Glass Bakeware Question

[SeanCan'tCook]

I'm the world's worst cook.

I bake/roast a lot of boneless/skinless chicken breasts. I like this method because it's simple, quick and easy. I use pyrex bakeware because the cleanup is so easy, and it's just not possible for me to burn the chicken and ruin the cookware, which i have often done in the past with metal cookware.

The only problem with this is the chicken sits in all that fat while it bakes. What I'd really like is some glass bakeware with ribs like a grillpan that holds the chicken out of the fat. I've looked, but can't find anything like that. is such a thing available, or is there another solution?

Thanks

 

[bevz]

Hey, thats the only kind of chicken I like to make. I often cut off the fat, there is usually still some on when I buy it, that might help unless they are already fatless. And the fat comes off much easier if it is still alittle frozen. I have never seen a glass pan like that, so I can't help you there, that would be nice to have though, hope you find one.

 

[bevz]

I just had an idea not always good) what about a small cooling rack in the pan, I never tried and I don't even know if you can bake such a thing, the coating on the rack might not stay on the rack, I don't know may be some one else knows, yeah I know you were asking about a pan sorry I'll shut up now

 

[babetoo]

i agree with the cooling rack, it should work and probably won't hurt the rack. you could make a solid base in bottom of pan with celery and sit chicken on that. if all you want is cooking on bottom instead of stewing in grease, throw celery away. or if fat is not your biggest worry, eat the celery.

 

[Andy M.]

I can't imagine there is all that much fat rendered from boneless skinless chicken breasts. That's why a lot of people eat them.

If you can't find small rack to fit into your pans, you could buy a pan with a fitted rack. Now that you have the process for cooking them down pat, you aren't going to burn them a lot. Go for a stainless steel or aluminum pan.

 

[Alix]

What you see in your pan is likely water not fat that comes out of the chicken breast when you bake it. Most chicken breast is full of salt water to plump them up. Don't worry about the fat, there likely isn't much.

 

[GB]

Place some veggies like ribs of celery or carrots under the meat to raise it out of the fat. Like Andy said though, there really should not be much noticeable fat from boneless skinless chix breasts.

 

[SeanCan'tCook]

Thanks for the responses. It makes sense that what I'm seeing is more water than fat. I hadn't thought of that.

I like the idea of the celery stalks, though. Not only would it help with any fat that's left, but it might add a little celery flavor as well.

While I'm at it, here's another question. What is the difference between baking and roasting? I have a recipe for baked chicken breasts, and another for roasted chicken breasts. Both have me cooking the chicken for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Thanks all.

 

[Selkie]

I believe that the difference between roasting and baking is the use of a lid to keep moisture from evaporating. Baking uses an open container with the cooking being done in the dry heat of the oven, while roasting is done within a closed pan or container, using the natural steam to help do the cooking. Most baking dishes come without lids (or if they do they are dual purpose), and roasting pans always come with lids.

And for your chicken sitting in fat problem, an inexpensive way to get it off the bottom of the baking dish is to use crumpled aluminum foil that has been punctured with a fork beneath it. The fork holes allow the fat to drain way from collecting directly in touch with it.

 

[GB]

roasting pans always come with lids.

The roasting pans I have bought have never come with lids. I did a Google shopping search for roasting pans and none of them came with lids (see here.)

There is no difference between roasting and baking. They are the exact same thing. Generally meats are roasted and desserts are baked, but it is just semantics.

 

[Selkie]

Semantics mean a lot in a semi-literate society. So, I just went through two dozen roasting various meats and vegetable recipes at random, on-line and from cookbooks, and 22 out of 24 called for covering with either a lid (roasting pan, dutch oven or crockpot) or aluminum foil. So, you buy your roasting pans without lids, and I'll buy mine with lids.

 

[Andy M.]

I bake a cake and roast a whole chicken. I do both in open containers. I also roast turkey, beef, pork and lamb in uncovered containers.

Both baking and roasting are dry heat cooking methods. Making a pot roast, on the other hand is a wet cooking method because you do the cooking in a covered container. Pot roast is a misnomer by the way. It's not roasting, it's braising.

The baking/roasting terminology can be confusing. Some recipes use one word and some use the other.

 

[GB]

So, you buy your roasting pans without lids, and I'll buy mine with lids.

That is fine Selkie. I am not arguing that some roasting pans may come with lids or that some of the recipes for roasting call for covering the dish. What I was taking exception to was this (bolding added by me for emphasis)...

roasting pans always come with lids.

This is just simply not true as my link shows and to the OP's question is no indication of baking vs roasting.

 

[GB]

Not that Webster is the answer to culinary terms definitions, but I found this interesting. These are the definitions from Websters on both roasting and baking.

Roast: To cook by exposing to dry heat (as in an oven or before a fire)

Bake: To cook (as food) by dry heat especially in an oven.

They are essentially the same definition.

 

[GB]

Interestingly, Epicurious defines roasting as

To oven-cook food in an uncovered pan, a method that usually produces a well-browned exterior and ideally a moist interior.

(bolding added by me for emphasis). Not that Epicurious is the be all end all of culinary terms either.

 

[Wyogal]

Roasting is done uncovered. One can cook cuts of meat called roasts by covering them. But, the definition of roasting (and I'm not going to bother to pull out my edition of Gisslen) is to cook by dry heat, not covered. Bake is virtually the same, just generally used in the US to refer to breads, cakes, fish, etc...