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Here's 'Best Part': Entire Chicken Covered In Plum Sauce

Photo by JADEN HAIR

Roasted chicken with sweet plum sauce

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By JADEN HAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 26, 2008

Updated: 03/26/2008 01:31 am

Part of being a good parent is teaching your kids how to eat well. You know, the whole balanced meal and limiting junk thing.

Yes, I know my responsibilities well. But seriously, most kids these days register only three taste sensations: sweet, salty and gross. As a lover of all things delicious, the concept of "eating well" is just not enough. I want my kids to experience the goofy giddiness that follows a spoonful of the most decadent, smooth, rich chocolate pudding. I want them to twirl with delight as they pop a sugar snap pea open and discover bright green jewels inside.

Oh, but it doesn't end there.

Ever since Andrew and Nathan passed the smushed food stage, I began teaching them the concept of the "best part" of a dish. It is said that in ancient China, when kidnapping children was common, the kidnappers could tell whether a kid was royalty or not just by presenting a steamed whole fish. If the kid went straight for the "best part," or the cheeks, then bingo! He was the real deal.

OK, it's not that I think my tots are royalty or anything, but if we were invited to Oprah's house and my kids went straight for the fish eyeballs just to see how far they can catapult them, I'd be mortified.

Instead, I've taught them to savor the tender, fatty collar of a ribeye steak; the baby heart of a romaine; the crisp-chewy-but-not-burnt edge of a brownie; the crunchy, browned rice at the bottom of the pot; and the pillowy mound of bread at the center of the loaf.

However, all of this has backfired on me. Previously, all 20 glorious square inches of the golden, crispy skin of a perfectly roasted chicken was mine, all mine. Now, I have to split it with them. Let's do the math. Twenty square inches divided by three, minus two begging for more of Mommy's share, equals SO NOT FAIR.

I'm sure you see my dilemma now. Teaching the kids about the love of food means I get less of the good stuff. But pretending to the kids that oh-my-goodness - that-overcooked-liver-is-delicious, while I sneak the juicy nugget of chicken meat right above the thigh, is not quite the right thing to do.

I have no answer, my friends, but just to roast the biggest, baddest chicken with maximum surface area and smother it with a sweet, sticky sweet plum sauce so that the entire bird becomes the "best part."

Sweet plum sauce is found in the Asian section of your supermarket. It's the same sweet, slightly tart, jamlike sauce that some Chinese restaurants give you to dip your fried egg rolls in. The sauce is wonderful paired with pork chops, seared duck breast or a simple grilled fish. You can roast any size bird if you increase your roasting time for larger birds.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH SWEET PLUM SAUCE

4-pound whole chicken

3 tablespoons butter, softened

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup sweet plum sauce, divided

1 head of garlic, halved

1 lemon, quartered

Kitchen twine

Rinse chicken and cut away extra fat. Pat dry with paper towels inside and out. Place in shallow baking dish, and rub softened butter all over chicken, tucking just a bit under the skin of breast. Season generously with salt and pepper outside and inside cavity. Stuff with garlic and lemon. Tie legs of the chicken together, slather 1/4 cup sweet plum sauce all over chicken. Set breast side down. Let sit 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roast chicken for 20 minutes. Turn breast side up, lower temperature to 375 degrees, and return to oven. Continue to roast another 60 to 70 minutes, brushing with additional sweet plum sauce toward the end. You may have to loosely tent with aluminum foil if skin is approaching maximum crispiness (i.e., don't burn the skin). Chicken is done when juices run clear as knife tip is inserted into chicken thigh. Thickest part of thigh without touching bone should register 170 degrees. Let chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.

Serve with a side of 1/4 cup sweet plum sauce for dipping.

Serves 4.

Jaden Hair is a cooking instructor and author of the blog Jaden's Steamy Kitchen at steamykitchen.com.

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