BXBX NOVEL Chapter 554: 554
“After grilling, the chicken heats up, so the coolness of the mint disappears, but its slight bitter and spicy flavor remains, giving the roast chicken a unique taste.”
“Not bad.” Michael Greene nodded.
Although everyone roasted chicken and duck,
the different seasonings and proportions used brought out different flavors in each.
“Is this mashed potatoes?” Rosaline Parker cut open Cynthia Florine’s roast chicken and found half of it filled with mashed potatoes.
The upper part was left empty, and Cynthia Florine had cleaned the chicken cavity thoroughly, not leaving a single trace of the innards.
As she sliced it open, the chicken juice flowed into the mashed potatoes, as the savory, fragrant chicken broth seeped in.
The originally golden-yellow mashed potatoes gradually took on a caramel color.
Rosaline Parker was quite surprised by this ingenuity.
Cynthia Florine explained: “I thought of chicken gravy mashed potatoes, which is a common appetizer. We might not think about it much during normal cooking, but today’s conditions were limited, and I happened to find some potatoes, so I thought of chicken gravy mashed potatoes.”
“It’s a perfect pairing with the roast chicken — while grilling, the chicken broth and oils are cooked out, and when cut open, the juices will flow out and will inevitably be wasted. So why not let them infiltrate the mashed potatoes instead? That way, the chicken juice is not wasted, and we have an appetizer to go with it.”
“I only filled half of the cavity with mashed potatoes to leave space on top for the chicken juice to slowly drip down,” Cynthia Florine explained.
“The mashed potatoes are smooth and creamy, with a fruity fragrance from the grilling, and the added spices elevate it beyond just chicken gravy mashed potatoes.” Rosaline Parker nodded, “This idea is brilliant.”
One by one, the judges tasted the dishes, and then it was Jasmine Hudson’s turn.
Jasmine Hudson only roasted a duck.
It looked quite ordinary at first glance.
Just like what you’d see in a restaurant.
The duck skin was roasted to crispy perfection, displaying an enticing caramel color and a glossy sheen.
Jasmine Hudson took the duck and placed it on a plate.
Hunter Clarke first tapped the knife lightly on the duck skin, and the crispness of the skin was instantly showcased.
Then he began to slice.
As soon as the knife touched the duck skin, the crackling sound was heard.
“This is right up there with the Peking roast duck.” Hunter Clarke said.
“In fact, grilling like this is similar to using a hanging oven, and the fruity wood flavor is an added bonus,” Jasmine Hudson said.
“There’s something else inside the duck,” Hunter Clarke discovered as he sliced.
Jasmine Hudson had filled the duck cavity with scallions,
which had been softened by the heat, emitting a fragrant onion scent, without the pungency of raw scallions.
“I found some Korean perilla leaves,” Jasmine Hudson said. “You can use them to wrap the roasted duck and eat it with the scallions. My suggestion is to wrap the duck slices with scallions.”
Hunter Clarke nodded, sliced off a piece of duck meat, added a soft, charred scallion, and wrapped it all in the Korean perilla leaf.
“Korean perilla has a unique texture and aroma that helps cut through the greasiness of the duck meat.” Hunter Clarke paused, delighted, “When I bit into the scallion, the duck broth that had accumulated in it burst out.”
“Although the broth is hot, the Korean perilla acts as a buffer,” Hunter Clarke said. “I personally enjoy hot dishes.”
“Especially on a chilly autumn night like this, the warmth of this steaming hot cuisine is very comforting, and it seems to warm up the entire body,” Hunter Clarke praised.
“The Korean perilla is crisp, the duck meat tender, the scallions soft from roasting, and the duck skin crispy — the textures are beautifully layered.”
Finally, the five judges came to Cindy Clarke’s dish.
“I made a Beggar’s Chicken, but I adapted it to local conditions,” Cindy Clarke explained.
The outer layer of mud on the Beggar’s Chicken had been roasted until black and hard.
Cindy struck it several times with a knife.
The mud cracked open, revealing the tightly wrapped Indocalamus leaves inside.
She peeled off the layers of Indocalamus leaves one by one.
The chicken in the middle was a light golden brown, not charred like the ones directly placed on the grill.
There were no burnt parts, and the chicken skin was still soft.
There was no mud on the chicken skin, as Cindy had wrapped it so tightly.
Cindy placed the chicken onto a plate.
Michael Greene held the chicken leg in one hand and cut through the joint with a knife in the other.
When he gently pulled with his left hand, the bone came out instead of the chicken leg.
There was not a bit of meat left on the bone.
The deboning was impeccably clean.
Michael Greene’s astonished expression appeared on the big screen.
The audience laughed.
“Your deboning is a bit too quick, isn’t it?” Michael Greene said with a bitter smile.
“Because of the many layers between the chicken and the heat, even if it’s roasted for a long time, the meat won’t be overcooked. Rather than roasting, I think it’s more like steamed chicken,” Cindy laughed and continued, “slow cooking over low heat, the muscles slowly tenderize. The tight wrapping traps the juices inside, with no moisture escaping, and the juices are then reabsorbed by the chicken. It turns out to be very tender.”
Michael Greene was eating with a “slurp slurp” sound.
“You’ve roasted it for a long time, but the heat is just right, not too high, and you’ve even incorporated the bamboo fragrance from the Indocalamus leaves into the chicken. The aroma has permeated every bit of the chicken, making each bite full of bamboo fragrance.” Michael Greene ate the chicken like a soup, constantly making a “slurp slurp” sound.
“You’re really exaggerating with that sound,” Charles Dean looked at Michael Greene with contempt.
“Try it yourself,” Michael Greene pointed at the chicken.
Charles Dean announced that he was a very strict judge.
What’s the least tasty part of the chicken?
As everyone knows, it’s the chicken breast.
No matter how it’s cooked, it’s often dry and tough.
That’s where the least fat is, and the meat is the driest.
That’s why it’s the most suitable meat for a low-fat meal.
So, Charles Dean cut a piece of the chicken breast.
But as soon as he cut it, he realized something was unusual.
He couldn’t even see the familiar stringy texture of the chicken breast.
When he pressed the whole piece, juices were squeezed out of the meat’s texture.
Charles Dean immediately popped a piece into his mouth and took a bite.
He suddenly paused, unable to help but widen his eyes, “It’s even juicy.”
“No, there’s not just the flavor of the spices you added in the chicken, but also a hint of apple, slightly sour,” Charles Dean said.
“I picked some apples on the way. However, the small apples were not ripe yet and were slightly sour, so they didn’t taste good on their own. There were also no suitable tools here to make desserts. But since there was no sugar provided by the organizers today, I thought I’d use the apples as a substitute for sugar.”