Food Science Day Two: 1 – Marmite Chicken
Marmite Chicken may not seem particularly scientific. Indeed there is not an awful lot of science involved in much of Food Science Day’s initial ideas. Nevertheless the principle of science -to test a hypothesis to breaking point is the point of our science, and part of that is merely to satisfy whimsy. And so the screen goes wobbly and we flashback to a drunken night in a converted barn in France five years ago.
I am cooking a meal for twelve, coq au vin I believe. So I need a big pot. Emma (I believe) pulls out a very big pot and says you can use this Marmite. I give a double take. Yes yes, to you it might be obvious that a Marmite is a big French cooking vessel, but remember I had never seen an avocado until I was eighteen. Flabbergasted by this it was mere seconds before the idea of putting a chicken in a marmite became the idea for Marmite Chicken. Or to be more precise, Marmite basted Chicken. Much salivating followed plus the writing of this idea on a Jaffa Cake box.
AIM: To make Marmite Chicken.
APPARATUS: Marmite, a Chicken, an Oven, a very clean roasting pan.
METHOD: The chicken was slathered in marmite, as seen in the photo. On advice the chicken was then covered in foil, and a touch of water was added to the base of the pan to stop the chicken drying out. It was then popped in the oven at 175 degrees for one hour. Then an extra ten minutes uncovered and then removed to admire and eat.
RESULTS: Despite fears that the marmite, lacking any fat, would just burn – the actual results was rather pleasing. Much of the smeared on marmite seemed to have either dissolved, boiled off or plain vanished – though further investigation suggests that it has slid off in the steam. Nevertheless the chicken was pretty well roasted and carved normally. When tasted it was predominantly chicken flavoured with just a slight, but very pleasant, hint of marmite.
However the real revelation was in the pan. Where there was water left, the marmite, juices and water combined to make a very tasty gravy. Where the water had vanished there was a crisp bumpy dried husk which tasted identical to Twiglets. Therefore the side effect to Marmite Chicken was also the invention of Twiglets.
CONCLUSION: Marmite Chicken is not quite the taste sensation as dreamed of in a barn in France, but it still worked remarkably well and would make an interesting set piece if you were doing some sort of spread based meal. Mark wants to make Sandwich Spread Chicken next year. It would be particularly good if you also sprinkled the roasting pan with All Bran to make some home made Twiglets!
Pete Baran in FT /Pumpkin Publog • 4,409 views
Here’s an equation for you, if you want science: “Very clean roasting pan” + “crisp bumpy dried husk” = may sound nice but the very devil’s job to return pan to its pre-marmited state.
And another thing: the re-fried remaining bits of chicken which resulted from this experiment worked outrageously well as part of a salad, only last night.
possible route to greater cleanliness = boil vinegar in the tray, which will cut through the gunk?
(i have never tried it with marmite obv as i am NOT INSANE)
Happily, here in the 21st century, we have the gift of detergents which help in the washing process without having to resort to bizarro hocus pocus solutions.
Also ms you have already generaed enough noxious fumigation of my premises without being the cause of some stenchy vinegar-boiling madness.
acid cuts through unwanted matter faster than alkali
this is modernism as i know and use it
ok, not to pick, but…
that’s no roasting pan, that’s cookie sheet.
additionally, i don’t think i’ve ever seen a chicken cooked face-down. perhaps there’s a good reason for this other than the fact that it just plain *looks* wrong! is this an effective technique?
Oh, chicken face down is the best technique, I’ve been doing it for so long I forgot when I got the revelation. Basically face down = juice in breast = moist breast! Also the arse has greater crispy skin area.
Apologies about the pan. I did mean to clean it before I left but you know what they say about good intentions…
it’s good for the breast meat but it leaves the skin a bit pasty sometimes — i’d do it half and half
obviously this doesn’t apply in a marmite situation, where pastiness is probably by defn impossible!
the key, having carved the breast meat, was dipping it in the juices/marmite mixture on the tray before serving.
also sorry for not washing up tim.
I think Vicky washed up mightily, paying heavily for the sins of the rest of you.
At least, she was the only person I saw actually washing up during the day, and by the time you lot had scarpered there were only two loads of washing up to be done, minimising handwrinkle nicely.
just an link
So, we can’t post pix in comments then? :)
dunno, not tried! what you posted was an empty link like <a blah></a> so i edited it to have text in.
A question from a curious Yank:
What does marmite taste like?
I’ve seen it in the “Irish foods” section (most of which is of UK origin) in local stores, but my only impression is that it’s some sort of darkish mystery glop in a tiny jar, which suggests it could be a lot of things.
The name is not appealing. Is it a British thing I wouldn’t understand?
marmite = french for cooking pot! there is a little picture on one on the label
like beer, marmite is made of YEAST yum yum (indeed it is a byproduct of beerbrewing i believe)
it tastes very salty with a dark savory richness — tho many disagree and ACTIVELY LOATHE IT — so much so that it is explicitly advertised via this fact, that you either love it or loathe it
OK–sounds interesting. I’ve actually used beer as a marinade. We’ll see how daring I feel the next time I pass through the “Irish foods” section.
haha invented by germans AS IF ONE COULDN’T GUESS
That puts a whole different spin on it. I think there’s a “German foods” section in one of the local stores. I’ll see if there’s any Marmite in it.
That website is a trip! If I find out that I really hate the stuff, I’m sure I can use it to torment the guests the next time I have to contribute a “homemade dish” for an obligatory department party.
It may be on sale in generic form as ‘Yeast Extract’. When I worked on a farm for a bit they had a huge tub of this stuff, which I refused to touch for about two days because it didn’t say ‘marmite’ on it, before giving in…
why not tey spreading the marmite under the skin? that way, it should stay where it is
you could also try mixing it with the stuffing, which may work well.
somthing that does work well is mixing marmite into mash. yummy!