This take on the Standard Grill’s famous “Million Dollar
Chicken,” showed me once again that so many of life’s great culinary pleasures
happen when you least expect them. I saw this recipe featured on TV recently,
and chose to try it for two main reasons: one, it’s slathered in crème fraiche;
and two, it’s roasted over caramelized, chicken drippings-soaked bread.
was the bread that I was really looking forward to when I pulled this out of
the oven, which is why I was so bummed when I thought I’d ruined it. Since I
got greedy and used an extra slice of bread, and also used a larger roasting
pan, the bread cooked to what would generously be referred to as
“golden-black.”
Several times during the glazing at the end, I contemplated
tossing them out and simply making a joke about it during the narration, but
I’m SO glad I didn’t. I can’t explain why, but not only didn’t it taste like burnt
toast, it truly tasted fantastic. For purely aesthetic reasons, I’ll
encourage you to use a smaller roasting pan, which will better insulate the
edges of the bread, but I wasn’t exaggerating when I described just how great
it really was. I promised to stop using the word “unctuous,” but it actually
seems appropriate here.
and crème fraiche, that the bitterness from the darkest parts of the bread
seemed to balance the richness somehow. The point is, if mine was good this
dark, one shade lighter should get you even closer to million dollar chicken
nirvana. I hope you give this “rich” combo a try soon. Enjoy!
3 cloves garlic (original recipe calls for adding a few cloves of garlic in the cavity with the herbs and lemon – I didn’t, since I had included garlic in the last twelve things I’d eaten, and was taking a break, but feel free to add!)
10 minutes, and repeat until chicken is done. (Note: If you use a different
size chicken, you’ll obviously need to adjust your times. Cook until internal
temp in thickest part of thigh is 165 degrees F.)
– The original recipe from the Standard Grill in NYC calls for finishing with Maldon sea salt. I didn’t, but that always a nice option.
This recipe has already been read 696 times!