Roast Chicken with Bacon & Morels
Yield
serves 4
RECIPE Ingredients
- 1 Green Circle Chicken, about 3lbs
- 2 tablespoons Duck Fat
- Coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 6 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon, diced
- 1 shallot, chopped
- ½ pound Fresh Morel Mushrooms, cleaned and halved
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- ¼ cup dry white wine (optional)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
Recipe notes
This simple roast chicken recipe is great for the transition from winter into spring as fresh morels become available. Serve with mashed potatoes or polenta and salad greens with a zippy vinaigrette.
RECIPE Preparation
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove neck and giblets from the chicken cavity. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.
- Generously season, inside and out, with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Truss chicken with butcher's string. Rub softened duck fat over the skin. Place on a rack in heavy roasting pan. Roast for about 1 hour, or until chicken is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 160 degrees F. Remove chicken from the oven and rest on a cutting board while you make the sauce.
- Pour off excess fat from the roasting pan and place pan over medium-high heat; add bacon and cook until just crisp. Add shallot and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper; sauté until shallots are translucent and mushrooms have softened. Stir in lemon juice, Dijon, and thyme; continue to cook about 1 minute more. Deglaze pan with white wine (if using), scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When wine is nearly completely reduced, stir in chicken stock. Simmer until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn heat down to low and stir in cream. Thicken to your liking. Cut chicken into quarter portions, serve with sauce.
