Wood-Fired Aurum Cockerel with Kombu Rice and Spinach Salad by Ross Lusted

SERVES:
4
PREP:
30 MINS
COOK:
1 HR 45 MINS

A wood-fired feast by Ross Lusted, featuring Aurum Cockerel served three ways: a togarashi-seasoned breast grilled over fire, poached legs and thighs baked into kombu-cooked Koshihikari rice, and a cold spinach salad with sesame dressing.

The whole bird is broken down and every part put to work. The legs and thighs are gently poached in a broth of sesame oil, ginger and green shallots, and that same broth is used to cook the rice with shiitake and shimeji mushrooms. Pressed into a cast iron pan lined with kombu and baked until the thigh skin turns crisp, the rice develops a deep, savoury character finished with soy sauce and bonito furikake.

The breast is left on the crown, dried and grilled over high heat to caramelise the skin, then rested and carved. Served alongside a refreshing blanched spinach salad with young ginger and shiso, this is a generous, Japanese-inspired centrepiece that celebrates the flavour and texture of Aurum Cockerel.

SHARE ON

Chef Ross Lusted tasting wood-fired Aurum Cockerel, with grilled breast and kombu rice with mushrooms and duck egg

INGREDIENTS

Wood-fired cockerel & kombu rice

For the cockerel

  • 1 x 1.7kg Aurum Cockerel
  • 20g togarashi seasoning
  • Peanut oil, for brushing
  • Chicken broth flavoured with sesame oil, ginger and green shallots, for poaching

For the kombu rice

  • 250g Koshihikari rice, washed 3 times to remove the starch
  • 60g shiitake mushrooms, chopped
  • 60g shimeji mushrooms, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 green spring onions
  • 50ml peanut oil
  • 30ml sesame oil
  • 1 soft-boiled duck egg
  • 40ml Japanese soy sauce
  • 1 piece kombu, rehydrated
  • Bonito furikake (available from good Asian grocery stores)

Cold spinach salad, sesame dressing

  • 2 bunches young English spinach, roots removed and washed
  • 1 large knob young ginger, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 punnet baby shiso leaves
  • 100ml sesame (goma) dressing (available from good Asian grocery stores)

METHOD

Step 1: Prepare the cockerel

  1. Remove the cockerel from the packaging and pat dry.
  2. Break the chicken down by removing the legs and thighs, retaining the breast on the crown.
  3. Season the breast on the bone with a little oil and togarashi seasoning. Set aside in the fridge, uncovered, to dry for a couple of hours.

Step 2: Poach the legs and thighs

  1. In a heavy-based pot, poach the legs and thighs in the chicken broth flavoured with sesame oil, ginger and green shallots.
  2. Simmer until the meat is tender but still clinging to the bone, approx. 40 minutes.
  3. Remove the thighs and cool on a plate, uncovered, so the skin firms up and dries.
  4. Cook the legs for another 10 minutes, then remove. Once cool, take the meat off the bone and shred into small pieces.
  5. Strain the poaching liquid and keep it for cooking the rice.

Step 3: Cook the kombu rice

  1. Heat the peanut and sesame oils in a heavy-based cast iron pot and fry the garlic until golden.
  2. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, then add the rice and cover with the poaching broth to about 1cm above the rice.
  3. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, reduce the heat and cook for about 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. The rice will not be fully cooked at this stage.
  4. Line a heavy-based cast iron pan with the rehydrated kombu. Add the rice and shredded leg meat and press down to cover the base evenly.
  5. Press the cooked thighs into the centre of the rice, add the duck egg and a little more broth.
  6. Bake uncovered in an oven preheated to 200°C for approx. 30 minutes, until the thigh skin is crisp and the rice is cooked through.
  7. Season with the soy sauce, cover and rest while you grill the breast.

Step 4: Grill the cockerel

  1. Preheat the grill or charcoal fire.
  2. Brush the seasoned crown with peanut oil and grill over high heat to caramelise the skin. Cook until just cooked but still slightly underdone on the bone.
  3. Rest the crown in a warm place for 10 minutes, then remove the breasts from the bone and dress with a little soy sauce in a warm bowl.

Step 5: Make the spinach salad

  1. Blanch the spinach in a pot of boiling salted water for 5 seconds, then refresh in iced water.
  2. Press the spinach between 2 tea towels to remove excess water.
  3. Roll the spinach into small balls, place in a bowl, dress with the sesame dressing and finish with sliced ginger and shiso leaves.

Step 6: Serve

  1. Top the rice with sliced green shallots and bonito furikake.
  2. Serve the grilled cockerel with the kombu rice and spinach salad.