Earlier this month, I shared a recipe for salt preserved herbs and showed you how to make them during one of my two monthly Facebook live demos. A number of you joined me in making them and I’ve loved seeing all the ways that everyone has used them (stirred into scrambled eggs, used to dress vegetables, added to soup).
Oh, and just a troubleshooting note on these herbs. Take care not to let them get pushed to the back of the fridge where it’s colder. If they freeze, they will turn black and slimy, and won’t be delicious anymore.
Before the month is over, I wanted to show you one of my favorite ways to use these salt preserved herbs. Roast chicken. I like to spread a thin layer of the salt preserved herbs over and around a chicken, let it rest in the fridge a little while, and then roast it at high heat (425°F/218°C or more, depending on what else needs to be in the oven while it’s cooking).
The rest in the fridge helps the salt draw out some of the moisture from the skin, which helps it crisp better. During roasting, the herbs crisp and turn into salty, crunchy bits that are so good crumbled on top of the sliced meat.
I do have a couple tips before you start. One is to portion the salt preserved herbs you’re going to use out into a small bowl before you touch the chicken. You don’t want to contaminate your primary jar with raw chicken germs and this allows you to keep everything separate.
The second tip is that it helps to pat the chicken dry before applying the herbs. They don’t stay in place if chicken is really damp.
I’m not going to give you more of a recipe than that. Chicken is fully cooked at 165°F/74°C, so you just roast until an instant read thermometer (inserted in a meaty area of the bird) gives you that temperature.
For those of you who have made these herbs, how have you used them?
