Chef Sylvia Reynoso-Gala’s Roast Spanish Chicken and then some

I FINALLY caught again the Secrets of the Masters episode of Chef Sylvia Reynoso-Gala!  For the second Saturday in a row, I got out of bed before lunch time. I turned the TV on and was surprised to see her while surfing through the channels.

So off I went to grab my notebook and blue Bic ballpen – I prefer to write in blue ink – so I could jot down the recipes.  I hope this helps one of my readers who had inquired in the past about Chef Sylvia’s recipe for Pollo Iberico (Roast Spanish Chicken).  Previously, all I could write about was how I felt about Chef Sylvia, not exactly her recipes.  So, with two ripe guavas that had fallen from the tree outside and a tall glass of sub-zero water for breakfast, I take down notes as accurately as I can.

Here they are – the bacon-wrapped roast beef with three-mushroom gravy and pollo iberico (roast Spanish chicken)! I’m throwing in the roast beef for good measure.

(By the way, I noticed that she really gives out most of the measurements – not only her secrets! – which to me comes across as a true mark of a teacher. She’s been doing this for over three decades, that’s why!)

Bacon-Wrapped Roast Beef with Three-Mushroom Gravy

For the roast:

250 grams           Honey-cured bacon

1 ½ kilograms    Beef tenderloin (center still frozen)

For the gravy:

½ cup (1 stick)   Butter

½ cup*                  Fresh white button mushrooms, sliced

½ cup*                  Fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

½ cup*                  Fresh oyster mushrooms, sliced

1 piece                    Beef Bouillon Cube

½ cup*                  All-purpose flour

1 cup*                    Water

2 teaspoons         Liquid seasoning

*measurement I assumed based from what I saw, as it was not explicitly stated

Procedure:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  She didn’t specify this. I just based this from my own understanding of how to roast meats.*

Line up the bacon slices.  Put the beef tenderloin on the end near you and fold the bacon slices onto the beef.  Roll the whole thing so as to tightly wrap the bacon around the meat.  Put the bacon-wrapped beef on to a roasting rack placed on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan.  Put it in the oven to roast.  Oh, she didn’t specify how long (and at what temperature*)!  Though I would suggest to roast it until medium to medium well only. For a beef tenderloin this size, 30 minutes would be for rare.  35 minutes for medium rare.  So, I suggest about 45 minutes.  Serve with the three mushroom gravy.

For the gravy, melt ½ cup of butter in a heavy bottom pan.  Saute sliced fresh white button, shiitake, and oyster muchrooms.  Turn them a number of times in the butter, then set them aside.  To the remaining butter in the pan, add the beef bouillon cube.  Add the flour.  Make sure to cook the flour well in the butter to avoid having that “raw” taste.  Add all the water.  Change to a wire whisk and whisk the gravy to prevent any lumps from forming.  When it has thickened and is coming to a simmer, add back the sauteed mushrooms.

 

Pollo Iberico (Roast Spanish Chicken)

(Chef Sylvia said that they give this to family friends for Christmas and everbody just loves it!)

1 or 2                      Spring chickens, whole, cleaned

For the marinade:

1 cup*                     Vegetable oil

3 big heads            Garlic, cloved separated and then smashed (pounded)

3 tablespoons       Soy sauce

3 tablespoons       Black peppercorns

2 tablespoons       Rock salt

1 teaspoon             Dried rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon             Paprika

½ teaspoon           Dried basil

½ teaspoon           Dried oregano

2 teaspoons           Sesame oil

*measurement I assumed based from what I saw, as it was not explicitly stated

Procedure:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  She didn’t specify this. I just based this from my own understanding of how to roast meats.*

In a big bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients well.  Rub the marinade all over the chicken – on the skin, in both cavities, and in between the skin and the meat.  Stuff the rest of the marinade inside and in between the skin and meat of the chicken.  With kitchen twine, tie the legs and the wings of the chicken, to ready it for roasting.  Wrap the chicken in cellophane (yes, cellophane!) and put it on to a roasting rack placed on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan.  Let it roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes*, until the chicken reaches your desired golden brown doneness.  Serve with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and lemon wedges on the side.