When people ask me what my favorite roast chicken recipe is, I often say, “The last one I cooked...” and there are probably enough out there to last me a lifetime of cooking. Having said that, my favorite method to roast a chicken is on the grill in a hot, pre-heated cast iron skillet. This recipe is adapted from a French inspired recipe by Melissa Clark and Christiane Baumgartner on the NYTimes Cooking website. Fresh tarragon and cognac… how can you go wrong? Bon appetite!

Roast Tarragon-Cognac Chicken
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
Yield: 4 servings

1 (4-pound) whole chicken (preferably air chilled chicken)
2½ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 bunch fresh tarragon, leaves and tender stems coarsely chopped (about ¾ cup); reserve two tablespoons for gravy or pan sauce.
2 tablespoons Cognac
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Preheat a cast iron skillet on the grill to 400 F.

Pat the chicken dry and salt the bird inside and out. Transfer to a plate or baking dish, preferably on a rack, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour or overnight.
When ready to cook the chicken, heat the oven or grill to 400 F.
In a small bowl, combine butter, tarragon, 1 tablespoon Cognac, and pepper. Rub the mixture inside the chicken cavity and over and under the chicken skin. Alternatively, you may find it easier to melt the butter mixture and brush it on the chicken.
Once the grill reaches 400 F., place the prepared chicken onto the hot skillet and roast, breast side up, until the skin is golden and crisp, and the juices run clear when you insert a fork in the thickest part of the thigh (165 degrees), about 1 hour. Alternatively, preheat your oven to 400 F. Place the chicken on a rimmed sheet pan, or in a large, ovenproof skillet and roast, breast side up, until the skin is golden and crisp, and the juices run clear when you insert a fork in the thickest part of the thigh (165 F. on an insta-read thermometer), about 1 hour.
Turn off the grill or oven — don’t skip this step, or the Cognac may overheat and catch fire — open the grill, or if using the oven, transfer the pan with the chicken to the stove top. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon Cognac over the bird and baste with some of the buttery pan juices. Immediately return the chicken to the turned-off grill or oven and close; let rest there for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
For pan sauce: pour off the juices from the pan and allow the fat to separate. Skim off the fat, stir in a tablespoon of fresh tarragon (to taste), and spoon the pan juices at the table. If you want to make gravy, deglaze the pan with a half cup of white wine. Reduce by a half and add a cup of chicken stock and two tablespoons of chopped fresh tarragon; reduce by half. Using two tablespoons of the fat from the pan, add a tablespoon of flour and stir to make a slurry. Slowly add the slurry to the simmering stock, stirring constantly until well incorporated. Add the reserved pan juices; adjust the salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Wine pairing: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Soave, Rueda, Viognier, Dry Riesling

Adapted from a recipe by Melissa Clark and Christiane Baumgartner

print recipe

In Italy, Saltimbocca (meaning “to jump in the mouth”) consists of thin slices of veal stuffed with prosciutto, sage, and a melted cheese, sometimes accompanied by a wine sauce. This recipe is an interpretation of the traditional dish served in Italy and found here in the United States on menus of many good Italian restaurants. For my purposes, I chose to use butterflied chicken breasts in place of veal; used fontina for the cheese; added spinach, and made a sauce from Marsala wine. The ingredients list is a bit long, but the dish is flavorful and elegant enough to serve to dinner guests and it won’t break the family budget. In place of traditional heavy cream, I opted to make a roux to create a lighter Marsala sauce saving calories and cholesterol for another time. Served over egg noodles or pappardelle, or polenta accompanied by sauteed broccoli or broccolini, or a mixed green salad, it will jump in your mouth. I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Chicken Saltimbocca with Marsala Wine Sauce
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 ¾ cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 handfuls of baby spinach rinsed
1 clove of garlic minced
a pinch of hot pepper flakes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 large sage leaves
2 slices of prosciutto cut crosswise in half
4 thin slices of fontina cheese about 2 x 2 ½ inches
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup of dry Marsala wine

Optional: toasted sage leaves or chopped parsley for garnish.

PREPARATION
Pre-heat your oven to 200 F.

In a saucepan over high heat, bring the chicken broth to a boil and reduce it by half. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat, heat a tablespoon of olive oil, and add the minced garlic and pepper flakes stirring for about a minute. Don’t burn the garlic. Add the baby spinach, lemon juice, and lemon zest and sauté until the spinach has wilted. Remove the spinach mixture from the skillet and set aside. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
Cut across each chicken breast so you have two pieces roughly the same size. Carefully butterfly (slice) each half lengthwise leaving about an inch uncut at one side of each breast piece.
Open the butterflied breast pieces, placing each butterflied half of a breast between two layers of plastic wrap. Gently pound each with a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten each piece to a uniform thickness of about ½ inch thick.
Lay the pounded pieces open and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a tablespoon of cooked spinach, a sage leaf, a piece of prosciutto, and a slice of fontina on each piece and fold over the other half of the butterflied chicken to create a “sandwich”.
Add flour to a flat plate and carefully dredge both sides of the chicken “sandwiches” in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in the skillet over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, then sauté the chicken “sandwiches” until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes on each side), carefully turning over once. At that point, the cheese should be starting to melt and ooze out of the stuffed “sandwiches”. Transfer the cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter or sheet pan and tent placing the platter in a warm oven.
Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the shallot and fresh sage for a minute or two (don’t burn the shallot). Add a tablespoon of butter to melt. Sprinkle two to three teaspoons of flour over the shallots and stir until the flour is well incorporated and just beginning to brown on the bottom of the skillet. (You’re making a roux: more flour = thicker sauce.)

8. Add the chicken broth and wine to the skillet, stirring constantly until you have a smooth sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper to your preference. *Optional: a few drops of lemon juice at the end will brighten the sauce.
9. Carefully return the pieces of chicken to the skillet with the sauce and heat over medium-low heat until you can see the cheese has melted. Serve the chicken with sauce. Garnish with toasted sage. (optional)
10. Serve with sauce over egg noodles, pappardelle, or polenta.

Wine pairing: an un-oaked Chardonnay or Burgundy, Rueda, Vernaccia, Pinot grigio, Viognier, or
dry-Riesling; for red wines, a Barbera, chilled Rosé, Pinot Noir, or Beaujolais would also work.

print recipe

Roast Tarragon-Cognac Chicken →

Chicken Saltimboca with Marsala Wine Sauce →