A dishwasher (the appliance, not a person) does a pretty good job of cleaning racks. Gets the goo off of places that are hard to clean by hand.
taxlady said:A dishwasher (the appliance, not a person) does a pretty good job of cleaning racks. Gets the goo off of places that are hard to clean by hand.
Greg Who Cooks said:Depending on whether you're going to use the pan juices or discard them, if the latter then cover the pan with aluminum foil for NO cleaning. When you're done just wad up the foil and throw it away.
It's always a good idea to give thought to ways to minimize unnecessary work.Love it! The less cleaning the better. Sometimes I avoid cooking because of how much work it is to clean up afterwards.
It's always a good idea to give thought to ways to minimize unnecessary work.
Another thing that works for me is to clean while I'm cooking. For example, while I'm reducing a sauce I might clean up some of the dishes I had used for pre-measured ingredients (mise en place) and put them away. On a good day by the time I serve dinner the only dirty dishes, pots and pans are the one I'm serving from.
all I have left to wash is the spatula, mixing bowl and my hands.
Now Addie... aren't ya supposed to wash those first?
So I tried using a meat thermometer and a broiling pan tonight and had some logistical problems.
I attempted to put the thermometer in a chicken thigh while it was in the oven and couldn't reach it because my oven is so small. I ended up having to pull the pan out of the oven, take the temperature of the meat, and put it back. Is this what people normally do?
Also there was a spot on the bottom of one of the thighs that seemed red and undercooked. I don't think I could have left the meat in longer (40 minutes at 400) because the rest of the thigh seemed a bit dry. What could I have done differently?
Andy M. said:What temperatures did your thermometer read?
How many different spots did you check temps?
It's OK that you take the meat out to check the temps.
Andy M. said:The joint where the thigh attaches to the body is always the last place to cook through.
188º F is a good temp. for thigh meat. next time check the breast at the thickest part and the thigh in a couple of spots. If you hit at least 165º in the breast and 185º in the thigh, take the bird out, cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. It will finish cooking during that resting time.
Thanks for clarifying! How often do you usually check the temperature with the first type of thermometer you described.
I rested it for only 5 minutes because I was hungry. Do you think that might have been part of the problem? Seems like the chicken keeps cooking after it's out of the oven.
Bmhughes89 said:It certainly does keep cooking once out of the oven. Resting it will allow the juices to be absorbed by the breast, thigh, ect. Flipping the chicken breast mid cook and resting for 10 minutes will help out a lot.
I usually pull the rack forward to get the thermometer into the meat.So I tried using a meat thermometer and a broiling pan tonight and had some logistical problems.
I attempted to put the thermometer in a chicken thigh while it was in the oven and couldn't reach it because my oven is so small. I ended up having to pull the pan out of the oven, take the temperature of the meat, and put it back. Is this what people normally do?
Also there was a spot on the bottom of one of the thighs that seemed red and undercooked. I don't think I could have left the meat in longer (40 minutes at 400) because the rest of the thigh seemed a bit dry. What could I have done differently?