, thighs, and wings), rinsed and patted dry

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously rub a baking sheet with oil. In a food processor, pulse bread until it turns into coarse crumbs.

  2. In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, hot-pepper sauce, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

  3. Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat evenly. Working with one piece at a time, remove chicken from liquid, letting excess drip back into bowl; dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat evenly. Place coated chicken pieces on prepared baking sheet.

  4. Bake until chicken is golden brown, about 35 minutes.

(Martha Stewart, 2012)

Balsamic Glazed Mediterranean Chicken Bake

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10 min Prep Time / 20 min Cook Time / 30 min Total Time

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegarbalsamic-glazed-mediterranean-chicken-bake-3-of-101 tablespoon good quality olive oil 
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs 
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 250g can or jar of marinated artichoke hearts
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, left whole
  • 1 250g can white beans, drained & rinsed
  • 3/4 cup whole salted cashews
  • 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup mozzarella pearls (whole milk mozzarella)
  • 4 fresh sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped

Instructions

    1. Marinate the chicken breast in balsamic vinegar for at least 30 minutes.
    2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
    3. In a 9×13 casserole dish, add beans, cashews, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and onion.
    4. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in large skillet and brown the chicken on both sides for about 2 minutes on each side. (The chicken will be browned, but not cooked through. it will finish cooking in the oven.)
    5. Nestle the browned chicken into the casserole dish, allowing it to just sit on top of all the other ingredients. Brush with more balsamic vinegar.
    6. Add the chicken broth to the dish and lay in the oregano.
    7. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
    8. Remove from the oven and add in the mozzarella.
    9. Serve over rice, pasta, or just by itself!!

(The Cookie Rookie, 2014)

 

 

Chris’ Tips for Perfectly Cooking Chicken on the BBQ

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Need to know how to cook chicken on the BBQ – check out these handy hints from the bossman himself!

“We’ve all been served up burnt, tasteless chicken bits. Chicken can but shouldn’t be the hardest to barbeque correctly.

Chris says the secrets to great barbecued chicken are: choosing great quality chicken in an excellent marinade; keeping the heat low so that the marinade does not burn; and basting the poultry often.

The result will be moist, tender, flavoursome meat, with smoky and deliciously crispy, marinated skin.

When purchasing pre-marinated chicken, Chris suggests you add a cup of water or, even better, chicken stock to the meat. Mix and drain all excess liquid but set it aside and use it to baste the meat as is cooks on the barbeque.

Chris sells a butterflied whole marinated chicken. It is vacuum sealed to keep all the yummy marinade on and in the meat. Simply slice the top of the bag, add the chicken stock and swish around, pour all liquid into a bowl and place the whole bird on the preheated barbeque.

Chris’ butterflied chickens require 15 minutes cooking time on each side and to be basted every 5 to 7 minutes.”

 

(Chris Gavriel, 2014)