Barbecued Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Collard Greens, followed by Strawberry Shortcake

By lindsayvk

Called "Dinner for Dad" by Thomas Keller

Ingredients

• Bacon (about 4 oz slab bacon, or lardons, or strip)
• 2 About 2 pounds collard greens
• Unsalted butter (you'll need at least a stick) at room temperature
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 pound strawberries
• Sugar
• 1 to 2 tsp. Grand Marnier (optional)
• One 3-to 4-pound chicken
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce (try to find a sauce with some integrity, preferably from a small producer)
• 4 shortcake rounds

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. An hour before you want to eat, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. If you're grilling over coals, start the fire then too; if you're grilling over propane, know that you'll begin the chicken about a half hour after you start cooking , and preheat the grill so it is hot when you're ready to put your chicken on.
2. Put the bacon in a heavy Dutch oven adn set it over medium heat to begin rendering the fat. If you want to serve the bacon with the greens, cut it into lardons; I just wanted the bacon flavor, so I left it whole.
3. Remove the stems from the collards and discard them. Tear the leaves into large pieces. Wash them in cold water and dry them (use a salad spinner).
4. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven. Add the greens adn turn them over in the fat to wilt them. (You may need to do this in batches if they don't all fit in at once, and you might want to turn the heat up a little to speed up the process.) Add a "two-finger pinch" of salt and when the greens are wilted, cover the pot and put it in the oven.
5. Put your potatoes in a big pot, one that allows them plenty of room, cover them with cold water, add a three-finger pinch of salt, and set over high heat. When the water comes to a simmer, reduce the heat slightly to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook the potatoes until they're tender, meaning they give no resistance to a knife.
6. Meanwhile, hull the strawberries, cut them into small pieces, and put them in a bowl. Add two three-finger pinches of sugar and, if you like, the Grand Marnier.
7. Cut the chicken into 8 pieces: wings, breast, drumsticks and thighs. Season the chicken liberally with salt.
8. Put the drumsticks and thighs on the grill and cook them for 5 minutes. Add the breasts to the grill and then the wings. Many variables determine how long the pieces will take to cook. You want a medium-high fire, but you don't want them to burn or have flare-ups from dripping fat. I cooked mien for about 25 minutes. The thighs and drumsticks should be cooked through and tender.
9. Pour the half-and-half into a small pan and add a tablespoon of butter. Just before the potatoes are done, warm the half-and-half over low heat until the butter melts.
10. After the collards have cooked for 45 minutes or so, you can turn off the oven to finish them gently.
11. When the potatoes are done, drain them and put them in a bowl, where they will steam. Was and dry the pot.
12. When the potatoes have cooled just enough to handle-hold them with a kitchen towel if they're too hot for you-peel them. Press them through a ricer back into the pot. Stir in the warm butter and half-and-half until the consistency is to your liking. Season with salt to taste and partially cover to keep warm.
13. Put some ice in a large bowl and set a smaller bowl on top of the ice for the whipped cream. Add the cream, two three-finger pinches of sugar, and vanilla to the bowl and whip to soft peaks.
14. Remove the collards from the oven and keep them warm on the back of the stovetop.
15. Just before removing the chicken from the grill, baste it all over with the BBQ sauce. Cook it just a little longer to heat the sauce, then transfer to a serving platter.
16. Open a bottle of Pinot Noir. If you have a back porch and it's a perfect spring evening, serve your meal there.
17. Finish the potatoes by rewarming them over medium heat and stirring in some more butter (I like butter, so I use a lot--they should be moist and delicious). Taste them and add more salt if they need it.
18. Toss the collards so that they're evenly coated in the bacon fat and butter. Bring the collards, potatoes, and chicken, with serving utensils, to the table.
19. When you're ready for dessert, toss the strawberries in the juices they've released, spoon over teh shortcakes, and top with the whipped cream.