Well it's been a while. I know! That crazy Christmas time lead up has turned into me losing almost all of January somewhere. I'm not sure that I'll be able to find it now so probably best to just move on. I have however, been adding a few bits and pieces to the Facebook Page in the hope of keeping you all inspired and cooking. Remember to "like" the page so that you can keep up with all the little extra tips and tricks. So, as a dedicated Combi-Steamer, I am often asked about roasting. Usually it's followed up by one of these thoughts....

"but you can't get browning in a Steam oven, can you?" "surely a Combi-Steam doesn't do pork crackle?" "won't my chicken skin get all soggy?" "but doesn't the steam make everything all wet?"

It's funny because of course, steam on it's own won't give you browning or pork crackle, and will make the everything, including chicken skin, moist and soggy (maybe not wet!) BUT...

When we combine that same Steam with some fan forced/convection heat (in your Combi-Steam that's any usually called Hot Air or Convection) you will get browning and nothing will come out wet or soggy. If you have variable Steam you will also need to be careful about how much steam you add. When you want browning and crunch on the outside you won’t need much so keep it low to medium just to make sure the food stays moist on the inside. If you are a V-ZUG or Wolf owner you can find my little "cheat sheet" on the Basics on Hot Air+Steaming here.

Hot Air+Steaming or Combination Steam/Steam Convection is THE go to function for cooking ANY food where you want a lovely balance between browning, crispiness and moisture. It is the perfect option for roasting lean meats, especially poultry, baking whole fish, oven cooking fish fillets of any kind, baking chicken breasts (stuffed or plain) and even "grilling" foods like sausages, crumbed cutlets and meatballs. The Steam will keep the inside moist, and the quicker and more intense you want the browning and cooking to happen the higher you go with the temperature.

This slow roasted chicken is a little bit of a different cooking method to your standard chicken roast which is usually cooked at around 180°C for an hour or so. Check out another option here. This one is cooked for almost 2 ½ hours at the low temperature of 140°C. It makes it extra tender, super juicy and the meat will almost fall off the bones when you come to serving. Adding potatoes make a great side and I like to serve it with a nice crispy green salad (think lettuce leaves, cucumber, avocado, snow peas and radish), dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, which helps turn this into more of a Spring/Summer style dish.

Slow Roasted Lemon, Thyme & Garlic Chicken
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 good sized free range chicken
2 lemons (1 zested)
6 medium floury style potatoes (peeled and quartered lengthways) - optional
6 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves picked) or 1 tbs dried thyme 
½ tsp mild paprika
1 head of Aussie garlic (halve the whole head across the centre with a sharp knife)
1 large carrot - halved lengthways and chopped into 4 pieces
2 sticks celery
olive oil
S&P

Method:

1. Unwrap the chicken from the packaging and rinse under the cold tap, especially filling the cavity and draining until the water runs out clear. Pat the chicken skin dry with clean paper towell.*

2. Line a small roasting dish or oven proof dish with some baking paper. Add the carrot pieces and celery on the bottom. Sit the chicken in the dish breast side up.

3. Combine the lemon zest, thyme, paprika, a big pinch of S&P and around 2 tbs olive oil in a little dish. Use clean hands (or wear disposable gloves) to rub the mixture all over the chicken both on top and underneath and getting into all the cracks and crevices.

4. Take the un-zested lemon and put a few pricks into it with the tip of a sharp knife. Place it into the cavity of the chicken pressing it in as far as you can. If your lemon is large you may need to cut it in half lengthways.

5. Quarter the remaining lemon piece and throw them into the baking dish along with the garlic.

6. Place the dish onto the rack in the lower part of your Combi Steam.

7. If making the potatoes, line a baking tray with baking paper and add the potatoes on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with a good amount of salt and pepper. Slide the tray into the top or second top level of your Combi Steam.

8. Select Hot Air+Steaming/Combination Steam. Set the temp to 140°C. Set the cooking duration to 2 ½ hours.

9. Set a reminder or bell timer for 30 minutes.

10. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the potatoes (if cooking) from the oven, cover loosely with a clean tea towel and set aside.*

11. Set a reminder or bell timer for 1 ½ hours. Leave the chicken to continue to cook slowly. After the 1 ½ hours, return the potatoes (if cooking) to the oven.

12. Turn the temperature up to 190°C. This will give a little extra browning to the chicken and finish cooking the potatoes.

13. Remove the chicken at the end of the cooking time and set aside to rest. Turn the oven off but leave the potatoes inside to stay warm.

14. Serve the chicken with the potatoes and salad if desired.

*Hygiene is important when working with raw chicken. Bet sure to keep hands clean and to wipe down any taps etc that you may touch while working with the raw chicken to stop any possibility of cross contamination.

*Removing the potatoes here means that they have been partially steamed using the Steam as the oven heated up. Then you simply return them later at a higher temperature to achieve the browning and crisping whilst retaining their moist inside.

I hope you like this one. Remember you can also cook a regular old roast chicken with all your roast veggies using Hot Air+Steaming/Combination Steam at 180-200°C. This is just a longer method at a lower temp which give you added tenderness and juiciness.

Happy Combi Steaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x