Bell & Evans Chicken at The Boatyard
Doug Riess, Executive Chef, Boatyard, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Author: Margo Sechler
the excellent chicken in south florida
When you think of South Florida you think excellent fish and seafood but did you know that you can also find the Excellent Chicken there?! On a recent visit to South Florida, my Dad and I met up with Chef Doug Riess, Executive Chef of the Boatyard in Ft. Lauderdale, and experienced a wonderful Herb Roasted Bell & Evans Chicken. We are excited to share a little bit about Chef Doug Riess and the Boatyard and his Herb Roasted B&E Chicken recipe!
eat local, be coastal
“Eat Local, Be Coastal,” is the theme at Boatyard and Chef Doug Riess makes this happen by bringing in fresh daily catches from local fisherman and a variety of high-quality raw bar and shellfish selections, as well as premium cuts of meat. Doug Riess has been executive chef at Boatyard since it opened in 2015. The chef’s dishes are made with local Florida spices and ingredients. Boatyard’s guests can enjoy Boatyard’s delicious dishes inside their beautiful boat themed dining rooms or outside, enjoying the dockside experience!
excellent support
My Dad and I were so grateful to meet Chef Doug Riess and experience his culinary creation of Bell & Evans Herb Roasted Chicken. It is evident in the taste and flavor of the dish that every part of this entree is made from scratch.We love to visit and support our customers as they are an extension of the Bell & Evans family. You never know when we might show up at your restaurant. Great job Boatyard!
Herb Roasted Bell & Evans Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- Bell & Evans 100% Air Chilled Chicken
- Home made brine (recipe below)
- Ratatouille (recipe below)
- Ricotta (recipe below)
Brine
- 1 gallon chicken stock
- 1 qt lemon juice
- ½ cup garlic chopped
- 5 TB thyme (minced)
- 5 TB rosemary (chopped)
- 4 each bay leaves
- 2 cups salt
- 1 TB whole blk pepper
Ricotta
- 2 Qt "Mozzaritta" ricotta
- 3 TB roasted garlic
- 1 tsp salt and pepper mix
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Ratatouille
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons blended olive oil
- 6 cups eggplant (skin off 1/2" x 1/2" dice)
- 2 quarts baby zucchini (45 degrees bais1/2" cut)
- 2 cups red peppers (1/2" x 1/2" dice)
- 2 cups yellow peppers (1/2" x 1/2" dice)
- 2 cups red onions (1/2" x 1/2" dice)
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons salt & pepper mix
- CURED TOMATOES: 3 pints each of the red and yellow grape tomatoes; 2 cup blended oil; 1/4 cup garlic cloves whole; 2 sprigs of basil stems-- sue vide 40 minutes at 72.5 C
- GARLIC: 4 cups whole garlic in 2 cups blended oil over high heat cook till golden and drain
Red Pepper Coulis
- 24 red peppers, whole (yield 4 quarts of finished product)
- 1/4 cup blended oil
- 2 cups shallots (sliced 1/2")
- 2 cups pepper juice
- 2 cups white wine
- 1/2 cup garlic cloves (whole)
- 4 cups roasted tomato sauce
- 1 cup sherry wine vinegar
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 TB salt and pepper mix
Preparation
Chicken
- Inject the chickens with a brining needle 2 times in the leg and three times in the breast
- Brine overnight (24 hours)
- Stuff the cavity with a sliced white onion, lemon wedge, thyme and rosemary sprig
- Preset oven to 400° degrees
- Rub the skin with blended oil, than salt & pepper than province herb mix
- When the oven is at 400°, place the trussed bird in the oven on a roasting rack for 15 minutes
- Then rotate the pan and reduce the oven to 320° and cook until the internal temperature is 160°, approx 20 more minutes
- Once cooled down bone the chicken out by removing the breast and the thigh/leg piece and remove the thigh bone
- Follow the procedures for the Ratatouille, Ricotta and the Red Pepper Coulis
- Assemble the dish using a rectangle plate 11x7
- Smear the ricotta from the top left to the top right two third of the way up the plate
- Heat the ratatouille up, finish with whole roasted garlic, basil and butter and spoon in to the valley of the ricotta
- The chicken-(breast and thigh/leg) are heated up in chicken stock and more herbs-(thyme-basil-rosemary minced) are added into the pan with the chicken.
- Bring to a simmer and place in the oven at 350° for 15 minutes.
- The sauce is ladled across the bottom of the plate
- The hot chicken is sliced out and placed half way between the ratatouille and the sauce from left to right
- Drizzle with Greek olive oil.
Brine
- Reduce by 25%
- Strain and cool
- Inject chickens ¼ in legs ¾ in breast (1 full needle per bird)
Ricotta
- Place all of the ingredients in a stainless steel bowl and mix well
Ratatouille
- Place the eggplant in a bowl with 1 TB salt & pepper mix, 1/4 cup blended oil, mix well.
- Allow the eggplant to rest for 30 minutes, rinse in a colander then re-season with and re-season again with 1/4 cup blended oil and 1 TB salt and pepper mix.
- Roast eggplant on a sheet pan at 400° for 10 minutes.
- Place the red and yellow peppers along with the red onions all in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper mix and 1/4 cup blended oil and mix well.
- Place on a one sheet pan in the oven at 400° for 12 minutes.
- Place the baby zucchini in bowl with 1 tsp salt and pepper mix and 2 TB blended oil, place on a sheet pan and roast at 400° for 8 minutes.
- When all of the ingredients are cooled down mix them all together, place in a labeled container.
Red Pepper Coulis
- Place the red peppers in perforated 4" pan inside a solid 4" hotel pan
- Steam for 20 minutes, then Cool down
- Clean the peppers from the core and seeds
- Reserve the pepper liquid-(juice)
- Using a 3 gallon stainless steel pot over medium heat add the blended oil
- Once hot add the shallots and garlic cloves and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the white wine and reduce by half
- Add the cleaned peppers, pepper juice, roasted tomato sauce, crushed red pepper flakes and salt & pepper mix
- Simmer for 15 minutes
- Add the sherry wine vinegar and simmer for two minutes
- Puree in small batches using the vita mix until smooth (one minute puree time)
This chicken looks amazing! Makes my mouth water just looking at it.
Thank you, Ginger!
The Best chicken ever.. I demo’d the nuggets years ago, while working at Whole Foods on Glades in Baca Raton. Sold Out almost every time & I worked
Fri, Sat &Sun. Can’t say enough great things about this chicken. ??⭐️?
That’s great to hear, Jacqueline!