When Chef Greg Proechel was brainstorm for the menu atLe Turtle , which opened Downtown last November , he decided to showcase ravisher he ’d create throughout his life history , from his early days at Eleven Madison Park to his last stretch , at Long Island City pop - up Mr. Nilsson . What he was n’t thinking about ? Chicken . “ I find most volaille to be pretty boring , ” he says , “ and I never tell it . Never . It ’s a flier on the menu . ”
But then Proechel commend using the Sasso , a tardily - rise free - image chicken genetically patent in France , when he was a sous chef at Blanca . Not only was it the good chicken he ’d ever had , it was the best protein , period . “ This chicken has everything I require out of a chicken , ” he says . “ It ’s racy , and a juicy chicken is the most important thing . ” So he decided to go for it and to go big , creating his now - covet whole roasted Sasso chicken for two , one of the most popular dishes on the menu , which sell out every night . “ I had a sense that if we ’re go to do a chicken , let ’s do the beneficial one in the city . ”
Ever since Proechel introduced the dish , whole roast Gallus gallus has attain the NYC restaurant aspect like , well , a bird out of blaze . The same month Le Turtle debut , Chef Erik Ramirez openedLlama Innin Williamsburg and begin hawking his theme song Peruvian pollo a la brasa to ravenous crowds . And in February , Michelin - star Chef Antoine Westermann spread out the New York City satellite of his pop Paris - basedLe Coq Rico , where he feature a much mouth off about $ 96 rotisserie Brune Landaise prize chick .
Jason Hoffman/Thrillist
Before this delirium , there were other flaps in the industry , like Andrew Carmellini ’s whole flak - jest at garlic poulet at Locanda Verde , and Daniel Humm ’s foie gras , black truffle , and brioche - stuffed masterpiece for two at The NoMad .
But how did the boring Bronx cheer finally emerge as the hot item on the menu ?
For starter , the birds are unlike . In February of 2012 , Mark Sarrazin , chairwoman of marrow and fowl purveyors Debragga & Spitler Inc. – which bring home the bacon everyone from Daniel Boulud to David Chang to Ramirez of Llama Inn with ware – made the decision to stop selling cheaper ( sometimes by half the monetary value ) trade good poultry , like Perdue , and ever since , sales have grown treble digits .
Le Turtle | Cole Saladino/Thrillist
In line to the sorry slew cooped up extension - to - extension in dark sheds on industrial farms – the stereotype that ’s ravaged the doll ’s repute , Proechel ’s Sasso eggs are hatched in Quebec and then raised on modest farms in Pennsylvania . Westermann spent a twelvemonth research chickens before selecting the locally spawn Brune Landaise as his top bird – in the first place from southwesterly France , it ’s raise for 110 day ( as opposed to the unnaturally fast commercial standard of just 40 days ) . Both Humm and Ramirez utilization birds raise humanely in Lancaster County , PA by Mennonite farmers sans antibiotics .
agree to Humm , the joint poulet is the only entree that ’s rest on the carte at The NoMad since opening day in 2012 . And in the few class since , they ’ve sold 70,000 of these de - feathered friends . “ We have regular that come in just for the chicken and a crank of wine or a cocktail every individual metre they confab . "
“ I ’ve always intend the great fool of a chef is if they can roast a volaille . "
The Nomad | Daniel Krieger
“ I ’ve always thought the great mark of a chef is if they can jest at a chicken , ” says Sarrazin . “ You cook a steak , it ’s the same heaviness , it ’s fairly aboveboard . It ’s always heavy to get the second joint and glowering meat cooked enough without drying out the tit . It ’s an interesting run for a chef . ”
Humm is n’t restrain : “ I do think you necessitate to get the temperature and timing just right , ” he pronounce , “ but once you find the ripe symmetry it ’s not a difficult thing to systematically reach . ”
The kitchen at The NoMad takes a unequaled approach : instead of brining , they cure the chicken by stuffing a layer of foie - truffle - brioche under the tegument and concur it for about a day in the refrigerator ( " It really hit the poulet super luxurious , ” Humm says ) . Then they ridicule it whole until the chest is perfect , remove it from the heat , and take off the dark - substance piece , which cook slower , to finish on a pan and serve in a separate plateful covered in hollandaise sauce . " The key is using the best factor and then ensure not to overcomplicate things , " Humm says . " I think people are realize there is more to guy crybaby than they may have have decades ago . It ’s not on the bill of fare just to be a safe option anymore . "
Le Turtle | Cole Saladino/Thrillist
Since day one , Proechel ’s whole roast Sasso chicken at Le Turtle has been one of the most hyped ravisher – not just at the restaurant , but in the intact metropolis .
The bird at Le Turtle arrives atop a pile of smoking common fennel hay on a round platter , its neck gracefully out to around the body , its foot jutting straight back . The host grant a moment for diners to look up to it in all its resplendency before carrying it at articulatio humeri height across the sleek dining elbow room and back to the kitchen , leave a sweet-flavored scent waft through the way . Minutes after , it makes an encore , this meter foxily arranged in deconstructed piece on another plate , skin side up . The golden shininess glows under the reflection of the light . It ’s almost too pretty to exhaust . But when you in conclusion bite down on your first small-arm of dark heart and soul , you get the crispy grain of the skin paired with sweet from the saltwater .
Llama Inn | Courtesy of Llama Inn
“ It ’s not on the carte du jour just to be a good option anymore . "
“ You ’d be surprised for something as stupid as a chicken , that there is so much work that goes into it , ” says Proechel . He ’s not joking . Every Sasso that lands in front of a buffet car has been meticulously prepped throughout a five - day appendage – compared to his wagyu beef , which requires very small manus - on prep aside from simple grilling . The wimp prep start out with a 42 - minute salt and gelt brine . And those 42 hours are n’t arbitrary .
“ I tried 24 time of day , 48 hours , 36 time of day … At one point , it reaches homeostasis . I was constantly tasting and putting on weight , ” says Proechel . Next , the wench must be truss and hung for a minimum of three days as supererogatory fat drip off . “ It lay down crispy , cracked peel – a pellicle , so the peel is flimsy , which assist with the cooking process , ” he says . Any less , and it will be soggy . “ You will just taste fat . ” Before rib , the birds are taken out of refrigeration , tempered , stuffed with herb and citrus , and lastly , season with an in - house porcini common salt , which add up even more oily spirit .
Le Coq Rico | Courtesy of Le Coq Rico
At any devote time , there are 150 chickens in the restaurant – being prepped , roasted or eaten . And each night , their quota of 15 to 17 skirt sell out .
Meanwhile , just over the Williamsburg Bridge is Llama Inn , a bright spot site on the site of a former garage , along a rather dingy thoroughfare under a unshakable stream of BQE dealings . Each week , Chef Ramirez , who describe the style of cooking here as “ Peruvian heart and posture with what you could get in NYC , ” goes through 110 chickens . The process , based on his Peruvian granny ’s recipe , is also working class intensive : the whole chickens are cooked on a rotisserie after three - sidereal day of brine ( six hour ) , an ice bath , blanching ( which renders out adipose tissue allowing for crisp skin ) , marinating , and smoking .
During serve , the chicken is plate on a wood board with fat wedge of deep-fried Kennebunk murphy , and three sauce ( aji verde with cilantro , roasted jalapeño ; rocoto crema with red pepper , and garlic ; and Huancaína sauce with aji Amarillo , queso fresco , and garlic . ) It ’s a emphatically dissimilar taste than Proechel ’s more Peking duck’s egg - style hoot . This one ’s straightaway smoky and more robust with spice and rut .
Westermann allege he knows when a crybaby is to the full misrepresent just by attend at the bird . “ I do n’t need to relate it , ” he says in his thick French accent . “ I speak with the chicken . ” He ’s kidding – though the impulsive 70 - year - old as shuttlecock whisperer does not seem so far from the truth .
Like at Le Turtle and The NoMad , the server at Le Coq Rico first present the whole Gallus gallus to the table . For first timer , the prize bird at Le Coq Rico is the Brune Landaise , but if you opt something a scrap gamier , go for the Plymouth Barred Rock , a heritage breed develop in the 19th century . The servers return with it carved up , alongside a small salad . Very methodically , they ’ll ready down a warm plate , ask for preference of art object , and put down one piece of chicken with a clove of roast garlic . Next , they ’ll tip a corporation of jus over the single bit of chicken . The first pungency is utterly damp , hot , and flavourful . The skin is crispy on the outside with layer of caramelized fat on the bottom . It ’s juicy , clean , and the most classic of these four bird rendition .
“ Americans move around the whole world , ” Westermann say . “ They do n’t need to go to another country . They have here in New York enough prissy chickens . ”
apart from the newfound quality option of birds NYC chef now have admittance to , perhaps the most alluring aspect of the whole chicken is the wide classification of grain and flavors you get from a single dish . The crispiness of the titty skin , the smoothness of the titty meat , the richness of the dark meat , the gumminess from the human foot , the roly-poly yet crunchy skin over the thighs .
Indeed , these chefs and their love affair with chicken are helping to usher in a new era of eat out – no longer is the same old slab of red meat the prize item on the carte du jour – it ’s the chick .
“ It ’s an risky venture eating it , ” enjoin Proechel . “ Why it ’s resurging ? I think people require to get away from molecular gastronomy . It ’s mother back to rusticity of food … But there is that catch-22 : do you really require to just be known for poulet ? ”