Salt-Smothered Chicken
Submitted by jaewills
Salt-smothered chicken buried in a bed of red-hot rock salt with ginger, tangerine peel, and Szechuan peppercorn marinade sealed in the cavity. An ancient Cantonese technique that steams the bird to silken tenderness.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
2 hrsSalt-smothered chicken is an old Cantonese technique called yim guk gai that predates modern ovens. A whole bird gets buried in a bed of red-hot rock salt in a covered casserole, where the salt acts like a stone oven, transferring dry radiant heat to cook the chicken through without drying it out.
The aromatic marinade is what separates this from plain salt-baked chicken. Ginger, scallion, cilantro, dried tangerine peel, Szechuan peppercorn, and a splash of Cointreau or orange wine fill the cavity, and the neck and cavity get sewn shut so nothing leaks while the bird cooks.
Heating the rock salt on high for a full 30 minutes until the crystals glow red-hot is the most critical step. Cold salt won’t cook the bird through; red-hot salt maintains the heat needed for a 45 to 60 minute bake without any oven involvement.
Breast-side-down is the position that keeps white meat juicy. Gravity pulls the juices into the breast during cooking instead of draining out.
The leftover marinade from the cavity becomes the finishing sauce. Thickened with a cornstarch slurry and spooned over the chopped bird, it carries all that ginger-citrus aromatic straight onto the meat.
Chef Tips
- Use a heavy enameled cast iron casserole, like a Dutch oven. Thin pots scorch and warp under the dry-salt heat.
- Dry the bird thoroughly. The 1 to 2 hour hang step really matters for skin to firm up and color properly.
- Don’t reuse the salt for eating. The surface crystals absorb meat juices and go brown and bitter, but the bulk underneath can be saved for future salt-baking.
- Sew or tie the cavity tightly. Leaking marinade dilutes the salt bed and messes up the cooking temperature.
Variations
- Use a Cornish game hen instead for a single-serving version, reducing salt-bake time to 25 to 30 minutes.
- Add star anise and a cinnamon stick to the cavity marinade for a five-spice lean.
- Serve the carved chicken with a scallion-ginger dipping oil on the side instead of the thickened pan sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
BEFORE COOKING: Wash bird and blot dry with paper towels. Hang for 1 to 2 hours in a cool, dry place.
Combine the ginger root, scallion, parsley, dried tangerine peel, salt, pepper, orange wine and water in the bowl. Tie or sew the bird’s neck opening.
Pour the marinade into the body cavity. Sew cavity shut to prevent marinade from leaking.
Combine cornstarch and stock or water. Have rock salt ready to go.
COOKING: Put the rock salt in the casserole.
Turn heat to high and stir salt crystals until they become red-hot, about 30 minutes.
Scoop out enough salt to make a well in which you can place the chicken, leaving a bed of salt about 2 inches thick.
Place the filled bird breast-side-down in the salt and pack it all around with the scooped-out salt.
Cover casserole and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes.
Remover bird and cut away threads. Pour marinade from the cavity into a strainer over the pint saucepan. Chop chicken into Chinese-style serving pieces and arrange on a platter.
Heat the marinade over medium heat until boiling. Give the cornstarch-stock mixture a quick stir to dissolve any lumps; add to marinade.
Stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes clear. Pour over bird. Decorate with sprigs of Chinese parsley and serve.
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