Whole Roast Chicken with Pan-Sauce Vinaigrette | Everyday Dorie

The roast chicken with pan-sauce vinaigrette sets it apart from other roast chicken dishes because it tastes France in every bite. While the chicken is roasting in a covered Dutch oven at high heat, it transports you back to France. The aroma of chicken/fat roasting, and the scent of the the poultry herb blend (thyme, rosemary and sage) and the aromatics (shallots, carrots, garlic) is unmistaken. It wafts throughout the kitchen, reminiscent of a French bistro. For this reason, and this reason alone, I’d do the roast chicken again according to the recipe.

The must-have ingredients are: a young whole chicken and poultry herbs, such as thyme, rosemary and sage. There are no substitutions for the best-quality organic, free-range chicken and abundance of fresh herbs. For equipment, I use an oval Dutch oven that fits a 3 to 4-pound chicken snugly. This is truly a one-pot cooking method; no other pots are needed.

The Roasting Method

• Line the bottom of the Dutch oven with slices of a carrot, a shallot, two sprigs each of thyme, rosemary and sage, and a bay leaf. Mix in about two tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Rub the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper inside and out. Squeeze the lemon juice (from half of a lemon) all over the chicken. Stuff the chicken with more poultry herbs, bay leaf, and the used half of a lemon. Then put the chicken (the leg side up and tie the legs together with kitchen twine) in the Dutch oven.
• Put one half garlic head, cut horizontally, on each side of the chicken — cut side down. Pour in three-quarter cup (180 ml) of white wine.
• Cover the pot. Put the Dutch oven in the oven and roast it at 450°F for 90 minutes. Be sure not to open the oven when roasting.

The Pan-Sauce Vinaigrette

Remove all the vegetables and herbs from the pan drippings. I get at least one cup of the drippings left behind in the Dutch oven. (The amount could be a factor of the size of the Dutch oven within which air circulates and how tightly it seals. More air, more efficient roasting, more browning, less drippings.)

Keep the garlic gloves, squeeze out the softened cloves and smash them into a paste. Whisk gently the reserved drippings, with the smashed garlic, Dijon mustard, sherry vinaigrette and walnut oil. Test for the balance of flavor and add more of the sauce ingredients if you need.

This pan sauce vinaigrette is delicious, one of the highlights of the dish. The drippings being the base, Dijon mustard adds complexity, depth of flavor. Like what Dorie says: it’s another touch of Frenchness.

Final Note: I like the dish (better than a similar dish: the lemon-fennel in a pot, page 133), my husband less so. He prefers the more intense flavor of the Moroccan chicken tagine (a moderate heat slow-cooking method) I’ve been making lately. He says the white meat is dry and the bird is unevenly cooked. I can’t disagree with his observations.