A Valentine’s Day Menu Made for Guys
Dark cherry whiskey sauce? Bacon-wrapped beer-can chicken? Your husband willdefinitely want to bestow you with something sparkly when you cook up one of these three seductive recipes by Chef Meg Hall.
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A former financial adviser turned Cordon Blue-trained chef, Meg Hall, who today caters to stars like Beyoncé and Adele, believes great food starts with carefully curated ingredients. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked her to design this indulgent, husband-friendly menu exclusively forREDBOOK. One insider tip for taking it over the top? “Use more salt! Professional chefs use more salt than the average home chef,” says Hall. You can sample her delicious, gourmet snack food at her new 6-seat shop, Made by Meg, which opens March 1 on California’s Redondo Beach.
Bacon-Wrapped Beer-Can Chicken
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
10 slices bacon
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can beer
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position oven racks to accommodate the standing chicken
2. Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard.
3. Season chicken inside and out with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried rosemary and dried oregano.
4. Set chicken on its back and lay out four or five strips of bacon lengthwise across the breast. Create a lattice of bacon by starting at one end of the bacon strips and alternating the strips (over, under, over, under), adding one strip at a time. Use toothpicks to anchor bacon onto chicken.
5. Open beer can and either pour out or drink half of the beer.
6. Place beer can in the middle of a sheet pan lined with foil. Place chicken over beer can and press down until the chicken feels secure. You can balance the bird on its two legs and the can like a tripod.
7. Gently transfer chicken to the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
*Tip: If chicken is nearing the ideal temperature and bacon isn’t as brown as you’d like, turn up the oven to 400 degrees for the last 10 minutes.
Get more Valentine’s Day recipes from Meg here
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