I have a chicken...

[Recoil Rob]

I was.

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Recoil Rob said:

No rotisserie setup. To me rotisserie is a cross between grill and roast. I spatchcock for the grill and truss for the roast.

I'm leaning towards the Canton white, may experiment a little....

To me, a rotisserie is neither - rather, it allows the bird to baste itself as it rotates slowly.

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Recoil Rob said:

I was.

Sorry. Tough times - And the big chicken can be very stringy and tough

[heidih]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

To me, a rotisserie is neither - rather, it allows the bird to baste itself as it rotates slowly.

 

Exactly. Forever been trying to tell my fat-phobic father that the fat is not dripping away - it is self basting. At some point ya give up. Huge fan of our  Peruvian chicken places like Pollo ala Brasa  

Edited July 12, 2020 by heidih (log)

[Yiannos]

12 minutes ago, heidih said:

Sorry. Tough times - And the big chicken can be very stringy and tough

 

I have experienced exactly this with most older 4lb+ birds, rarely tender and succulent, though flavor is decent. An easy way to use a chicken like this is Vivian Howard's Scarlett's Chicken and Rice, letting the hen stew for a while. It is hard to screw up, and comes out really flavorful though not exactly a summer dish in my opinion.

[heidih]

24 minutes ago, Yiannos said:

 

I have experienced exactly this with most older 4lb+ birds, rarely tender and succulent, though flavor is decent. An easy way to use a chicken like this is Vivian Howard's Scarlett's Chicken and Rice, letting the hen stew for a while. It is hard to screw up, and comes out really flavorful though not exactly a summer dish in my opinion.

 

But I got his spurs and made a necklace which is MIA

[FeChef]

9 hours ago, Recoil Rob said:

I have smoked chicken, seems a waste of time

Lost me at this.

[Katie Meadow]

Chickens of about five pounds or more are called stewing chickens--for a reason. I think it is worth looking at the Vivian Howard recipe for Scarlett's Chicken and Rice, cited above by @Yiannos. Personally I would use such a bird to make a rich stock. If you treat it like a fryer or a roaster you will get tough meat and miss out on the benefits of broth.

[liuzhou]

I just returned from my daily grocery hunt. I made a point of checking out the weight of chickens. They ranged from 1.2 to just under 1.5 kg. That is, I believe, 2lb 10oz to 3lb 5oz.

 

The only chickens  larger than that were what @Katie Meadowrefers to above, but even these came nowhere near 5lb - just over 4lb. They are old layers which no one would ever use for white cut chicken. It would be inedible. They are sold for making stocks and broth, although most are used industrially to make chicken bouillon and fertilizer.

Edited July 13, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

13 hours ago, Recoil Rob said:

Well, you should know.

 

Here 's the one I read, something about the ice water firming up the skin.

 

And another.....  This says OK to cook day before.

 

 

 

 

Looking at your first link it does say "The best chicken to poach for this white cut chicken recipe is a high quality, smaller, free-range chicken."

The image in the second link looks like no white cut chicken I've ever seen in a quarter of century of eating the dish. It doesn't even match the article's descripton. They posted the wrong picture.

 

Quote

cut off the head and neck (if attached) with a cleaver and put at one end of a large platter. (These parts, along with the back and feet, aren't always eaten.)

 

Nonsense. These are some of the most prized parts.

[kayb]

I don't remember how big the hens were when they got retired from egg-laying duties (to a little kid, all of them looked about the size of ostriches), but that was always an occasion for chicken and dumplings. Which is, btw, a dish I have NEVER been successful in making.

[Kerry Beal]

7 hours ago, kayb said:

I don't remember how big the hens were when they got retired from egg-laying duties (to a little kid, all of them looked about the size of ostriches), but that was always an occasion for chicken and dumplings. Which is, btw, a dish I have NEVER been successful in making.

Sounds like a challenge!

[kayb]

My dumplings always dissolve.

[robirdstx]

36 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Sounds like a challenge!

Or a Cook Off! 
 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 7/12/2020 at 1:17 PM, weinoo said:

To me, a rotisserie is neither - rather, it allows the bird to baste itself as it rotates slowly.

 

But also to anoint baby potatoes nestled below with both juice and fat.    While roast chicken is one of my faves, I lust over these potatoes.  

[Owtahear]

On ‎7‎/‎13‎/‎2020 at 6:30 PM, kayb said:

My dumplings always dissolve.

As do my dreams.

[heidih]

On 7/13/2020 at 3:30 PM, kayb said:

My dumplings always dissolve.

 

The rough recipe I posted about cow foot soup works for me. 1/2 cup each AP flour, cornmeal, milk (bit of salt + 2tsp baking powder) - gentle dollops, cover, low simmer. Or get a Matzo ball packet and call it "fusion"