Free Man With a Pan by John Donahue

reduces and starts to break down.
    Add another cup of milk and repeat. This can be repeated once, twice, or even three times. The meat should cook for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the cut. An ideal internal temperature is 145°F to 150°F.
    The milk will reduce and become a rich, brown gravy.
    Remove the meat and let it rest 10 minutes, then slice.
    Skim some fat from the gravy, add ½ cup water, boil for about 3 minutes, then serve with the sliced pork.
    Anthony Bourdain’s recipe adds diced carrot, onion, garlic, leek, a bouquet garni. He also suggests straining the gravy and pureeing it before serving. I’ve tried it and it is great, but nothing beats the simplicity of Hazan’s recipe.
    Double-Crispy Roast Chicken
    I can’t narrow down where I got the idea for flipping the chicken. There are so many different variations. Some recommend starting it on its side and flipping it three times, a quarter turn each time; some say to start breast side up; some say keep it upside down the whole time. I’ve found that, for my oven at least, starting it upside down and flipping it breast side up works best. As for how long to cook it, this is what I’ve found works best in my oven (a small convection one). There is no end to recommendations about how to cook the perfect bird. Just find out what works best for your oven.
    ½ stick butter
Salt and pepper Herbes de Provence
1 3- to 4-pound chicken
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup water
Milk or half-and-half (optional)
    Preheat the oven to 425°F.
    Melt the butter, pour it into a bowl, and combine it with salt, pepper, and herbs.
    Using your fingers, slather the mixture all over the chicken and under the skin.
    Loosely stuff some of the onion and celery inside the cavity.
    In a roasting pan, place the rest of the celery and onion and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
    Put the chicken on a roasting rack, breast side down. Make sure the rack keeps the chicken above the water and allows heat to get all around the chicken.
    Roast the chicken until the skin on top begins to brown and crisp, about 45 minutes.
    Remove the pan and flip the bird (the chicken shouldn’t stick much because of the butter on the skin, but if you like, wipe some oil onto the rack before putting the chicken on it). Return the chicken to the oven and cook until the skin is nicely browned and crisped all around and the internal temperature of the thigh is 165°F, about 1 hour.
    Carefully upend the chicken so that any juice that has collected in the cavity drains into the roasting pan.
    Lift the chicken and place it on a cutting board. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then cut up and serve.
    To make the gravy, remove and set aside as much of the celery and onion as you can.
    Spoon off most of the fat.
    Place the roasting pan on a stove top over low heat.
    Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of flour and stir to blend the flour and fat.
    Press out any lumps of flour with a spoon, or mix with a whisk.
    Add 1 cup water to deglaze, stirring and scraping up all the remaining browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
    For added richness, you can add a bit of milk or even half-and-half to the gravy.
    Note: Herbes de Provence is a classic mixture of dried herbs from the south of France. It is readily available in the spice aisle of large supermarkets.
    When coating the bird with the herb-butter mixture, for complete coverage there’s no substitute for fingers. This is a bit of a messy process, but it ensures that the butter and seasoning get all over the chicken.
    Also, a bunch of sliced potatoes placed beneath the chicken makes for a greasy yet popular side dish with the chicken. But it makes it impossible to make gravy from the drippings.
    After serving the chicken, there is inevitably a lot of meat left on the carcass. Use your fingers to strip it off and make chicken salad. What’s left of the carcass can be frozen to make stock at a later date.

PAUL GREENBERG
    Heads Up!
    Paul