Rummaging around the Interwebs I got it in my mind to do something with chicken. I saw this sous vide chicken breast and it went straight to the top of my to-cook list. It was the colour of the finished chicken against the carrot purée that won me over. Also, the technique required to make this chicken roulade made it a must try. I mean, look at those pics…

In fairness I did both dishes twice, albeit a few weeks apart. I mean, it’s good to do a dish a few times, right? Practice! Practice! But honestly I felt the first chickens didn’t live up to the billboard. They tasted great but just didn’t look that good. Ignoring the potential use of Photoshop by Chef Steps I figured I would do better second time around.

You gotta love chicken! There was a time when it was the only meat I’d eat. Just ask my Mum. Come Sunday my Mum would serve roasted lamb or beef and I’d have a whole chicken to myself. That’s love! It’s not that I didn’t like other meat. Oh no sir! I just liked chicken more. I still have a soft spot for chicken to this day, but it seems I rarely order a chicken dish at a restaurant. Exceptions would be the Hendl served at the Oktoberfest—a salty siren rotisserie chicken, and an absolute favourite of my buddy Jeff. Salt, juicy chicken, and beer—it’s enough to make one have a sexual episode all to one’s self. No assistance required! And then of course there’s a chicken curry. A universal dish with a universe of spicy flavours. Yum.

Chicken is such a versatile meat and drop-dead delicious when treated right so I don’t know why I generally steer away from it at restaurants. Maybe it’s just not enough of a treat? That’s definitely the wrong mindset. Note to self—don’t be a dick; order chick.

Anyway.

I got my mitts on some Packington chicken breasts. At Le Cordon Bleu we only used corn-fed chickens but I’m not convinced they’re the only chicken to use. Sure, they’re tasty but so are other free-range chickens. I really care about animal welfare so I only buy free-range. Did you see the TV programmes by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver about battery chicken farms? Please watch them.

The first dish was the chicken breast with carrot purée and a crunchy apple and fennel salad with walnuts and honey. Except I didn’t have any fennel or walnuts so I used rocket and almonds instead. Not exactly the same, I know, but they were ok with the apple. The salad was dressed in an apple cider vinegar and honey vinaigrette.The carrot purée is to die for. And easy to make. Carrots were peeled, sliced and steamed in a little water, butter and salt. I added some toasted cumin seeds for an earthy, smoky kick. When super soft, the whole lot was blended until silky smooth then boosted with lemon juice. The acidity balanced the natural sweetness of the carrots and butter, and brought the purée to life with a vibrant yellow-orange colour.

The sous vide chicken was amazing! The breast meat was brined in whey for a few hours beforehand, being careful to keep the skins above the liquid. Best to keep the skin as dry as possible for crisping up later. The whey was something I had from an earlier ricotta-making sesh. The chicken breasts were patted dry, vac-packed with a little butter and salt, and cooked in a water bath for 55 minutes at 65C. When they came out they were patted dry again then seared on just the skin side in a little olive oil. WOW! So tender and so juicy. The skin was just about crispy but it certainly didn’t have that luscious golden yellow finish in the Chef Steps photo. Sob. Grrr! Was my pan too hot? I don’t think so. Curious. I looked at their photos again, it turns out their chicken breast was skinless. Aha!! That makes things easier.

Sous vide chicken breast with crispy skin, carrot purée, and an apple and rocket salad

Second attempt—skinless chicken breast, baby! I didn’t brine and the meat didn’t seem any less tender. The pan-fried finish on the chicken was much closer to the desired look and feel. Huzzah. Purée stayed the same; maybe a squidge more lemon juice. The salad this time was pea shoots with turned baby turnips and walnuts; same dressing. I also served some wilted wild garlic. This dish tasted great and it looked pretty good too. The colours are so alive. I love it. I couldn’t resist garnishing with a few edible Pansy flowers for a striking contrast. I’m a happy bunny.

Sous vide skinless chicken breast, carrot purée, wilted wild garlic, and a salad of apple, pea shoots and walnuts

Next, the roulade. This is one sexy rolled-up chicken. And fun to make.

The Chef Steps recipe makes the roulade with 2 chicken breasts and the skin from a whole chicken. I didn’t have a whole chicken so I used 1 breast rolled in the skin taken from 2 breasts. But I needed Meat Glue. Yip. For sticking meat together, literally. Whoa! Awesome! Otherwise known as Transglutaminase. Yeah, whatever. Damn! I didn’t have any. And Pritt Stick just wouldn’t do. Not to be defeated, hello Interwebs. Alas, apparently there is no substitute. Woe is me. But then in a buried comment on an old article I find a suggestion to use powdered gelatine. Worth a try.

The skin was gently lifted away from the breast meat. The tenderloin running along the back of the breast was then cut away from the fillet. Any silverskin and fat was trimmed away. I scraped the fat from the chicken skin being careful not to make any holes, then used a cloth to rub off any remaining sinew. The skin needed to be thin and smooth.

Now comes the Blue Peter bit.

Chicken roulade wrapped in cling film, ready for vac-packing

Cling film was laid out across the work surface. The first piece of chicken skin was stretched out on top, external side down followed with a light sprinkling of gelatine powder. The second skin was stretched out, overlapping the first to create as large a single piece as possible. Gelatine over the second skin. Fillet on top of the skin, back-side facing up, and at the skin edge closest to me. Gelatine over the fillet. The tenderloin was placed on top of the fillet top-to-tail so to speak, or tête-bêche, so that the fattest end of the tenderloin went with the thinnest end of the fillet. A final dusting of gelatine then roll in the cling film—tight! So far so good. Vac-pack then into the fridge to firm up.

The roulade was later cooked in a water bath for 55 minutes at 65C. When it came out, it was unwrapped from the cling film, patted dry, then deep fried at 193C for a few minutes until the skin was golden and crispy. This is where it all went a bit Pete Tong. Life started to unravel. Well, the roulade did. I can be so dramatic. Ping! Pop! Poof! The noise of skin blowing out in the hot oil. Impending doom! Violent bubbles forming in the skin caused some of the gelatine glue to become unstuck. Doh! Tongues plunged into the hot oil and recovered the roulade before the skin could detach completely and before it had a chance to fully crisp up and take on a nice golden colour. I wonder if the gelatine would’ve held if I’d have pricked the skin first? It just might.

Slices of the roulade were served with a parsnip rösti and a dollop of crème fraîche, burnt shallot, spring greens and crispy parsnip shards. Although the skin wrapping the roulade didn’t look its finest everything tasted really good. It needed a sauce.

Chicken roulade with parsnip rösti and crème fraîche, burnt shallot, spring greens and crispy parsnip shards

Armed with a newly acquired pot of Meat Glue I was ready to rumble with the roulade for a second time. And this time I paid particular attention to thwarting skin blowouts.

Again I used a single chicken breast and glued it together as before.

The roulade was rolled 4 times in cling film. A cocktail stick punctured the wrap and the skin 6 times along the length to remove air pockets that can cause blowouts during frying. 2 more tight rolls. 6 more holes, this time down to the core of the chicken. Finally, with the cling film pulled taut, 3 more rolled. I wasn’t taking any chances. Twist and tie. Vac-pack. Sous vide.

Success. No blowouts. A perfect cylinder. As Goldmember would say, “toight, like a tiger.” The skin was thin and crispy and golden and clung to the juicy breast meat like a barnacle to the hull of a boat.

I served the slices of roulade a creamy smooth with parsnip purée and a Madeira jus. Token greens was tender stem broccoli cooked l’étuvée in a little water and butter.

Now isn’t that a pretty picture? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Tale of two chickens