Rosemary Sprig: Safe To Put In?

[Mylegsbig]

hey guys i am searing some chicken, then finishing roasting it in the oven.

when i take it out of the oven i am going to deglaze the pan with white wine and chicken stock, and some shallots and garlic in there.

Question: Is it cool if i throw in one of those sprigs of rosemary? leaves stem and all?

I will remove it before before pouring sauce on chicken.

Any ideas best way to go about this?

 

[mudbug]

Hey, legs:

strip the needles off the woody stem. I'd crush 'em up a little with my fingers to release the flavors as well. The stem isn't gonna do a thing for your dish.

 

[Haggis]

It's fine to do it as you planned. It will lend its flavour to the sauce without it being as powerful as it would if you chopped it finely.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Yup - just toss it in. I do that all the time & it definitely lends it's flavor & is easy to pluck out later - just like you'd do with a bay leaf.

With whole chickens I'll sometimes stick a whole handful of whole Rosemary sprigs inside, along with a quartered lemon, before roasting. Also lends a nice aroma & flavor.

If you do decided to strip the leaves & chop them up, just make sure to mince them as finely as possibly. Even fresh those evergreen-like leaves can be pointy. Also use less than you think you'll need. Chopped fresh (or dried) Rosemary can be quite overpowering.

 

[Constance]

I always like to put in whole rosemary springs for seasoning, then pull them out when I serve the dish. As much as I love the flavor, I don't care much for those little hard pieces in the finished dish.

 

[Robo410]

done all the time...for a light presence. If you want a strong presence, strip the leaves and mince them

 

[Andy M.]

For a quick pan sauce, you should strip off the leaves and crush or chop them before adding to the sauce. A pan sauce isn't cooking long enough to extract flavors from a whole sprig.

Adding a whole sprig is more appropriate for a longer cooking dish like a stew or roast.

 

[philso]

as far as garnishing and using the whole sprig of rosemary, whether or not to use stem depends on how fresh and green the stem is or how woody it is.

has anyone here tried frying their rosemary in some olive oil? tilt your saute pan so you don't need much oil and "deep fry". it becomes quite crispy. a nice garnish or, if you have a lot, nice to throw a handful into a green salad.

 

[mudbug]

maybe I misunderstood your question. I agree with the others that the whole stem is fine for the cavity of the chicken. thought you meant to put it in your sauce, in which case I stand by my first recommendation.