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- River Roast, you guys have this gorgeous location
in the heart of downtown Chicago.
- We are really fortunate to have this amazing location
right on the river.
As far as our concept, it's really based
on a British roast house doing the family style meal.
- For those who aren't familiar with the term,
what is a roasting situation?
- It's the slow-cooked process that gives the opportunity
for all the spices and seasoning to really shine through
and for that piece of meat to really shine through.
- A lot of people are sitting at home thinking
does Dean Martin sit inside the oven with the other proteins
and they pick on someone to roast?
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(laughing)
- That's definitely in the Dad Joke Hall of Fame.
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- You mentioned the outside patio.
Is there any talk of you guys having that open for winter?
Are you guys gonna have that covered
to fit in line with all the restrictions?
- We're doing what we can with altering the menu
to make it seasonal, making sure that we have
as many heaters as possible.
As always, we're really known
for our warm and welcoming staff.
- There are lots of people who wanna spend more time
at home right now and not cooking at home.
Thankfully, River Roast is also offering
these outrageously great meal kits as well.
- We are offering our pot pies as frozen take and bake now,
but what we're really successful with this summer
and are continuing through the fall are the grill packs.
- Your famous chicken, it's roasted,
it's succulent, juicy and delicious.
And that is one of the meal kits that you guys have.
- It is, it's amazing 'cause it's a three-day process
to really get it right.
And we're doing those first two days.
So we're packing it in spices,
then we cold smoke it in-house.
For delivery, we can either do it as a whole bird
or cut it half, spatch cock it.
Just throw it on the grill, roast it in the oven,
everybody's gonna think you're the best cook ever.
- You mentioned Chef Cedric and he's the one
who's gonna talk us through how to prep
and get the chicken cooked in the kitchen.
- He's really talented and he'll be able to show you how
to do this very simply at home.
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- Not only are you the Executive Chef at River Roast,
you're also the executive of dad jokes.
- I am a new dad, so I gotta get my arsenal ready.
- Good luck with being a new dad.
What I do know is that you're the father
of some incredible chicken.
What are the steps you take, what do we do?
- When the birds first come in, we get them cleaned up.
We salt and pepper and then we smoke them
with a little apple wood smoke.
It is cold smoked.
So the cold smoked lets it penetrate through your skin
to your meat without cooking it.
For our grill kits, we have the option of getting it whole.
You can get it quartered and we also can spatch cock it.
Spatch cocking is a way of flattening out your chicken
so everything cooks evenly.
- As the customer, what do I have to do next
to perfect your amazing chicken?
- Preheat your grill to about 450 degrees.
I have my chicken here, I have it oiled.
Take two tablespoons, just rub it on.
That's gonna help you resist sticking on your grill.
I like to put it on the hottest part of the grill
just to start getting some color on it,
which will be your grill marks
and a little bit of flavor from the char.
And I like to start with the legs facing me.
So this is gonna cook on this side for about three minutes.
So I'm gonna turn it here, nice color there.
- [Elliott] Oh yeah.
- That sucker should be ready.
I'm gonna transfer it to the oven.
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I'll let them cook until the internal temperature of 165.
- [Elliott] Our gorgeous chicken is ready.
- Chicken, right on top
of our wonderful River Roast potatoes.
- [Elliott] That's my kind of serving of potatoes.
- The best part of the potatoes is that we dress them
in some red wine vinegar, some garlic and some oregano,
bay leaf, salt and pepper, best in the city.
- I've got all your pro tips.
I'm gonna go hit the grill and I'll see you in a little bit
and we'll eat together.
- Okay, awesome, can't wait.
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- Can I just say that you look like a king
from a Game of Thrones episodes.
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- Fit for a king or a queen.
- You are a genius, my friend.
And you have helped me cook
some incredible grilled chicken here.
I've got my crispy skin the way I like it.
This chicken breast, this is juicy and succulent
and shimmering with all the juices
that have been retained in there.
Should we dive in?
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- It's good. - Oh my God.
- That cold smoking situation that penetrates the meat,
this chicken is different level chicken.
- Let the chicken come off the grill or out of the oven,
sit it on top of the potatoes, let those chicken drippings
drip into the potatoes, perfect.
- This is a meal kit to impress your entire family.
This chicken breast is so succulent.
It retained so much flavor.
It's incredible.
- That's the goal with spatch cocking is to make sure
that everything gets cooked evenly, not one piece
of the chicken is undercooked or overcooked.
You can taste the care and the love
that we put into making the chicken.
- That's what makes them Chicago's Best, my friends.
But I do have a confession to make.
I'm apparently a terrible driver
because the dessert did not make it back in great shape.
That's my bad.
- But it still tastes good, so don't forget to eat it.
- What is this, this is pumpkin cheesecake?
The chicken sends you on a high,
the pumpkin cheesecake puts it over the edge.
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