Basting Poultry -- Does it do anything?

[Stone]

I've made lots of chickens and turkeys where I've basted as instructed. I've made many where I just put the bird in the oven and ignored it. I can't say that I've noticed much of a difference.

How much can basting do? You're spooning a few tablespoons of fat over a chicken every 15 minutes or so. I can understand that it will help keep the skin moist, maybe even golden. Maybe it will keep the first 1/8 inch of meat moist. But can the basting juices really penetrate into the flesh underneath and do anything? If it could really increase the moisture an inch and half into the breast, why can't we marinate a chicken breast in 2 minutes instead of 30?

Edited November 16, 2003 by Stone (log)

[fifi]

Good point, Stone. I have always wondered the same thing for the same reasons. I have generally given up on it. Oooohhh... Sometimes I will just to make me look smart in the kitchen.

The only other reason I do it is for a specific effect like a coconut or demi-glace glaze toward the end.

[woodburner]

Basting the skin of an avian helps only the skin from excessive drying and crisping of the skin in my opinion. It adds nothing to the over all flavor of a chicken or turkey.

It provides a barrier or lubricant to keep the skin juicy and moist, and never permeates the skin.

One who bastes too often, could be called an excessive Masterbaster.

woodburner

[jo-mel]

I would think the basting of the breast area would keep that skin moist and the air around it, also moist. If the skin dried out too much, the flesh just below it might also dry out. Probably basting helps in the flavor and color of the skin -- only.

According to McGee's "On Food and Cooking" --"There is some disagreement on the value of basting, which does interrupt and slow down the cooking process. Excpt for very lean cuts, and areas like the chicken breast, which are easily dried out, the fat content of the tissue can probably keep the meet moist by itself."

For turkey, I don't concentrate on basting. I turn the bird on all four sides, ending breast side up,----then I baste for color.

[tejon]

One who bastes too often, could be called an excessive Masterbaster.

[beans]

To keep moisture in -- brining.

Basting: only slows down cooking. (oven recovery after the door has been opened and letting all of the heat out)

[=Mark]

What beans said...

[Stone]

Assuming that basting doesn't do anything (although maybe we haven't heard the last word on that), what good is wrapping a turkey breast in cheesecloth? Would that do anything more than keep the skin moist?

How about cooking the bird upside down? I could see how that might work -- as the flesh heats up and releases moisture, gravity would pull it down. if the bird is upside down, it would remain in the meaty portion of the breast, instead of going down towards the thighs and the junk backbone.

[Katherine]

I think Cook's Illustrated did a basting testing a few years back where they decided that basting doesn't help the meat, and ruins the skin (crispy skin, after all, being the best part).

[shudder]"Moist" turkey skin?[/shudder]

Basting could theoretically prevent breast meat from drying out and getting hard on the surface, but it's going to be just as overcooked and dry on the inside as if you hadn't.

[beans]

Assuming that basting doesn't do anything (although maybe we haven't heard the last word on that), what good is wrapping a turkey breast in cheesecloth? Would that do anything more than keep the skin moist?

You mean a la Martha with that four layers of cheesecloth soaked in butter and white wine? I'm not sure either, but that was the first time I've ever seen cheeseclothing covering something that was roasted.

I have done Alton's turkey with fabulous results. He places his bird legs first into the oven "since the dark meat can take a little bit more heat and doesn't dry as easily."

I wonder about the cheesecloth thing myself. Anyone?

[elyse]

My mother used cheesecloth every year. I'm interested.

[maggiethecat]

I have done Alton's turkey with fabulous results. He places his bird legs first into the oven "since the dark meat can take a little bit more heat and doesn't dry as easily."

I wonder about the cheesecloth thing myself. Anyone?

Beans, could you 'splain about Alton's "legs first" method?

My mother (who could have been Martha's mentor!) and my husband (her biggest fan) have both tried the cheesecloth method with excellent results. That said, I too doubt that basting improves a roasting turkey that much, whether you use a bulb baster, a spoon, or a few layers of cheesecloth.

tejon: What a wag you are!

[woodburner]

I wonder what makes rotisserie chicken so good?

My thought process leads me believe that a rotisserie provides a few essentials.

One, it keeps the fowl in a constant revolving motion, escaping direct heat on any one location for most of the cook, ensuring an evenly cooked bird.

Two, the revolving motion allows the skin to self-baste and evenly brown, and crisp the outer most exterior.

Opening an oven door, a few times during a turkey marathon, to do some basting would add very little to the overall cooking time

Cheesecloth would work very well.

woodburner

[beans]

I have done Alton's turkey with fabulous results.  He places his bird legs first into the oven "since the dark meat can take a little bit more heat and doesn't dry as easily."

I wonder about the cheesecloth thing myself.  Anyone?

Beans, could you 'splain about Alton's "legs first" method?

The bird sits in the v-shaped rack, breast side up and is closest to the door of the oven.

[FoodZealot]

For turkeys, the pan juices just run off the skin, so I don't think it does anything and I don't do it anymore. It would make more sense to me if the basting liquid was a bit thickened, like a glaze, but that would be glazing. Otherwise, the oven just loses heat, like beans and others have said.

BTW, Chris Schlessinger appeared on Martha Stewart and his cheesecloth technique - but only covering the breasts, as a kind of buffer, so the legs get more exposure to heat.

~Tad

[Stone]

BTW, Chris Schlessinger appeared on Martha Stewart and his cheesecloth technique - but only covering the breasts, as a kind of buffer, so the legs get more exposure to heat.

~Tad

I thought cheesecloth was meant to act as a moisture retainer, not a heat shield. If the latter, wouldn't foil be better, less messy, and less likely to ruin the skin?

(By the way, my mom brined her first turkey this year, and I assured her that she didn't have to baste once. It was great.)

[Jinmyo]

Basting is madness.

Just flip the fowl, flip back.

[Motochef]

Fifi and Katherine have it right.

No reason to do so unless you want to look smart in the kitchen.