Roasted chicken, steamed buns

The chicken still in its vacuum-formed package is slipped into a large bowl and filled with water, the chicken removed and the water level noted. That's how much liquid brine to prepare before putting the raw chicken back in. No guessing.

That way you can use expensive ingredients with undisciplined abandon with the certain knowledge that none will be wasted. Like vodka. 

And precious salt.

Kidding.

They tell you it must be boiled to dissolve the salt but I use a stick blender instead. With plain water you can see the salt is dissolved. 

I'm glad this chicken has all this stuff inside. I can use it. And I feel cheated when it's absent. Sometimes those high-end free-range offerings do not include them probably thinking we consumers don't care, but we do. 

But I'm glad they don't include the cloaca. 

We carnivore types like to save these parts, neck gizzard, so forth, for a snack later.

Kidding. Not a snack. Frozen and saved for broth later. 

Gotta keep it cold, but this won't take that long. I don't care to refrigerate it right now, maybe I will. I don't know. Depends on how fast other things go.  

Until then

ARTS !

Next day.

The bird was refrigerated after all.  

The brining liquid is exchanged for clear water and the chicken soaked for reverse brining, to remove most of the salt. The bird is air drying.

Meanwhile dough is prepared for steamed buns. The dough will rise like ordinary bread but incompletely. No more than about an hour will be sufficient proofing. 

Scant 1/2 cup water

1 + 1/2 cup packed flour

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/s teaspoon salt

for 6 buns

The last half cup in increments.

Two strips of parchment paper cut into thirds.

Proofing box is a plastic storage container. The dough is basically waiting for the chicken to finish roasting. Timing is not critical, this is not like regular bread. It's only important to get the dough started with yeast, it doesn't have to proof completely. There is a wide margin for goofing around.

The bird is dried with kitchen towel and oiled. No salt, of course. 

The bowl is ovenproof, so is the plate, roasting dish, there you go.

The bird is baked for an hour.

The chicken is nearly finished baking. The plate removed for the skin to brown.

The buns have fully risen although that wasn't necessary. The dough balls are stretched into an elongated oval and folded.

The buns steam in just minutes. 

The chicken is removed to rest and cut into slices.

So, there you go. Scrumptious. Satisfying. Real chicken flavor all over your mouth. Unctuous. No garnish, no flavorful sauce, no broth, no dipping sauce, no nothing, just plain roasted chicken flavor kept moist by brining and tinted with fennel. The vodka is not apparent. Hic. 

And then there's this. 

The maid will get this later.

Did I say maid? I meant me. 

These pieces will be picked through, the bones broken open, and the carcass turned into broth.