Help me out here. I am a failure at roasting chicken. I use a

[japple]

meat thermometer and when the temp in the deepest part of the thigh reaches 165, it should be done, according to the directions. When I start cutting into it, there is blood at the bone and the thigh meat feels slimy. I have read more techniques than I can count and have watched many videos. I've cooked it on the bottom of the oven and in the middle. I've started it out at 400, then reduced to 350 after 20 minutes. I've roasted it at 350 from start to finish. It always comes out the same. I've got an idea that it might be my oven, but haven't gotten around to getting a new oven thermometer yet.

Thanking you in advance for the good ideas that always pour forth in this group.

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Might you be using instructions for a fully thawed bird but yours aren't...just a thought.

[japple]

17. It was fully thawed when I bought it yesterday and it sat in the refrigerator

overnight. When I pulled the giblets out, they were completely thawed.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. Get a better thermometer is the obvious answer

I have one with 4 probes that sends temps to my phone. I'll put two into the chicken and use a third for ambient temp in the region of the chicken.

If you wait until 165F it should be some pretty damn well-done chicken honestly. I barbeque whole chickens all the time, and if I pull them off at 160F they come out perfect after about a 15 minute set under some foil and a towel, temp usually goes up a couple more degrees.

There's sometimes some blood right at the bone, I don't worry about it, I just don't eat it. Also BBQ chicken gives a generally more reddish tone to the dark meat, no idea why.

BTW, what do you cook it on/in in terms of a container?

[japple]

18. I cook it in a metal roasting pan with a rack.

eom

[Atticus]

3. I have found it helpful to thoroughly pierce both where the drumstick and thigh join

and where the thigh connects to the body. I use a knife was with a thin pointed blade and try to put the point "into" the actual joint. This allows some of the blood to escape and be cooked.

It is not a total answer to the common problem you mention, but it seems to help.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

4. I check the instructions on the outer packaging.

based at 350 degrees F.

A 5 to 6 pound chicken takes about 1 3/4 hours to 2 hours, baked on a rack. I like to put Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the skin with a sprinkling of Poultry Seasoning. Inside the chest cavity, chunks of fresh Lemon and Orange, Garlic cloves, plus some Rosemary and Thyme leaves.

Happy cooking.

[CountAllVotes]

5. Make sure it is fully thawed out

And throw it in the oven for about 1-1/2 hrs. @ 375 degrees and it will be done (I hope!).

If it a larger chicken (over 5 lbs.) I'd give it two hrs. @ 375 degrees.

Nothing worse than eating a chicken that is not fully cooked.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. If I accidentally pull mine out a little too early ...

I just avoid the not fully cooked parts (breast is usually totally done), put carcass in fridge, and make soup the next day. It gets VERY fully cooked then.

But then I'm usually only feeding 1 or 2 people. We ain't eating anywhere near a whole chicken

That said, cooking a whole bird only based on time and oven temp ... is really not the best method in my experience. Probes are VERY helpful.

[CountAllVotes]

7. I don't cook much any more

I used to cook for the entire family starting at age seven!

I was told to do it this way (and to put carrots and potatoes in with it).

No real complaints but no real praises either.

I dislike meat that is not cooked well-done.

[japple]

19. I just got through picking the bones off that bird. My neighbor's

big lab loves the rubbery bits and the other tidbits, though I make sure never to give him any bones or fat.

[randr]

8. Do you have a BBQ grill and does it have an upper grill deck?

I have finally found a fool proof way to roast chicken so that I get brown crispy skin and moist meat .
I remove the back bone and splay the chicken on the upper grill of my BBQ.
I pre-heat to 400+, place the bird right on grate, and set temp to 325.
Close the grill and do not open for at least 20 mins.
At this point I may slather on some sauce the the skin soaks right in and check temp in center of thigh.
Generally within another 10-15 mins. it will be perfect.
I think I'll go pull one out of the freezer for this weekend.

[usonian]

12. Is the same as spatchcocking?

Illustrated article here:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/spatchcocking-a-chicken

Looks like a slick solution. I cook for one and a whole chicken would be roughly a week of meals.

I need to keep things simple, but simplicity is not easy when everything is sold in large sizes.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.

Oh, is that rotisserie?

[tishaLA]

15. Yeah, that's spatchcocking

It's the only way I roast chicken and it's pretty much foolproof as long as you have good kitchen scissors/poultry shears, a sheet pan, and a rack. 450 the whole time, easy peasy.

https://www.seriouseats.com/butterflied-roasted-chicken-with-quick-jus-recipe

[japple]

20. I do have an electric patio grill, but don't think it's

up to the challenge of a whole chicken, though it does a great job with pieces, pork tenderloins and vegetables.

[randr]

24. You would need one large enough to layout the whole chicken

[getagrip_already]

9. look into spatcocking....

Basically you cut out the backbone and butterfly the chicken. That allows it to cook not only more evenly, but much faster.

I do this with turkeys and it ends up ith crisp skin and juicy meat without undercooking the legs/thighs.

Just a thunk.....

[hippywife]

10. You're on the right initial track

Last edited Fri Feb 10, 2023, 06:00 PM - Edit history (1)

with getting a new oven thermometer to make sure your oven is coming to the accurate temps.

Also, make sure your thermometer isn't touching the bone, just the meat when you check the temp. Should be in the fattest part of the thigh and/or breast.

This is my favorite way to roast a chicken, it's a delicious and easy, can't miss recipe:

[rsdsharp]

11. Make sure the probe is in the thickest part of the thigh, and not touching the bone.

Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes. This will allow some carry over cooking.

Make sure the probe is correctly calibrated.

https://m.

Frankly, I’d go to 170-175° in the thigh. 165° is the safe temp for chicken, but the thigh needs more heat to be fully done.

[japple]

21. Thanks, will do this calibration with my meat thermometer.

[lillypaddle]

13. Like you, I tried all methods and madness

And FINALLY, at age 73, I found the right recipe and video. So easy and my roast chickens have come out perfectly. I did, however, buy an in-oven digital thermometer (it was less that $20) with a timer/alarm.

Natasha's Kitchen is one of my go-to, no nonsense, easy and delicious sites to get recipes and videos. Give this a try:

&ab_channel=NatashasKitchen

[japple]

22. Well, I just turned 73, so maybe my time has come!! I like

Natasha's Kitchen, too, so this will be fun to watch.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

26. This reminds me of other uses for time travel.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could go back 50 years and explain this to the young lillypaddle? I bet she'd appreciate it.

[lillypaddle]

27. Nah, 25 year old lillypaddle

could not have cared less about how to cook a chicken. She'd be lookin' for the groove. Probably why it took her so long to learn to cook a chicken.

[Kali]

14. go to the thermoworks website and read a few articles on the subject

temp is safe to eat, but dark meat has more "stuff" that need time as well as temp to melt and get to a texture that is palatable. white meat is just lean muscle and doesn't need that extra time. hence various attempts to compensate via positioning, foil, etc.

problem is magnified on large poultry like turkey. solutions are, live with dry white meat (GRAVY!), cut up and use different times, master the positioning thing (can roast breast down for most of cooking time, or spatchcock and "protect" breast with darker leg/thigh parts on outside)

[Paper Roses]

16. I may be wrong but I cook my chicken longer than recommended.

I have found that the recommended temps may make it safe but there are still fatty areas and the chicken seems to be not properly cooked. I like it a little dry, not "wet". I'd rather it slightly overcooked than wet and with globs of fat or joints that are not really cooked.

I cook it in my oven on a bed of carrots and onions and use the drippings for a simple gravy.

[japple]

23. Thanks a bunch. Hearts to all. I now have a few quarts of lovely

chicken stock which I will use for soup. The chicken that I cooked today was a little over 4 lbs and that was actually the smallest one in the meat case. I always used to buy 3# chickens as it is the perfect size for one or two people. These days, it's impossible in my area to buy one that size. I don't think bigger is better, especially when it comes to chicken.

[lillypaddle]

25. Okay, now I want chicken

but tomorrow I will settle for Natasha's roast pork tenderloin recipe. Sounds really easy.

[Major Nikon]

28. What you are describing isn't blood and is a poor indicator of doneness

If the juices have a pink color it is due to the myoglobin contained in the juices of the meat. Older cookbooks instructed you to cook chicken until the juices run clear, but this is actually very bad advice. Myoglobin turns color when it denatures and this may happen at 150F or 180F. You could potentially have a very much overcooked or undercooked chicken if you rely on that indication. Temperature and time are the proper indicator of doneness.

[PennyC]

29. Just cook it longer!

I actually have a recipe called Family-style chicken, and it cooks for two hours!!!!

I use cut-up, skin-on parts. Season however you like and cover the pan with foil. Cook at 350 degrees. One hour in, remove from oven and baste the chicken with the pan juices. Put back uncovered for the second hour. You'll get melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness and you won't need a thermometer.

(You most likely didn't "rest" your bird after removing from the oven.)