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Whole Roast Chicken


Hank_Hill

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The store cooked chickens are fine and make for a good, quick, cheap meal.   And, as someone else, the leftovers are easy sandwiches or salads.

But, as with most things, doing it right your self is so much better.  The texture of the meat really changes.

One of the things I always battle, is the temperature to which you cook the chicken.  If you cook the breast to 165+ as recommended, the breast will be dry and stringy.  I usually start pulling at around 150.  I haven't killed anyone yet.  

This article, that I just found, may explain why.  It explains how you can achieve a safely cooked bird, that is still moist at a lower temp than 165,

Quote
The FDA Food Code recommends cooking chicken to 165°F (74°C). But the pasteurization of chicken is actually a function of both temperature and time. If you can hold your chicken at 145°F (63°C) for 8.5 minutes, you can achieve the same bacterial reduction as at 165°F (74°C). In his new book Kenji López-Alt uses this principle along with the principle of carryover cooking in large masses of meat to achieve succulent, perfectly safe results at a dramatically lower pull temp.

Whole Roasted Chicken Temperature Tips

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The store cooked chickens are fine and make for a good, quick, cheap meal.   And, as someone else, the leftovers are easy sandwiches or salads.
But, as with most things, doing it right your self is so much better.  The texture of the meat really changes.
One of the things I always battle, is the temperature to which you cook the chicken.  If you cook the breast to 165+ as recommended, the breast will be dry and stringy.  I usually start pulling at around 150.  I haven't killed anyone yet.  
This article, that I just found, may explain why.  It explains how you can achieve a safely cooked bird, that is still moist at a lower temp than 165,
The FDA Food Code recommends cooking chicken to 165°F (74°C). But the pasteurization of chicken is actually a function of both temperature and time. If you can hold your chicken at 145°F (63°C) for 8.5 minutes, you can achieve the same bacterial reduction as at 165°F (74°C). In his new book Kenji López-Alt uses this principle along with the principle of carryover cooking in large masses of meat to achieve succulent, perfectly safe results at a dramatically lower pull temp.
Whole Roasted Chicken Temperature Tips

Not the right thread, but this is the beauty of sous vide. It holds the temp steady to achieve pasteurization at the desired temp.
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1 hour ago, HouTex said:

Whole Roasted Chicken Temperature Tips

Not the right thread, but this is the beauty of sous vide. It holds the temp steady to achieve pasteurization at the desired temp.

10° coast in a chicken breast. makes you wonder a bit about the coast in some other things. 

Edited by elfenix
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I have never seen the type of carryover cooking many cooks reference.  Maybe a few degrees or so.

I'm gonna try to hold chicken breasts at say 150 F or so for 10 minutes next time.  Should be pretty easy to do by turning the oven down closer to that temperature.

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On 6/21/2018 at 3:54 PM, Walden Ponderer said:

Musakhan. My wife learned how to make this stuff from an immigrant family that owns a halal grocery here in bumfuck aggyland, and I swear by the stuff now.  It's basically roast chicken with sumac and grilled onions, served on a fairly thick bread that's a lot like naan.  I'm drooling right now just thinking about it.

do you roast it with the sumac on it already or do you sprinkle the sumac after?  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/20/2018 at 7:30 PM, Jimbaround said:

Just do the Thomas Keller recipe.

INGREDIENTS

One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional)
Unsalted butter
Dijon mustard

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.
Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip—until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good.

This is what I do. It turns out perfect every time, and is so Damn simple. 

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