Caramelized Onion Chicken Roulade
Buttery caramelized onions tucked inside a double chicken breast with melty provolone. Roasted over potatoes that crisp into deeply brown schmaltzy chips. Essentially a savory, gluten free cinnamon roll.
This does have a few steps.
1 boneless skin-on double chicken breast
1/2-3/4 cup caramelized onions (recipe at bottom)
2-3 slices of provolone cheese
2 tbsp butter softened
1-2 yukon gold potatoes
1 large shallot
TL;DR
Make caramelized onions (recipe below)
Remove skin from double chicken breast. Spread out flat and set aside.
Pound out chicken breast between 2 pieces of saran wrap
Spread caramelized onions evenly across on the underside of breast
Add provolone slices on top of onion
Roll Breast tightly, wrap in skin and fresh saran wrap and tie with butchers twine.
Rest roulade in fridge for 1hr - overnight. Remove from fridge 1 hour before cooking.
Preheat oven to 425º. Place castiron in oven to heat for ~10mins
Mandolin potatoes and shallots into 1/8in slices.
Remove pan from oven. Coat bottom with 1/2 the butter.
Arrange potato slices overlapping like a flower
Arrange shallot rings over the potatoes
Unwrap roulade and rub outside of skin with other 1/2 of the butter.
Place in pan, in center of potatoes, seam side down.
Roast for around 1 hour or until thermometer reads 160º
Remove and rest under foil tent for around 15 mins
Lift potato flower out of pan and place on plate. Slice roulade and plate over the potatoes.
The Deets
This recipe is with 1 double chicken breast, which is both breasts from a chicken, still attached in the center, but removed from the bones.
First you need to remove the skin from the chicken breast. To do this use a gentle touch and a paring knife. We are using the skin later so be very careful not to puncture it. If you have to go one way or the other cut the meat a bit. As you pull the skin away from the breast with your fingers you’ll see a transparent film sort of holding it on. Just very gently run the tip of your paring knife along the spot where the skin and meat meet. The film will give, letting you pull the skin off further. Continue to the center where the breastbone would be and the come in removing the skin from the other side. Meet in the center and release it entirely. Spread out the skin and set it aside.
Now place the chicken breast between two pieces of Saran Wrap and pound, in a deliberate but firm manner, working your way out from the center, until it is about 1 in thick. Don’t go so hard you punch all the way through, but don’t be too delicate.
Flip the breast over so the underside is up and remove the Saran Wrap. Sprinkle with some salt. Then spread your 1/2 - 3/4 cup caramelized onions across the surface. Use an amount that allows for an even layer, leaving a little margin around the edges. Top with 2-3 slices of provolone, depending on the size of your breast.
Now for the tricky bit. Starting on the far edge of one side of the breast, roll it tightly like a cinnamon roll.. And really get in there, two hands, squeezing. Let the Saran Wrap help you but make sure to peel it back as you go so it doesn’t end up inside your roll.
To set up for the last step, lay a fresh piece of Saran Wrap on a cutting board. On top of that lay a long piece of kitchen twine, arranged like the pipes of in-floor heating. Across the Saran Wrap, and back again a few times (enough times to cover the length of your roulade). On top of that lay your chicken skin, with the outside surface down on the Saran Wrap. Sprinkle with salt. Lay the roulade perpendicular to the string and pull the skin around the roulade. Tightly. Then truss up that string however you see fit. I like to wind the free end of the string into the loops made by the rest of the string going back and forth, tightening as I go. But to be honest, I have no idea if this is correct. Feel it out.
Now wrap the Saran Wrap around the roll and twist the ends so you have a neat tight little package. Place that in the fridge for at least an hour and up to overnight.
Take the roulade out of the fridge at least an hour before you plan to cook it so it can come to room temp.
Preheat the oven to 425º.
Slice the 1-2 yukon gold potatoes, using a mandolin, until about 1/8 inch thick. Also slice 1 shallot to the same thickness and separate the rings.
Pop your cast iron pan into the heated oven for about 10 minutes to heat up. Remove it and carefully coat the bottom of the pan with 1 tbsp of the butter. Arrange the potato slices like a flower, slightly overlapping. Start around the edges and work your way in, in a spiral, until the bottom of the pan is coated in 1 layer of potatoes. Lay the shallot rings over the potatoes, overlapping as well. You can take less care with the positioning of the shallots.
Remove the saran wrap and rub the remaining 1 tbsp of butter onto the skin. Place the roulade into the pan on top of the potatoes and onions and pop it in the oven for about 1 hour until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 160º.
Remove the roulade from the pan and let it rest under a loose tent of aluminum foil. Use a spatula to gently loosen the potatoes from the bottom of the pan. They may have gotten deliciously stuck to the bottom by some melty cheese that escaped the roulade. This is ok. This is more than ok. As you loosen, nudge the potatoes in and together into a tighter and more pleasing spiral. Once you are happy with your spiral, very carefully place a plate over your cast iron and invert both together to let the potatoes fall out onto the plate in one beautiful cake. Slice the roulade and display over the potatoes.
Caramelized onions
2 yellow onions
1 red onion
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
Melt the 4 tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add the 2 yellow onions and 1 red onion and 1 tsp salt. Let the onions cook down at medium low heat for 30-45 minutes, until they are extremely soft and have taken on the hue of mahogany. Stir occasionally, making a point to scrape down and mix in any brown bits that accumulate on the sides of the pan.
This makes about 2 cups of caramelized onions. Once cool, pack in a jar or container, smooth the top and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. It will keep for a couple weeks in the fridge. Enjoy in this roulade, with steak, eggs, toast....