Oven-roasted Leg of Chicken, Seared Heart, Braised Red Cabbage, Thai Basil, Cabernet Soy Reduction
This is one of those dishes that kind of connects a person to their food. Some people will look at this and think that it is gross, obnoxious or gimmicky. Some people will think that it's really cool, possibly for those same reasons. But either way, you can't look at this plate and not recognize that what you are about to eat was just walking around, alive with its heart pumping blood through it's body. And that the reason you are staring at it right now is because somebody killed it. So if this image bothers you to the point that you lose your appetite, I would suggest reevaluating your diet.
I broke the chicken down by removing the thigh and drumstick in one piece including the foot. I snapped the bone connecting the leg to the drum and positioned it upward connecting it to the thigh with two toothpicks. I rubbed the chicken with grape seed oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I left the chicken out for about an hour to come up to temperature and preheated my convection oven to 425 degrees. I also removed the heart from the chicken and placed it in a marinade of sesame oil, soy sauce, red wine, garlic and onion.
Once the oven was preheated I placed the chicken thighs inside and roasted them for about 20-25 minutes til the skin was super crispy and the meat registered 170 on a thermometer. While the chicken rested I removed the heart from the marinade and patted it dry with paper towels. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and seared it in sesame oil very quickly just barely cooking it through.
The red cabbage was thinly sliced and sauteed in grape seed oil before being braised in red wine, vinegar and water. I cooked it down til most of the liquid evaporated and the cabbage became tender. The sauce is just a simple mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon and soy sauce reduced down to a bloody color and consistency. Some of the sauce was spooned around the chicken and onto the heart. The "blood spurt" was accomplished by sucking the sauce up into a squeeze bottle and squirting it onto the rim of the bowl. And the plate is garnished with a sprig of Thai basil to kind of bring everything together.
I broke the chicken down by removing the thigh and drumstick in one piece including the foot. I snapped the bone connecting the leg to the drum and positioned it upward connecting it to the thigh with two toothpicks. I rubbed the chicken with grape seed oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I left the chicken out for about an hour to come up to temperature and preheated my convection oven to 425 degrees. I also removed the heart from the chicken and placed it in a marinade of sesame oil, soy sauce, red wine, garlic and onion.
Once the oven was preheated I placed the chicken thighs inside and roasted them for about 20-25 minutes til the skin was super crispy and the meat registered 170 on a thermometer. While the chicken rested I removed the heart from the marinade and patted it dry with paper towels. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and seared it in sesame oil very quickly just barely cooking it through.
The red cabbage was thinly sliced and sauteed in grape seed oil before being braised in red wine, vinegar and water. I cooked it down til most of the liquid evaporated and the cabbage became tender. The sauce is just a simple mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon and soy sauce reduced down to a bloody color and consistency. Some of the sauce was spooned around the chicken and onto the heart. The "blood spurt" was accomplished by sucking the sauce up into a squeeze bottle and squirting it onto the rim of the bowl. And the plate is garnished with a sprig of Thai basil to kind of bring everything together.