Deviled Chicken With Mustard Coating

This is what I did with the basic butterflied chicken in the previous recipe. Although there are a lot of instructions in these two recipes, they are really not complex and go together pretty quickly and easily. The coating is tangy and nicely crunchy. Pay attention to it when broiling though, as it can over-brown easily.

The chicken is broiled until almost done, then coated with mustard, herbs, and fresh bread crumbs for a crisp brown finish.

The chickens. Follow the preceding recipe, but broil the 2 chickens for only 10 rather than 15 minutes on the second (skin) side.

Mustard and herb coating. Drain the fat and juices out of the broiling pan into a small bowl; skim off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the top of the juices. Blend the prepared mustard in another bowl with the minced shallot or scallion, herbs, and hot pepper sauce. Beat up the remaining juices; blend half of them into the mustard. Spread the mustard over the top (skin side) of the chicken, then pat on a coating of crumbs. Baste with the remaining juices. Ahead-of-time note: May be prepared somewhat ahead to this point; set aside at room temperature.

Final cooking and serving. Roast in the upper third level of a 400F oven for 10 to 12 minutes if cooking is delayed).

When is it done? The chicken is done when the drumsticks are tender if pressed, and the crumbs should brown nicely.

Grilling note. The crumb coating does not work for barbecuing since it will fall off and burn when you turn the chicken. However, you can use just the mustard and herb mixture, basted on during the last few minutes of cooking (beat a few tablespoons of oil into the mustard to take the place of chicken fat).

Makes 8 servings.

From "The Way to Cook", Julia Child, Alfred Knopf, 1989. ISBN 0-394-53264-3