Slow cook an entire chicken - help

steinooo

steinooo

steinooo

Soldato
Joined
31 Dec 2003
Posts
4,749
Location
Stoke on Trent
hi all,

I bought a whole chicken earlier with the intention of slow cooking it. Now i'm panicked that a)it won't cook properly and b) that it'll be solid to separate the chicken from the bones afterwards, as there are so many bones in an entire chicken.

has anyone ever done this who can advise me please?

also - shall I include vegetables (I have parsnips and cubed carrot and swede)?
 
OMG dude thanks for the link but there is NO WAY I can do that


what was the heston method? did he debone the chicken? I did hear that the arms and legs release a lot of fat :( what did you do exactly? Also unsure on how much liquid (stock) to use if any
 
I'm no expert but:

Perhaps you could wrap it in foil to keep the moisture in then remove it about 20 minutes before hand to crisp the skin?

I saw Rachel Allen (chef) suggest that you can tell if a chicken is cooked by pushing the ends of legs down with something, if the leg feels as though it's pulling away/dropping off then it is cooked apparently!

Also, why would it be solid to remove the bones? I don't quite get what you mean. You'll have to carve or cut the breast meat off but the legs should be easy enough to cut off.

Edit - do you mean cooked in a slow cooker or cooked slowly in a cooker?

If it's in a slow cooker then it shouldn't dry out because you would have stock in there? You could always cut the chicken before putting it in the slow cooker too.

Google away for some recipes and you will find all of your answers, such as : http://slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/slow_cooker_chicken_recipes.htm
 
Last edited:
Any reason you'd like to slow cook it? Chicken is a very tender meat cooked quickly, so can't see any major reason to slow cook it. Will also release lots of fat (which is great in other cooking methods).

Personally I'd just roast it, very hard to better a well roasted chicken :)
 
sigma said:
I'm no expert but:

Perhaps you could wrap it in foil to keep the moisture in then remove it about 20 minutes before hand to crisp the skin?

I saw Rachel Allen (chef) suggest that you can tell if a chicken is cooked by pushing the ends of legs down with something, if the leg feels as though it's pulling away/dropping off then it is cooked apparently!

Also, why would it be solid to remove the bones? I don't quite get what you mean. You'll have to carve or cut the breast meat off but the legs should be easy enough to cut off.

Edit - do you mean cooked in a slow cooker or cooked slowly in a cooker?

If it's in a slow cooker then it shouldn't dry out because you would have stock in there? You could always cut the chicken before putting it in the slow cooker too.

Google away for some recipes and you will find all of your answers, such as : http://slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/slow_cooker_chicken_recipes.htm
Click to expand...

Cheers mate will browse that link at work 2moro. I mean slow cooked in a slow cooker, which I assume as well that will be as moist as it can be with the stock.

I meant solid to remove the bones because I literally don't know how it will look once it's had 7/8 hours in the slow cooker. Will i literally be able to pull the legs and arms away and them fall apart from the rest of the torso? If so, will the chest/ribcage be easy to separate from the meat?

I also don't understand this "giblet" business. Will mine from Sainsbury's have some in? If so should I remove before cooking?

HeadlessChicken said:
Any reason you'd like to slow cook it? Chicken is a very tender meat cooked quickly, so can't see any major reason to slow cook it. Will also release lots of fat (which is great in other cooking methods).

Personally I'd just roast it, very hard to better a well roasted chicken :)
Click to expand...

I have wondered since I bought it whether or not I should roast instead, mainly because I've bought a high quality, corn-fed organic one. I just fancy trying slow cooked as I've never had it before.
 
Rather than slow cooking, for the same amount of time you could brine it and cook it v fast, v hot a la Thomas Keller.. I think you'd be impressed with the results
 
I've done a slow cooked chicken a couple of times. When it's finished slow cooking, I like to take it out of the oven, turn the oven up to very hot (230 C), dry the skin, and wack it back in for 15 mins to crisp up the skin.

Normally though I roast the bird fast on a high heat from room temperature and put tarragon or thyme butter under the skin. This keeps the meat moist and although you won't get a super crispy skin, it's very flavoursome.

Sausagemeat stuffing under the skin does wonderful things to the skin too.

I've done the ballotine method a couple of times too and although it's not cooked on the bone obviously, it's great as it is easy to carve and eat and allows for any stuffing you choose to be easily placed in the bird. Breadcumb and shallow fry the lollypops with some black pepper and sea salt, yum yum.

Next on the list to try is the brining method.
 
I think you are over complicating this and worrying a little too much, it's only a chicken.

I would roast it, quicker and easier plus crispy skin. Cover with tinfoil and then remove for last 30mins to let the skin crisp, cook on a bed of root veg, stock, garlic, onion, once cooked, remove chicken to rest, mash the gravy up, strain the lumps out, taste, maybe reduce a little or thicken. A nicely roasted chicken with proper gravy.
 
If you want it super easy, just put lots of salt on the skin (pat skin dry with kitchen towel) and put it in a very hot oven for an hour. Some of the best chickens I've had have been done using this very easy method. Super crispy skin as it's kept very dry by lack of foil or butter, super moist meat as it's not cooked long enough to dry out, and absolutely no faff to do.
 
Beer can Chicken 280F (sorry watching too many american youtube vids) 2-2:30 Hours and job done! Meat falls off the bones. I use half a can of Newcastle Brown Ale, and whatever rub takes your fancy.

BBQ is better but it can be done in the oven. You will have super moist chicken.
 
Beer can chicken is overrated and a waste of beer. If you want moist chicken then brining is better. Yes you can slow cook chicken but you end up with rubbery skin unless you finish at a high temp
 
cram said:
Beer can chicken is overrated and a waste of beer. If you want moist chicken then brining is better. Yes you can slow cook chicken but you end up with rubbery skin unless you finish at a high temp
Click to expand...

Personally I think it's some of the best I have ever tasted. The ale adds a realy maltiness, if you are BBQing you have the option of smoking as well which adds another dimension. Lovely moist chicken, really crispy skin, if you ended up with anything else you were doing it wrong.
 
Trust me I know my way round a BBQ. I think the idea of beer can chicken is better than the reality. It doesn't infuse the chicken with the flavour of the liquid, it's not really steaming it and at best you get a bit of flavour on the skin. Smoking is good but don't use too much smoke with chicken. As a said if you slow cook a chicken whether in an oven or a smoker the skin turns out pretty horrible unless you blast it with some high heat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom