My family loves a simple roasted chicken, stuffed or not, but the cognac might be an amazing addition. The massage with butter is a must before roasting as is strict cleanliness.. !!
About the cross contamination comments, Julia was buying the best chickens from the best butchers, not some mass raised and mistreated things from one of today's big box stores. Plus, the dangers of cross contamination are overblown today. One must be careful when cooking for the aged, babies, or the ill, but otherwise sickness caused by raw chicken is rare. My father used to BBQ and serve the most tender chicken that I am sure was technically under cooked. The food police constantly make us afraid to eat anything.
I dunno, man. I worship Julia as a goddess, but she's touching at LOT of objects without washing her hands. Like the (very cool) German string-ball. And the bottle of Cognac! She's using her salmonella-smeared thumb as a valve, neatly washing the raw chicken schmear back into the Cognac. Will the alcohol kill the salmonella? Unclear, from what I've read. And the butter at the end! Scooped out with her FINGERS! Makes me anxious.
Haha I was thinking the same thing. Honest question: was salmonella less of a concern back then? I wonder if the scale and operation of modern chicken farms or just evolution of the bacteria itself makes salmonella more of a threat nowadays
