With very little effort, chicken drumsticks are transformed into a fun and flavour-filled tasty treat! Enjoyed hot or cold, these meaty lollipops pack well and are fantastic on their own or will complement just about any side dish.
Slip and grip
Prepping these chicken drumsticks can be quite slippery! To improve grip when peeling and removing skin and tendons, use a paper towel and then discard.
To foil or not to foil
To prevent possible scorching of the drumstick bone on the barbecue, place a piece of aluminum foil around exposed bone while grilling and remove before serving.
Per serving:
Marinade
In small bowl, whisk olive oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice, and sea salt together and set aside.
Chicken
With sharp knife, carefully cut chicken drumsticks all the way around the leg bone at the small end of the drumstick (about halfway) where the meat meets the bone. Peel up and remove skin and tendons from the top end of the leg bone, leaving it clean. Push meat down toward the large end of the drumstick to make a lollipop shape. To make the chicken lollipop stand up for presentation, if needed, trim the bottom end off the chicken drumstick to flatten off the bottom so that it can stand up without falling over.
In glass container with lid or a sealable bag, place marinade and chicken drumsticks. Make sure drumsticks are completely coated before closing and storing in fridge. Refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours or, even better, overnight.
On well-heated barbecue at medium heat, place chicken lollipops on grill, standing up with meat side down (bone side up), while pushing meat down to the bottom with tongs. After 10 to 12 minutes, check chicken and turn chicken to side for 5 to 6 minutes. Continue turning and cooking chicken on each side every 5 to 6 minutes to ensure drumsticks are completely cooked through, finishing them off standing upright again. Ensure chicken drumsticks reach an internal temperature of 170 F (77 C) and juices run clear. Remove from grill and serve!
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.