Cooking time for whole chicken in tandoor oven

[gorkreg]

Hi there.

I am cooking a whole chicken in a tandoor and I am wondering how long should I cook it for. All the recipes that I have found are for traditional electric ovens. Is 300 Celsius enough temperature or should I go higher?

Also, should I baste it with ghee every so often to keep it moist or this is not necessary in a tandoor.

Thanks in advance.

[Syzygies]

 

The definitive English language Tandoor cookbook is Tandoor: The Great Indian Barbecue by Ranjit Rai, written for an Indian audience. Even if one is not using an actual tandoor, it is always better to translate once to one's equipment, than to translate twice via someone else's equipment.

 

Ranjit Rai gives 250 Celsius as the traditional temperature for tandoori chicken in a tandoor, and 20 minutes as a cooking time. However, in any cooker based on fire, temperature is relative. How much convection? How much radiant heat? And chickens vary in size; my legs the other night needed half an hour.

 

One can make decent tandoori in a ceramic cooker such as a Komodo Kamado. I recommend cooking indirect on vertical spikes such as the Trompo King Four Spike System. This comes apart into two pairs of spikes, and slides over any 1/4" vertical spike, that can be placed in any style of drip pan. One is not restricted to their system.

[KennethT]

I assume your whole chicken is broken down into parts, no? Otherwise, I don't think you'll get good results cooking a whole chicken in a tandoori - the high heat will burn the outside before the inside is done.

[gorkreg]

Wow! This forum is slow answering. One year later ;-)
Thank you anyway. I do have a clay tandoor and that is why I asked about cooking times on it. I ended up buying a termometre to check the inside temperature of the chicken.

I also owned the book by Ranjit Rai. It is great although I find he adds way too much marinate and a lot of ot is wasted. The amounts should be halved.  

Definitely a whole chicken. This is being done all the time.

[Kerala]

Please pull us.our of our ignorance! How long? How hot? Please give us details of your set-up, including photos if possible. I'm thinking of getting a Big Green Egg sometime soon so any insights are appreciated. .

[gorkreg]

To be honest, I don't remember the exact time because I used the thermometer but I'd say around 30-40 minutes.

The temperature, maybe 300°C to start, although it does go down to 250°C during cooking.

Good luck with yours and don't forget to give us some feedback here.

[Sdogg]

On 4/30/2020 at 7:04 PM, gorkreg said:

Hi there.

I am cooking a whole chicken in a tandoor and I am wondering how long should I cook it for. All the recipes that I have found are for traditional electric ovens. Is 300 Celsius enough temperature or should I go higher?

Also, should I baste it with ghee every so often to keep it moist or this is not necessary in a tandoor.

Thanks in advance.

 

I have a tandoor and cook tandoori chicken fairly often.

 

For cooking a whole chicken in a tandoor, a temperature of around 400 degrees Celsius,

is ideal to achieve a nice sear on the outside of the chicken while keeping the inside moist and tender. 

Pay attention to the chicken closely to avoid overcooking, as tandoor cooking is relatively quick. (15-20 min)

 

I've overcooked my fair share of chicken by not paying attention 😂

 

Basting with ghee can add flavour and moisture to the chicken.

You know, everything tastes better with ghee

But honestly, it's really not necessary if you have a tandoor because

The intense heat of the tandoor helps to keep the chicken moist without the need for frequent basting.

 

If you do baste, just baste once at the start and once while cooking.

 

I used a Sumachay Home Tandoor Oven with the provided thick square skewers for my tandoori chicken

It came out like this:

 

 

[rotuts]

@Sdogg 

 

that's a very interesting tandoor site .

 

the GTA has everything it seems.

 

quite some time ago , the NYTimes had a feature on a new tandoor

 

that was fired w propane .  thick clay insert from India , 

 

forgot all about home backyard tandoors   

 

thankfully

 

i would have like to see how its fueled w charcoal , 

 

lighting the charcoal , adding more charcoal .

 

I congratulate you on your purchase. 

 

I should be pleased the GTA $ 50 (CND ? ) delivery fee

 

doesn't reach down into deep New England.

[Sdogg]

4 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Sdogg 

 

that's a very interesting tandoor site .

 

the GTA has everything it seems.

 

quite some time ago , the NYTimes had a feature on a new tandoor

 

that was fired w propane .  thick clay insert from India , 

 

forgot all about home backyard tandoors   

 

thankfully

 

i would have like to see how its fueled w charcoal , 

 

lighting the charcoal , adding more charcoal .

 

I congratulate you on your purchase. 

 

I should be pleased the GTA $ 50 (CND ? ) delivery fee

 

doesn't reach down into deep New England.

 

Yeah the GTA really does have everything.

 

Had some heavenly General Tso Pizza the other day 😂

 

But yeah, about the charcoal, it is honestly not that different from lighting a charcoal grill.

 

Just place lump charcoal pieces at the bottom of tandoor in like a single layer.

 

Use a firestarter cube or kindling or whatever and light the fire 

 

once the fire is going make sure it covers the base completely so you get even heat distribution

 

Then wait about 30 minutes for the clay oven walls to heat up

 

The tandoor is ready for cooking when the charcoal is glowing hot (ash will turn white), and there are no visible flames. 

 

Now do whatever cooking you need to do (throw in the skewers or bread on the walls)

 

You really don't need to add more charcoal cause the tandoor holds on to the heat pretty well, but if you feel it's not hot enough you can put some through the side entrance

or remove the skewers and drop it in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

7 minutes ago, Sdogg said:

General Tso Pizza

 

Oh please!

[Sdogg]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

 

Oh please!

 

Yee, good ole Martino Pizza and Asian Kitchen

 

https://martinokitchen.com/

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, Sdogg said:

 

Yee, good ole Martino Pizza and Asian Kitchen

 

 

 

There is little Asian about General Tso's other than the name. But I am impressed by the fusion of fake Chinese and Italian food. No desire to eat it, though.

Edited August 24, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[rotuts]

#Sdogg 

 

sub out those GBP's

 

for some serrano's or jalepeno's

 

Id be all over that.