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Roasting a Chicken


lullyloo

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Oh wow, so many great comments! In this thread and the one referred to by Dave the Cook. I have been an ex-vegetarian for a number of years, now, but haven't really done much cooking of meat/poultry (animals, basically). I'm not feeling squeamish about touching the bird, so roasting it whole is my plan. I want to also use the carcas afterwards to make stock, and I'll probably fry up some of the innards for my cat or those guests who want to eat the liver, heart, etc. I'll avoid the bacon, though. While it sounds intriguing, I'll most likely be cooking this as part of a meal for friends, and some of them don't eat bacon/pork.

I can tell that I'll have enough info and tips to make an incredibly delicious roast chicken. :biggrin:

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Arrgh!  Cakewalk, the entire point to Marcella's recipe is that cooking the chix breast-side down first bastes the breast and ensures it stays juicy.  If sticking is a problem, a little oil or butter rubbed on the breast takes care of it.

Chicken with two lemons is one of those perfect recipes that should not be messed with, imo.

I've done this version quite a bit.

A small piece of foil between the breast & roasting pan works wonders.

I sprayed my rack with pam...and it didn't stick at all. I'm all for labor saving steps! :rolleyes:

After taking a mouthful of boiling hot coffee, what ever you do next is wrong.

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Roast chicken was one of the staple dishes in my family. My mom would baste it with this mixture and the aroma would drive us crazy until dinnertime:

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon sugar or honey

1-2 teaspooons sesame oil (this is the special ingredient; you only need a little)

Because of the sugar, be wary of turning up the heat to 400 degrees: if you do, watch it carefully or you may burn the sugar. This basting will give you a beautiful brown color.

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I've been wanting to try Chef Fowke's trussing technique ever since I saw it on this thread. As of today, my new kitchen was finally sufficiently functional to give it a go. Besides, the range still doesn't work, so what better first meal than a roast chicken.

I did my best to follow Chef Fowke's directions. Whether I tied it precisely as he does or not, I'm not sure, but I got the general idea close enough to get good results.

Here are a couple of pictures that illustrate the change in shape of the chicken, from a 3-1/2 lb bowling ball to a lean, mean, skin-crisping machine.

i132.jpg

i133.jpg

Here it is covered in olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary about to go into a 390F convection oven along with some potatoes and cipollini onions.

i134.jpg

And fifty minutes later it's crisp and golden.

i135.jpg

I don't see the baby analogy. Siamese twin ducks, maybe...

Fifteen minutes in the warming drawer waiting for my dinner companion to arrive.

i136.jpg

And then it's quartered and ready for service.

i137.jpg

It was super simple and the best roast chicken I've ever made. A perfect way to christen the new kitchen. Now if only the range worked....

Chief Scientist / Amateur Cook

MadVal, Seattle, WA

Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code

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I've been wanting to try Chef Fowke's trussing technique ever since I saw it on this thread.

Here are a couple of pictures that illustrate the change in shape of the chicken, from a 3-1/2 lb bowling ball to a lean, mean, skin-crisping machine.

OMG, it looks just like a burnt baby! Shudder! After seeing the pictures, now I know I'll never truss like that.

Edit: In fact, I am feeling a bit queasy. Can't get the image out of my head.

Edited by browniebaker (log)
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Guess it was roast chicken night....

Based on the hints in this and the other roast chicken thread, I decided to go with the easiest approach...brined a four-pound+ roaster for a little over two hours; heated a cast-iron skillet in a 450 degree oven, while I prepared an herb (rosemary/thyme/sage), S&P, shallot and olive schmeer and let the brined roaster dry; used the herb/olive oil mixture on the skin as well as under, then "plopped" the roaster into the hot skillet and cooked for about an hour.

(I didn't bother with the interesting trussing technique suggested by Chef Fowke because the bird barely fit in my skillet without being stretched out.)

Bottom line: It turned out fabulously. I ran the pan juices through a gravy separator to get rid of the fat and I ended up with the best roast chicken and natural gravy that I've eaten in years, and it was sooo easy. :raz:

It would have been even easier had not had to clean and re-season my grandmother's skillet, which probably had not been used in ten years. FWIW...soaking it in several liters of Classic Coca-Cola worked wonders!!

Thanks to everyone for the info!!!

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OMG, it looks just like a burnt baby!

Burnt? Hardly. It's moist and evenly cooked from breast to thigh, with a crisp golden brown skin. Once you quarter it, it looks like every other roast chicken--but it tastes better.

Chief Scientist / Amateur Cook

MadVal, Seattle, WA

Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code

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OMG, it looks just like a burnt baby!

Burnt? Hardly. It's moist and evenly cooked from breast to thigh, with a crisp golden brown skin. Once you quarter it, it looks like every other roast chicken--but it tastes better.

Certainly the chicken's not burnt, but have you seen burned human skin? A burned baby looks just like that.

I am sure your chicken was as delicious as you say, but I am sorry to say that the limb-configuration that Chef Fowke's trussing method produces is, to me, unappetizing. Really.

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OMG, it looks just like a burnt baby! Shudder! After seeing the pictures, now I know I'll never truss like that.

Edit: In fact, I am feeling a bit queasy. Can't get the image out of my head.

I'm with you, brownie. I could never bring myself to but a headless baby in the oven.

Sherri A. Jackson
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Spatchcock.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Burnt baby my foot. :raz: It's beautiful, it's perfectly done, my stomach is growling and my mouth is watering. :smile:

So how come my three-year-old just now saw the photo of Vengroff's roasted chicken scroll by, pointed to the computer screen, and said, "Baby!"? LOL! That's the honesty of children for you.

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Heh heh heh.

I'd find a whole roast chicken less like a roasted baby if the feet were left on.

Anyway.

Spatchcocking makes a superior roast chicken. It just does.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Spatchcocking makes a superior roast chicken. It just does.

Plus, it's fun to say.

Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock

Spatchcock

--

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Spatchcocking makes a superior roast chicken. It just does.

Plus, it's fun to say.

Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock Spatchcock

Spatchcock

In the name of trying something new, not to mention appeasing baby lovers the world over, I hereby resolve that I shall spatchcock my next bird.

Chief Scientist / Amateur Cook

MadVal, Seattle, WA

Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code

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It's about time

About thirty years ago, I was much taken by Adelle Davis' book "Let's Cook It Right," following her rules for long slow cooking of poultry and meat in order to re-tain maximum nutritional value while obtaining maximum juiciness and flavor.

I tried out many of her ideas including her most eccentric--

cooking over just my pilot light. Her theory of slow poultry

roasting was to cook a bird at the same temperature that you

wanted it to obtain when done, about 165 F. For example she sug-

gested roasting a chicken for an entire day! Her argument was

that roasting a chicken at a very low temperature would not only

preserve its flavor and tenderness, but would also keep in all

the juices. In fact, her method produced a superb degree of

moistness.

When I did this, I had no idea I could have been playing Russian roulette with the health of my family. Slow roasting a chicken can present a whole slew of bacterial problems, an important consideration since many chickens on the market today can be contaminated. On the other hand, I think Heston Blumenthal has written about LTLT (long time long temperature) cooking which more or less makes this an interesting method to reconsider. What do you think?

“C’est dans les vieux pots, qu’on fait la bonne soupe!”, or ‘it is in old pots that good soup is made’.

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I actually like to baste my chicken with rendered duck fat as it cooks.  Gives it a nice crispy skin.  Something to consider.

Oooh. I have a lot of goose fat left over from confit. Thanks for the idea. :biggrin::wub:

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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I think there are places where LTLT just doesn't fit. I think a chicken has got to be one of them. I just can't see myself rolling the dice on salmonella.

Maybe if you threw some serious heat at it for a minute and then lowered it? Still, I think the nasties aren't just potentially on the surface in chicken, are they?

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Plus, it's fun to say.

Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock  Spatchcock 

Spatchcock

Gee, that has a familiar ring. :hmmm:

It does make me feel like spatchcocking something!

Edited by maggiethecat (log)

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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