The Balthazar Cookbook  A Treasure Trove Of Classic French Recipes

 

By Kerry Shelby

 

Balthazar is one of my favorite restaurants in New York, even after all these years. It is packed and loud all day long, reminiscent of the French bistros that inspired it. Dishes come out of the bustling kitchen with a flourish, like tall seafood towers, pots of short ribs and sizzling cotes de boeuf.

The Balthazar cookbook is just as impressive. It has become an invaluable resource in my kitchen library. I assure you that everything, every single thing, I have cooked from it is incredible. Some are amazingly simple, like mustard-coated roast salmon over lentils. A few require sauces that must be made in advance, but, oh, the resulting flavors are definitely worth the extra effort.

Their roast chicken jus is a particular favorite of mine. Browning chicken wings in butter and then slow braising produces a rich stock that has a particularly deep and savory flavor. It adds heft to savory sauces and dishes such as lentils or soups. The hardest part about this preparation is making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan when browning the chicken parts. If they are too crowded, the chicken steams instead of browning. The browning gives the jus its rich taste. Rather than cooking multiple batches, which could result in a burnt crust on the bottom of the pan, use two separate pans to brown the chicken and incorporate the two for the final braise.

An interesting variation is to squeeze in about 6 cloves of molten, just- roasted garlic as the chicken simmers. This version is excellent drizzled over roasted salmon.

Get this book! I’m telling you, you’ll never regret it!

Balthazar’s Roast Chicken Jus

Using sturdy poultry shears, cut up about 3 pounds of chicken wings into 2 inch pieces. Place two large dutch ovens over burners to provide plenty of room to accommodate the wings without overcrowding. To each pot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and half the wing pieces. Brown the wing pieces, turning occasionally, until they are starting to color all over.

Add 2 tablespoons of butter to each pot and cook until the chicken pieces are a deep, rich brown color, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and divide a roughly chopped onion, 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves and 4 sprigs of thyme between the pots. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to brown.

Add ½ cup water to each pot. Cook down over high heat until the pots are almost dry, then repeat. Add 3 cups of water to each pot, bring to a boil and, with confidence, dump all the contents of one pot into the other (careful here!). Cook over medium low heat, uncovered, for about an hour. Strain the jus into a large sauce pan and discard solids. Place the sauce pan over medium low heat and reduce until you have about 2 cups (about 20 minutes. Use right away or store in the refrigerator for a week or two or freeze for up to three months.

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