ROAST CHICKEN WITH TARRAGON

      Title: ROAST CHICKEN WITH TARRAGON
  Categories: Harned 1994, Herb/spice, Main dish, Poultry
       Yield: 4 Servings
  
       1    3 to 4 lb. chicken
            -- with giblets
            Salt & freshly ground pepper
       6 oz Day-old French bread*
       1    Garlic clove; peeled
       4    Sprigs fresh tarragon
       1 c  Fresh tarragon leaves
       2 tb Unsalted butter
       2 tb Olive oil
  
   *Cut in 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/2" pieces.
   
   Rinse chicken well inside and out until the water runs clear. Pat it
   thoroughly dry.  Remove as much of the fat from the tail and neck
   area as possible. Sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper.
   
   Rub the bread on all sides with garlic, and place two of these
   croutons, with the tarragon sprigs, inside the chicken.
   
   Carefully separate the skin from the breast meat of the chicken by
   running your fingers between the skin and the meat. Rub the meat with
   salt and pepper, and place 1/2 cup of the tarragon leaves under the
   skin, spreading them out so they cover the entire breast.
   
   Heat the butter and olive oil in a roasting pan over medium-high
   heat. Add the chicken, and brown it well on all sides, about 8
   minutes. Set the chicken breast side up, transfer the pan to the
   oven, and roast for
        30    minutes at 400 F.
   
   Add the remaining croutons, the neck and the giblets to the pan, and
   continue roasting chicken until it is evenly golden all over and the
   juices run clear, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the croutons occasionally so
   they brown evenly.  Remove the chicken, croutons and giblets from the
   roasting pan and transfer them to a platter. Cover loosely with foil
   and keep warm in a low (200 F.) oven.
   
   Place the roasting pan, with the cooking juices in it, over
   medium-high heat.  When the juices are hot and bubbling, scrape the
   browned bits from the bottom of the pan, add the remaining 1/2 cup
   tarragon leaves and cook just until they are wilted, about 1 minute.
   (You need just enough cooking juices to wilt the tarragon. If there
   is no juice at all - which can happen - add 1/4 cup dry white wine to
   the roasting pan, bring it to a simmer, and deglaze the pan.  Add the
   tarragon and cook until wilted.) Taste for seasoning.
   
   To serve, cut the chicken into serving pieces and arrange them, with
   the croutons and giblets, on a warmed serving platter. Pour the sauce
   over the chicken and serve immediately.
   
   A rich, perfumed Fleurie, such as a Georges Duboeuf 1988 or 1989 goes
   well with this.
   
   From _Farm House Cookbook_ by Susan Herrmann Loomis. New York: Workman
   Publishing Company, Inc., 1991.  Pp. 141-142. ISBN 0-89480-772-2.
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