Post-Roast Mayhem (AKA The Day After)

So, although I didn't post about it, yesterday was Roast Night. I made a chicken. No, wait; I was going to make a chicken. And you know what? I totally screwed up and forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer the night before. In fact, I forgot about it until about 2:30 in the afternoon, and then I thought I could defrost it in the sink under running water.

I was wrong.

But I'll give you my roast chicken recipe anyway, because it's really easy. Easier than pork shoulder, even. Here's what you do:

Preheat your oven to 450°F.

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over your defrosted chicken carcass, inside and out. I go for about a 5-lb bird.

Stick that sucker in a baking pan, breast up. On a rack if you have one. Don't put anything in it, and don't bother tying the legs. I mean, you can, but nobody's going to care, they're just going to stuff it in they moufs. Plus, not tying the legs = more crispytastic salty skin area. When I make this I almost never even eat any of the meat because my kids all think the skin is gross, so I eat all the skin off while I'm carving it and then I'm full. True story.

Roast it for one hour. Pull it out, let it cool while you prepare the vegetable dish (which if you are anything like me you probably forgot to start earlier), and then carve and serve it. I serve mine most often with rice and steamed broccoli, and then the drippings go right on the rice with a bit of butter and salt.  If your chicken is larger than 5 lbs, add 10 minutes of roasting time per lb.

But my story yesterday ended in me going to the store and buying a pre-roasted chicken, on sale for $5. I was actually going to buy an uncooked one but they didn't have any uncooked ones because they had roasted them all for this sale, I guess. I don't like the pre-cooked ones as much as roasting my own because at that particular store they are doused in an obscene and ridiculous amount of paprika, but they are generally about the same price. I bought it anyway and the kids liked it just fine, and then the remnants (including the bones off our plates) went into a stew pot today. Here's what that goes like:

The morning after Roast Night, pull all the meat off the bones and refrigerate it. Put the remaining carcass in a pot with a couple of quarts of water and a pinch of (wait for it) Herbes de Provence. Simmer until about 5:00pm, then strain, discard bones and carcass slurry, and add 1/2 chopped onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 chopped carrot, 1 stalk of chopped celery, a bit of black pepper, and salt to taste. Now is when you decide whether you want potatoes, barley, or noodles: if you want potatoes or barley, add one large diced potato or 1/2 cup pearl barley now. If you want noodles, wait. Simmer for one hour.

After an hour, chop and add the leftover meat you put in the fridge earlier, and 1 cup noodles of your choice if desired (we're fond of spirals). Simmer for ten more minutes and serve.