Gochujang Pulled Chicken, Smashed Roasties, Pickled Shallots And Chili Crisp
I almost don’t want to admit this – but I have never been a roast chicken fan. I feel like everyone is supposed to be instantly transported back to the happiest times of their childhood by the mere scent of a Sunday roast, but it just doesn’t speak to me.
But a rotisserie chicken – that’s different. I love rotisserie chicken – such tender, juicy, melt in the mouth buttery goodness. And don’t get me started on that crispy salty skin!
Turns out, when you roast a chicken very low and very slow, you can basically make a rotisserie chicken at home. Okay yes, you need an afternoon when you know you will be at at home, but it doesn’t require much work or fussing. All you need to do is baste periodically. I love making it this way because the meat falls off the bone when you carve it, giving you something not dissimilar in texture to pulled pork.
The pickled shallots and chili crisp can be made the day before. The recipes here will probably yield more than you will serve but these are both handy things to have in your fridge – the chili crisp is amazing on eggs or avocado on toast, and the pickled shallots are a nice addition to salads and sandwiches.
I always like to see some green on my plate at dinner. Here I’ve used steamed green beans but you can use whatever veg appeals to you. Tenderstem broccoli would be delicious – just coat lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper and throw in with the smashed roasties before their final blast in the oven.
Smashed Roasties are my favourite kind of potatoes. You steam baby new potatoes, then smash them flat to maximise surface area, coat in oil (in this case schmaltzy chicken drippings) then blast at a very high temp so they become crispy and golden.
Credit goes to : Molly Baz, from whom I originally got the idea for gochujang chicken.
I adapted the chili crisp from the fabulous Marion Gadsby. Her version looked too spicy for me so I changed it slightly.
Ingredients
Chicken :
1 chicken
10g fine sea salt
2 tbsp gochujang
4 cloves garlic
2 inch piece ginger
Pickled Shallots :
5 banana shallots
125ml apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
Chili Oil :
25g Korean Chili Flakes
75g crispy shallots (shop bought)
1 star anise
2 pods green cardamom
5g ginger, finely chopped
15g caster sugar
10g fine sea salt
10 cloves garlic
275ml sunflower oil
To Serve :
500g baby new potatoes
200g green beans, or other green veg of your choice
fresh coriander
Directions
Start with the chicken. Mince the garlic and ginger, then mix with the gochujang and salt. (Or you could blitz everything in a food processor or pestle and mortar).
Cover the entire chicken with the marinade and leave out to come to room temperature. This takes about two hours.
Tip : I leave it in the oven when it’s off to avoid having a raw chicken out on my counter top.
Turn on the oven to 110°C. Baste the chicken once after 45 minutes, then again at 90 minutes. The longer it cooks the more juice it releases, so once it starts to get juicy increase the frequency and baste every 25 minutes until cooked.
You’ll know it’s done when a meat thermometer reads over 75°C, or when the leg wiggles easily and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
While the chicken is cooking make the other elements – pickled shallots, chili oil, smashed roasties and green beans.
Pickled shallots. Finely slice the shallots into rounds and place in a small bowl. Place the vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the sugar and once the granules have dissolved pour the hot liquid over the shallots. Cover and set aside.
Chili oil. Grind the cardamom and add to a medium bowl with the crispy shallots, Korean chili flakes and star anise. Finely slice the garlic into baby matchsticks, mince the ginger and place in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan with the cold sunflower oil. Place over a medium heat and slowly bring to a simmer. Watch carefully as the garlic and ginger can burn. When they have turned golden brown but are not fully fried to your liking remove from the heat and allow to sizzle for a minute or two in the residual heat. Pour over the bowl of shallots and other ingredients and set aside to infuse.
Smashed Roasties. Place the baby new potatoes in a steamer basket and cook until you can easily pierce through to the centre with a knife. This usually takes about 15 minutes.
Remove and place on a tray to cool.
When you are ready to serve place them on a tray and flatten them using either a metal spatula or the back of a fork. Coat with some of the chicken fat and place in the oven at 240°C for 10 – 12 minutes. (If you have an air fryer you can fry them).
Green beans. Place in a steamer basket over simmering water, cover and steam for about 5 minutes, or until they are cooked to your liking.
To serve, place a few smashed roasties on a plate, layer with pieces of pulled chicken, scatter over some green beans and pickled shallots and drizzle over some crispy chili oil and scatter over some fresh coriander.