VOA慢速英语2021--一种烤鸡肉的好方法

One Way to Beautifully Roast a Chicken

The shiny look of a glazed², roasted chicken may look delicious. But it can be difficult to achieve.

The sugar in the glaze¹ caramelizes in the oven³. To caramelize food is to heat the sugar in it at a high temperature. This removes all the water. The sugar breaks down and then reforms. The taste it produces is more complex -- both sweet and salty, buttery and nutty.

Caramelizing also adds a deeper brown color to the food, in this case the chicken skin. That is, if the sugary glaze stays on.

Roasting in the oven at a high temperature means the glaze could burn. Or it could come off the chicken and into the pan⁴. This does not lead to a caramelized chicken, but rather just a really dirty container.

A cooking expert, Christopher Kimball, wrote a story for the Associated Press about a well-tested method that keeps the glaze on the chicken. The solution, he says, is in the preparation of the chicken.

Kimball and his team of food experts found that cutting the chicken open and removing its backbone⁵ worked best. You can then open the bird and lay it flat in your roasting pan.

The chicken cooks and browns evenly. And because the chicken is flat, the glaze stays where it belongs – on the chicken.

Cooks calls this preparation method spatchcocking. It is also known as butterflying because the bird's shape looks like a butterfly.

Kimball's recipe for this simple glaze uses few ingredients⁷. He adds some citrus juice to the glaze in a separate container to use later when the chicken is done.

This dish takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to make. However, only 20 minutes are actual cooking time. While the chicken is in the oven, you can prepare any side dishes for the meal. Since your oven is already on, you could easily roast some potatoes and seasonal⁸ vegetables at the same time.

Chutney-glazed spatchcocked chicken

Here are the ingredients:

118 mL (½ cup) tamarind chutney OR mango chutney

59 mL (4 tablespoons) melted salted butter

5 mL (4 grams or 1 teaspoon) ground turmeric OR ground ginger⁹

Juice of 1 lemon OR 1 lime¹⁰

1 whole chicken

Salt and black pepper

Here are the cooking directions:

Heat the oven to 218°C (425°F).

Make the glaze. Stir¹¹ together the chutney, butter, and turmeric. Measure 79 milliliters (⅓ cup) into a small bowl and add the citrus juice. Set this aside. You will use this later.

Cut out the chicken's backbone. (Keep this to make chicken soup or chicken stock¹² another time.)

Place the bird skin side up flat in a roasting pan.

Season with salt and pepper. Then put on half of the chutney mixture.

Roast for 40 minutes. Then put on the rest of the chutney mixture and roast until the thickest part of the bird reaches 79°C (175°F.) This will be about another 10 to 15 minutes.

Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest in the pan for about 10 minutes.

Finally, cut, serve with the sauce, and enjoy with family and friends! This recipe serves about four to six people.

Words in This Story

glaze – n. a liquid mixture that is put on the surface of something and that becomes shiny and smooth when it is dry

roast – v. to cook by exposing to dry heat (as in an oven or before a fire)

delicious – adj. very good tasting

oven – n. a piece of cooking equipment that is used for baking or roasting food

flat – adj. arranged or laid out so as to be level or even

recipe – n. a set of instructions for making food

ingredient⁶ – n. one of the things that are used to make a food, product, etc.

sauce – n. a usually thick liquid poured over or mixed with food

stock – n. liquid in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered that is used as a basis for soup, gravy, or sauce

1 glaze   

v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞，毫无表情

参考例句：

• Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the hot cake.在热蛋糕的顶上和周围刷上一层蛋浆。
• Tang three-color glaze horses are famous for their perfect design and realism.唐三彩上釉马以其造型精美和形态生动而著名。

2 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 oven   

n.烤炉；烤箱

参考例句：

• You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
• She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。

4 pan   

n.平底锅；v.严厉批评

参考例句：

• The water had all boiled away and the pan was burned.水煮干了，锅也烧坏了。
• The eggs were frying in the pan.鸡蛋正在锅里煎。

5 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

6 ingredient   

n.（烹饪）等的材料，原料，成分，因素

参考例句：

• The basic ingredient of this meal is rice.这一餐的主要原料是大米。
• Trust is a key ingredient.信任是关键要素。

7 ingredients   

n.（混合物的）组成部分( ingredient的名词复数 )；（烹调的）原料；（构成）要素；因素

参考例句：

• All ingredients are readily available from your local store. 所有的原料都可以方便地从你当地的商店买到。
• We never use second quality ingredients to build building. 我们决不使用次等材料用于建筑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

9 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

10 lime   

n.石灰，酸橙，酸橙树，粘鸟胶，钙；vt.施石灰，涂上粘性物质，沾上粘鸟胶

参考例句：

• Lime exists in many soils.许多土壤中都含有石灰。
• A broad avenue of lime trees led up to a grand entrance with huge oak doors.一条栽有酸橙树的宽阔林阴道通向巨大的橡木门的雄伟入口。

11 stir   

n.感动(激动，愤怒或震动)，搅拌，骚乱；vt.激起，惹起，搅和；vi.挪动，活动，离开，搅拌，激动

参考例句：

• Give the soup a stir.把汤搅拌一下。
• Don't stir up trouble between them.不要在他们之间惹麻烦。

12 stock   

n.存货，储备；树干；血统；股份；家畜；adj.存货的；平凡的，惯用的；股票的；畜牧的；vt.进货，采购；储存；供给；vi.出新芽；进货

参考例句：

• The shop takes stock every week on Friday mornings.这家商店每星期五早晨盘点存货。
• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。