Cooking an Heirloom Chicken

[DutchMuse]

A friend turned me onto heirloom chickens, which I buy from a small farm in Michigan. These are classic heirloom chickens; they look the part and have more fat on them then mass grown/produced chickens.

I'd like advice on the best cooking methods for these. The first one, I put on a rotisserie on the grill. No success--it was tough and reminiscent of the toughness of a Blue Foot Chicken from Sonoma I bought from d'Artagnan some years back.

Thoughts on the best ways to cook these birds, which can be a lot more tough than "regular" (kind of backwards logic there) chickens?

Thanks everybody for your help.

[jackal10]

Long and slow.

Sear the outside then cook at 60C/140F for 8 hours, then sear again.

[DutchMuse]

Can you explain a bit more about the rationale for that, jackal? Thanks!

[jackal10]

Suggest you read a basic text on sous vide type meat cookery such as http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=40548 or http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind//sous-vide.html

When you cook meat different processes happen at different speeds and temperatures

1. The proteins in the muscle fibres degrade, and the muscle fiber tightens, , This occurs mostly around 55C-65C, 130f-150f . Above that the sheaths of the muscle rupture and the cellular juices are lost. The meat becomes dry.

2. The myoglobin denatures, turning from pink to grey around 60C/140F

3. The collagen both in the muscle fibre sheath and in larger parts such as tendons converts in the presence of moisture to gelatin. This process is temperature dependent, slow at 60C/140F, and comparatively faster at 80C/180F

4. The outside browns through complex reactions (maillard reactions), also temperature dependent, but usually needing high dry heat.

5. The fat renders at a range of temperatures, but mostly for chicken above 70C/150C

You said the heritage chicken was tougher, implying the muscles had more connective tissue; I hope the bird was free range and had run around more.

There are a number of problems with cooking a chicken. You want to cook it long enough for the collagen in the tough parts, like the legs and thighs to dissolve, but not hot enough so the breast goes dry. Chickens also harbour Salmonella endemic in the flocks, so you need to cook it hot enough for long enough to ensure the meat is safe. 60C/140F for 8 hours or so is my version. FDA regulation minimum time is 12 minutes at 60C/140F in all parts of the meat , or 89 minutes at 55C/131F.. However meat conducts heat slowly, and you must allow more time for it to get up to temperature; several hours if the chicken thigh is 50mm thick, since the oven temperature is only just above the meat temperature, ensuring it does not overcook.

Heston Blumenthal (in "In search of perfection" ) recommends 4-6 hours at 60C/140F. or until the thickest part has reached 60C at the centre (use a digital thermometer, and hold at that temperature for at least 12 minutes to comply with health regulation) I prefer a longer to ensure tenderness. He brines his chicken and then blanches the skin and air dries it overnight in the fridge.

The initial searing is is to give the roasted flavours that can permeate through the skin into the meat. Other chefs roast some chicken, sich as the outer parts of the wing seperately, collect the pan juices and inject it into the chicken. The final sear is to crisp the skin.

Edited August 2, 2008 by jackal10 (log)

[DutchMuse]

Thanks much. Yes, I know all about sous vide cooking and several of my chef friends have secured approval by the NYC DOH for sous vide cooking.

Thanks for the explanation re the additional roasting time; much appreciated!

[DutchMuse]

Ok, I tried a recipe tonight that worked (not enough time to approach it the jackal way this g'round).

By the way, these are heirloom breed chickens at a farm in Michigan that raises them to a high standard and air cools them (vs. water cooling). They sell them to the French Laundry and Per Se, so we're not talking about a tough rooster here.

I tried the recipe from Cafe Boulud with a Tuscan bread stuffing under the skin and roasted in the oven (versus my prior attempt at the rotisserie on a TEC grill). They came out fabulous. The legs on these chickens are HUGE. And the skin seems thicker than "regular" chickens but it was crisp as I used the convection oven. Nothing tough tonight about them and they were incredibly flavorful.

Success at last. Next time perhaps I'll try a slow roasting method, but I think Keller cooks them similar to what he describes in his French Laundry cookbook.

Edited August 3, 2008 by DutchMuse (log)

[Abra]

If you have Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France try the Poule au Pot recipe. I used it last winter on a Bresse chicken and it was beyond delicious.

[Magictofu]

If you have Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France try the Poule au Pot recipe.  I used it last winter on a Bresse chicken and it was beyond delicious.

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This is exactly the kind of recipe that requires a good chicken to work properly... and I agree, I tried the recipe once and it was delicious.

[kellytree]

I found the beer can up the chicken butt (by the way, is there a "nicer" way to call this method??) cooked on the grill method works great for tough chickens (guniea fowl, turkey).

[CalumC]

I found the beer can up the chicken butt

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Care to explain? Sounds... interesting.

[Jon Savage]

I found the beer can up the chicken butt

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Care to explain? Sounds... interesting.

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Beer Butt Chicken. Basically prop up a chicken on 1/2 can of beer open end pointing into the body cavity (with or without spices and or herbs in it) on a grill using indirect heat, makes for a tasty bird. Rub skin with salt whatever you like as usual.

Takes an hour or two IIRC. Worth the modest effort.

I'm sure beer butt experts will chime in at some point.