Roasted Chicken with Truffle Oil

Roasted Chicken with Truffle Oil

So, today I tried a very old fashioned recipe, but tried to ramp up the flavor by using truffle oil. I got the base recipe from The Food Network website, as made by Emeril Lagasse. Here’s the link in case you want to check it out:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/simple-roast-chicken-with-truffle-oil-drizzle-recipe/index.html

 I won’t copy the recipe to this page since it is not my own, but I will notate the changes I made to make it my own…

First off, I only used one onion (sweet Vidalia) and 3 ribs of celery instead of 2. My chicken was 7 ½ pounds, as opposed to 3 ½ pounds. I did roast at 425 for about 30 minutes, and then turned the temperature initially down to 375 as his recipe indicated, but found I needed to turn it down to 350. My total roasting time was 2 ½ hours, and I did need to place a loose tent of foil over the top for the last hour because it was getting too dark for my tastes. I also basted it about 4 times during the whole roasting period.

I tried the bite on camera with the truffle oil drizzled on top, and I (being a beginner to truffles) found it quite strong. I think it is an acquired taste, for certain! And I firmly believe in trying new foods several times before you make a concrete decision to love or hate it, because after all, my favorite is sushi, and I hated it the first 2 times I ate it! Keep trying new things, give your taste buds a chance to adjust! So…back on topic (sorry!)…I took the drippings from the pan, and after I cooled it off, I removed the fat layer. Then I heated it up, and dissolved 2 TBSP cornstarch in 2 TBSP water, and added that in to the warm drippings. I brought it to a boil and let it thicken. Then I took it off the stove and added about 1 TBSP truffle oil to that. That was MUCH easier in my opinion to get an even taste of truffle in each bite. Just drizzling the oil straight on top might work for the seasoned palate, but not for my virgin taste buds. So…that was my big tweak. Oh, and that I also used dried herbs instead of fresh! Sometimes you really CAN make do with what you have on hand…now if I was cooking for special guests…by all means, I’d go out and buy fresh! If you decide to try this recipe…ENJOY!