Getting hungry if you see this tray ? Then you cooked it well.

Red Wine Roast Chicken.

Sometimes you can’t quite finish a whole bottle of wine.
That’s when this marinade comes in handy. A loitering leftover glass of
red wine can make the perfect marinade.
If leftover wine is a rare occurrence in your household, donate a glass
from your favorite bottle of red and enjoy a spectacular dish to
accompany the remainder of the bottle.

Ingredients:

⅔ cup red wine,
6 tablespoons/100 g tomato paste,
3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked,
3 sprigs marjoram, leaves picked, or ½ tsp,
½ cup red wine vinegar,(you can use Balsamico if you want
a darker and sweeter coating),
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces (about 3½ lb/1.5 kg),
(Uruguay chicken are average 2,5 kg, so add equal amount
of all ingredients),
Salt and freshly ground black pepper,
18 oz/500 g baby potatoes, washed,leave the skin on,
3 medium size white onions, quartered,
6 medium size carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise,
½ cup water.

Around 1870, Tannat roots were brought by Basque emigrants to Uruguay,  here they found
very good soil and related growing areas, to spread out. In Uruguay it is also called Harriague
after the founder of Tannat cultivation, the Basque/France emigrant Don Pascual Harriague.

How to do:

Mix together the wine, tomato paste, thyme, marjoram, and vinegar.
Season the chicken with plenty of salt and pepper, then place it in a sealed
bag with the wine mixture.
Shake the bag to make sure each piece is well coated.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, better overnight. Shake bag several times.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold water, cover, and bring to a boil.
Boil for 1 to 2 minutes, then drain in a colander.
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Arrange the onions, carrots, and cooked potatoes
in a large baking dish or tray and pour in the water.

Arrange the chicken pieces, skin-side up, in a layer on top of the vegetables
in the dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover loose with a sheet of foil
and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and baste the chicken with the
cooking liquid. You don’t want to much liquid in the tray, but if liquid
evaporates to quick, fill up with 50:50 wine and water.
Roast, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, or until the skin is crisp.
Serve immediately.

Tips:

Buying a whole chicken will always be more affordable.
With 8 or 10 pieces this recipe serves easy 4 persons. Because we are two only,
I leave the whole breasts out and freeze them for another serving.
If you aren’t up for jointing it yourself, ask your butcher to do it for you.
If you do it yourself, its easy, then see down here how to do it.
The veg and chicken can be prepared up to 1 day in advance, then simply pop it
all in the baking dish and heat it up (slowly) again. Don’t use a microwave,
that makes the veggies mushy and the chicken sissy – won’t taste crisp anymore.
Serve with the same good wine as you used for cooking.

Jointing a whole chicken:

It’s an easy process. Use a sharp meat knife or poultry shears. To cut a bird
into 6 pieces, remove the leg by cutting around the end of the thigh joint.
Twist the leg sharply outwards to break the joint, then cut through the joint.

Turn the bird and do the same on the other side. Remove the wings by bending
them outwards and snipping around the joints.
Cut up one side of the body and open it out flat. Cut the body in two pieces.
Cut down the center of the breast.

To make 8 portions, seperate the thigh from the drumstick. To make 10 pieces
cut the breast pieces in half.

Always keep in mind, that the dark meat of legs and thighs takes longer to cook
through then the white meat of the breasts. Enjoy !