Best Salt Baked Chicken Recipes

SALT-BAKED CHICKEN BREAST STUFFED WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Prepare the chicken: Cut all breast meat from bone in one piece, leaving the skin intact. Cut off tenders from breast. Remove enough thigh meat (without skin) to measure about 1/2 pound; cut into 1-inch pieces, and refrigerate until ready to use. Using a sharp knife, butterfly the thickest part of the breast, and fold thin parts down so that breast is of even thickness all over. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil; add 1 tablespoon salt. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Add asparagus to the boiling water, and cook until asparagus is bright green and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Plunge asparagus into ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Drain, and pat dry with paper towels; set aside.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add leek and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leek is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand until cool.
• Transfer the leek mixture to a food processor; pulse until coarsely pureed. Add reserved thigh meat, and pulse to combine. Add the cream and 1 teaspoon salt; pulse. Add the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and lemon juice, and pulse until filling is fully combined and finely chopped (you should have about 1 cup filling); set filling aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stuff the chicken: Using your fingers, loosen skin from breast meat. Slide 3 lemon slices and 1 tarragon sprig between skin and meat of each side of breast. Lay breast, skin side down, on a double layer of cheesecloth (about 18 by 24 inches). Spread 3/4 cup reserved filling over center of breast. Arrange about 10 asparagus spears over filling; reserve remaining asparagus for serving. Spread remaining 1/4 cup filling over top of asparagus.
• Fold both sides of breast toward center to enclose filling; secure with toothpicks. Cover any skinless areas of meat with remaining lemon slices. Wrap chicken tightly in the cheesecloth, and tie up with kitchen twine, forming a log (about 9 inches long and 5 inches in diameter). The chicken can be prepared ahead up to this point and refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, up to 1 day.
• Make the crust: Using your hands, combine salt, egg whites, and 2 tablespoons water. Stir in tarragon leaves. Using about 1/2 cup of the salt mixture, make a bed in a large baking dish. Place cheesecloth-wrapped chicken, seam side down, on top of salt. Pat remaining salt mixture over chicken, covering it completely with a 1/2-inch-thick layer.
• Bake the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted through the crust into the center of filling registers 155 degrees, about 1 hour 10 minutes (begin checking after 1 hour). Remove chicken from oven; let stand at room temperature until thermometer reaches 165 degrees, about 10 minutes.
• Break off crust; discard. Let chicken stand for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Remove cheesecloth, and discard. Transfer chicken to a cutting board, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Drizzle remaining asparagus with oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt. Serve chicken warm or at room temperature with the asparagus. Serve wild mushrooms with red onions and scallions on the side.

SALT-BAKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the salt in a heavy pot with a lid, slightly larger than the chicken. Place the pot, uncovered, over medium heat until the salt is very hot, stirring from time to time, about 30 minutes.
• Scoop most of the salt into a large bowl, leaving a 1 1/2-to-2-inch layer of salt in the bottom of the pot. Place the chicken over the salt layer, breast side up. Spoon the remaining salt over and around the chicken, so that it is completely buried in salt.
• Cover the pot with the lid. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. Scrape the salt from the chicken and remove from the pot. Wipe off as much of the salt as possible and let stand for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve.

SALT-BAKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rub inside of chicken cavity with dry vermouth and salt, then place ginger, scallions and anise inside.
• Wrap chicken entirely in cheesecloth, knotting cloth at neck and tail.
• Pour all kosher salt into a wok and heat over medium flame from 30 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until salt is quite hot.
• Scoop out a well in the salt, place chicken, breast side down, in well, then cover completely with salt. Cover wok. Bake chicken for 1 to 1 1/4 hours over medium heat. Chicken should be thoroughly cooked in this time, but to make certain, if desired, pierce thigh with fork. If juice runs clear, the chicken is cooked.
• Remove chicken from wok, brush off salt, remove cheesecloth and discard ingredients in chest cavity. Place chicken on chopping block, cut off legs and wings. Then either cut chicken into bite-size pieces with a cleaver or shred meat with fingers into two-inch-long strips.
• Arrange on a serving platter and garnish with coriander. Serve with individual dishes of scallion-ginger sauce.

SALT-BAKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place tangerine skin in a small bowl. Add enough hot water to cover. In a large bowl, place lotus leaves. Add enough hot water to cover, and place a second bowl over leaves to keep them submerged. Let tangerine skin and lotus leaves soak for 30 minutes. Drain; set aside.
• Meanwhile; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 3 pounds salt in a large Dutch oven, and 3 pounds salt in a roasting pan. Place Dutch oven and roasting pan in oven until very hot, about 30 minutes
• Rub chicken all over with the Shao-Hsing. Stuff scallions, ginger, and soaked tangerine skin into the cavity of the chicken. Wrap chicken with overlapping lotus leaves, or cheesecloth, to enclose.
• Remove salt from oven, and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Make a shallow well in salt in the Dutch oven. Place chicken, breast-side up, in the well. Spoon salt from the roasting pan over chicken to cover completely. Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove chicken from oven, and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Brush away salt, and transfer chicken to a cutting board. Unwrap it, and discard lotus leaves. Chop chicken into bite-size pieces. Serve immediately with salt-baked chicken dip on the side.