(What to do with burned chicken)
So, this happened last week. I want to share this post with you as sometimes things go wrong. We all have the occasional “off” days; other times we just plan mess up. That goes for me too, although I am a professional food expert; it is important that you see not everything is perfect. I love sharing with you and part of expertise comes from making mistakes. The key to any “failed” attempt is how you react, and what you do with it. I could have very easily cried over these chickens, tossed up my hands and said dinner was ruined. However, that was not an option in my mind.
Here is what happened, and how keeping calm and being creative saved the meal.
Last week my husband Joey and two uncles were building a shed in the backyard. I figured they would be working all day and I wanted to feed my hungry workers. My grandmother was also in town so I thought it would be fun to have her over as well. I had planned the prefect menu that allowed me time to go and pick her up and still get everything on the table. I had all the sides done and tossed the chickens on the grill. Right before I left they would be done perfectly in 1 hour. Perfectly that is if I set the grill at the correct temperature.
I apparently thought that the setting next to “off” was low, however on our grill it was high. I now know better. I was grilling those chickens at 550 degrees. I was lucky they were not complete charcoal. Thankfully, the boys smelled my grilled chickens and took them off earlier.
I got home to 4 hungry people and 2 burned birds. There was no time to make something else so I had to cope with this. I put out the cheese plate I had made earlier; got everyone drinks then went to deal with the little culinary disaster.
Luckily in my effort to cut down on cleaning I had put the chickens in foil pans, which actually protected the wings, legs and thighs. They were fully roasted but still good enough to eat with crispy skin just as they were. The chicken breasts however where another story. That skin was not salvageable so I peeled it off and looked at the meat it was fully cooked. No questions there, just slightly on the dry side. So to add a little moisture and flavor I took some fresh herbs from the garden and melted butter with lemon juice to make a savory lemon herb butter sauce. I poured this over the top and served some on the side. Dinner was saved and everyone ate well.
(Save dry chicken by adding a lemon herb butter for flavor and moisture)
It was definitely not one of my most glamorous dinner parties. However, you can’t judge a dinner party on the food alone. What matters most are the connections between the people at the table. Everyone ate well and had fun even though it did not look as I had planned it. The evening was perfect. This one also gives us another good story to laugh about in the years to come. Next time you are hosting family or friends remember to let go. It may not look as you expected, things may and if done enough will eventually “go wrong” but with a positive and creative attitude you will make it better than before and have fun memories to share for years to come.