roast chicken issues

[halfgut]

Last night I roasted a chicken in our brick oven. The starting temp was around 500 and was maintained throughout. At the end I pulled out the chicken and tested the meat with a thermometer. The breast temp. was around 190 - perfect for poultry. When we cut into the meat it was still blood red in places - not all the way through.

This was the maiden roasting voyage and I thought that if the meat got up to temp all was done. Silly me. the total roasting time was about 45 minutes.

How can this happen?

Enlighten me please.

[Archena]

Re: roast chicken issues

Last night I roasted a chicken in our brick oven. The starting temp was around 500 and was maintained throughout. At the end I pulled out the chicken and tested the meat with a thermometer. The breast temp. was around 190 - perfect for poultry. When we cut into the meat it was still blood red in places - not all the way through.

This was the maiden roasting voyage and I thought that if the meat got up to temp all was done. Silly me. the total roasting time was about 45 minutes.

How can this happen?

Enlighten me please.

How deep did you probe? The most obvious answer would be you had the thermometer too shallow. You don't want it on bone and you don't want it too near the surface.

The next question is where did you probe? You should use the breast as it usually finishes last.

How did you prep it? Was it in a dutch oven, open, covered, what? Some recipes call for the legs and wings to be covered separately but that will throw off your cooking times if you aren't careful.

How cold was it going in? Roasting a frozen or near frozen bird will result in uneven cooking because it doesn't thaw at an even rate. This would be my bet of what went wrong as it's the most common mistake. Poultry should be no colder than 40F and preferably a bit higher than that when going in to the oven. Warmer is better because the bones are less likely to still be cold enough to affect the cooking. Frozen bones are basically big ice cubes in your bird - they will seriously throw off cooking. Thaw a day ahead in the fridge or a couple hours in a water bath.

You might want to roast at a lower temp for a longer time - say 400 for an hour (hour and a half if you want it falling apart). Fast roasts are a) an oxymoron and b) likely to have cold/uncooked places.

[halfgut]

Re: roast chicken issues

Thanks for the reply. I probed the chicken in several different places (that doesn't sound very honorable does it?) and it all came out around 180ish.

I think you solved the problem though - the bones. The meat was thawed but I'm guessing the bones weren't since a lot of the blood came from around them.

The bird was started uncovered and then covered for the last ten minutes. I'm going to try again this weekend and incorporate your suggestions.

Thanks again.

[Archena]

Re: roast chicken issues

You're welcome - hope it goes great this time!

[wlively]

Re: roast chicken issues

I have done quite a few roast chickens for dinner after a pizza lunch.

I have done as much as 500deg without problem. But, I start with a refigerator temp bird. Then coat with butter spice mixture, stuff cavity with lemon slices and let sit out for 1 hour. Roast it in a roasting pan and put a can of water next to the pan. I use a remote reading thermometer that alarms at temp setpoint. I set it for 165 and when it is done, cover with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Most of the time I have done it uncovered, but I do watch it and will place foil over it as needed. Another plus to letting it sit out is it really helps find the cold spot when inserting the temp probe.

Good luck next time.

[Xabia Jim]

Re: roast chicken issues

warm the bird before cooking
cook longer at a lower temperature
let the bird rest after cooking

I believe in warming all meats before cooking
just did a bird in a warm oven for 4 hours
letting a roast rest a bit seems to improve their disposition

you might want to cut into the bird or roast to check how well it's done for you.
keep trying, they only get better!
btw, I rest the roasts with foil and a blanket cover to keep them warm

[Stan]

Re: roast chicken issues

190 is WAAAAAY too hot for a chicken. Breast is done by 160 and dark by 170, accounting for 5 degrees of carry-over. Let it rest and carry over, and as the pressure from the heat does its thing, you'll get around 5 more degrees of doneness.

Buy a non-digital probe thermometer. I got mine from the supermarket. It's meant to stay in the oven during the cooking process, so stick it in the deepest part and wait till it reads what you want it to read. Cold bones ARE a problem, but only if you're cooking in a really hot oven. Back off 100 degrees or start with a room temperature bird.

Stan

[Neil2]

Re: roast chicken issues

Remove backbone and butterfly the chicken if you are going to cook it at 500 F.