Tonks
Assistant Cook
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2012
- Messages
- 2
Does anyone know any secrets to really bring out the moisture in chicken and other fowls? I just HATE dry chicken, turkey, duck etc.
I use the wrap for other thing Quintuplets, would you believe toaster bags are not common in the US.Have you ever tried roasting bags? It works most definitely. Over here, I can either get roasting bags or a roll of wrap - cellophane type stuff which you twist at the ends and it seals the bird in a nice juicy bag. It still browns but it stays wonderfully moist.
Have you ever tried roasting bags? It works most definitely. Over here, I can either get roasting bags or a roll of wrap - cellophane type stuff which you twist at the ends and it seals the bird in a nice juicy bag. It still browns but it stays wonderfully moist.
Three things that will do the trick.
1. Don't overcook. Overcooking is why poultry is dry. Especially white meat, which is the leanest.
2. Brining will add flavor and moisture to the poultry. It also gives you some leeway if you overcook.
3. Buy a digital instant read thermometer so you know when it's done.
I agree on all counts.
And will add that the quality of the poultry matters, too. I'll never buy Perdue or store brand again.
We brined and grilled a Bell and Evans chicken last night and it was SODALICIOUS!!
CI did a up-side-down bird. First brined, then started the roast with the backbone up {or upside down} then flipped over to finish and to brown the skin. With this method the fattier dark meat self-bastes the white meat. I agree however with all the other posters, regardless of the method, not over cooking and using a meat thermometer is essential.
I use instructions from Joy of Cooking 1997 edition:
25 minutes for the first 4 pounds of bird + 3 minutes for each additional pound of bird on one side. Then flip it to the other side and roast for the same amount of time. Then flip it on its back for 15 - 30 minutes. All of that in a 400 F oven.
Juicy white meat, sufficiently cooked dark meat, and the back isn't soggy with all the good juices. The skin comes out crispy too. I've even done this with turkey (at my MIL's place) and it worked well.
The flipping on the side points the legs at the top and bottom of the oven, which is where the heat comes from, so the dark meat gets a chance to cook a bit more than the white meat.
I'm not sure it was advice from Rombauer & Becker. That particular edition of Joy of Cooking was turned over to professional chefs and is not one I would recommend. They were trying to "improve" it.They (Rombauer & Becker) have some great advice in Joy of Cooking! It was my principal reference 20 years before the Internet, and I still find their advice useful and informative in the present day.
Thanks TL for telling me the info. I'm pretty sure I bought my current Joy of Cooking perhaps sometime in the '80s, after my original paperback perhaps from the early '70s. I never knew they horsed it up later after I bought my reference copy in the '80s. Mine is in like new condition (unlike my first copy) and one thing for sure, they'll have to personally visit me to mess up my own copy.