# Whole fryer chicken, need fresh ideas



## erehweslefox (Oct 13, 2016)

OK I know this has been done to death. but I'm wondering if you friendly cooks have a new take on doing a whole chicken. 

I tend to go with the engagement chicken recipe. If you haven't seen it it is basically salt, pepper garlic olive oil and lots of lemons.  

I just want to try something new, and fryer chickens were on sale at grocery, I have two in the freezer. 

We have a pressure cooker, a roasting pan, and a (new!) lodge cast iron dutch oven. 

I'd actually really like to use the dutch oven. It is a new addition to our kitchen, birthday gift. 

I think there are a number of ways to go with a whole chicken other than my usual, 'salt and pepper the heck out of it, stuff it with lemons and throw it in the oven' plan. Don't want to say too much about my plans to avoid prejudicing your responses. (paprika is likely involved)

Anyone have some serious out of the box ideas for dealing with a whole chicken?


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

You can do these in the oven or on the grill: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-grilled-chicken-world-tour.html


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## erehweslefox (Oct 14, 2016)

Some good ideas there GG, I like the Peruvian take, looks awesome. 

I'm thinking on these lines, though

Dutch Oven Lemon Greek Yogurt Roasted Chicken | Sweet C's Designs

I am tempted on the Peruvian recipe, and I do have TWO chickens...

I'm kind of fascinated with the Mediterranean recipe as I really never use yogurt as an ingredient. It looks like it might be tricky not to have it curdle when adding the acid of the lemon juice. 

My new (thank you Beloved Wife!) dutch oven has a self basting lid, which means it has these scary looking spikes all on the inner lid. I guess they gather the condensation and facilitate it dripping back down. In practice that means I can be a little more aggressive with sauces, as I don't have to mess with it as much.


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## Cooking Goddess (Oct 14, 2016)

I scored two chickens for 59 cents a pound a couple days ago. I roasted both of them, having seasoned them generously with McCormick's Rotisserie Chicken seasoning. I'll use some of the breast meat for enchilladas, the rest of the meat for soup, and simmer the bones/skin/stuff with another store-bought rotisserie chicken carcass I've been saving in the freezer. The stock and chicken will then be turned into "*Cooking Goddess's Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup*".

Seeing as how I'm having you roast the chicken, you can still use the stock pot for the soup.


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## CakePoet (Oct 14, 2016)

Spatchcooked chicken?

You  could do Cokantrice,   it is medieval dish, it made by sewing  a suckling pig and  chicken together half and half  to make fantasy animal  but it can be also made by  sewing 2  chicken together and using a turnip to carve as head.

How to make it:

First debone the chicken, open along the back and remove the bones from breast, back and legs.  Remove the  wings and  sew the hole shut with cooking thread.

Now you overlay the chicken in such a way you get weird four legged beast.  Now take you stuffing of choice, I will leave a recipe but turkey  stuffing (we used a double recipe of turkey stuffing) will do.  Stuff the legs  of the birds and   then sew the chicken together but leave a hole open so you can stuff the rest of the stuffing in  it.  Make it plump.  Truss up the chicken in sleeping / resting animal position.  Bake at  150 C for about 3 hour until the chicken is done. While its baking carve a  animal head out  a turnip.  You can also do paws and tail.

Gilding: yes the beast has to be golden and you can  choose to do an egg wash and place real gold leaf all over the  animal after it cooked or make a fake gold solution.

Gold solution.
15 egg yolks
5 gram of saffron
1 tablespoon  parsley juice 
1 tablespoon ginger juice.

How to get the juices,  grate ginger and squeeze  and  chop fresh parsley and squeeze.  Grind saffron to a powder, add to the  juices and steep for 1 hour.  Now mix this with egg yolks.    At the end of cooking,  brush the "animal"  all over, set back  in the oven for 1- 2 minutes to dry, repeat until all solution is gone.

Now it is time to serve the animal, arrange the animal with head and all on a big platter, make it look stunning and now go  make your guest awestruck.


Oldfashion stuffing:

2 hands crumbled  dark rye bread
2 hands crumbled  white bread
2 hands crumbled  boston brown bread ( closes to Kavring)
20 small eggs
100 grams melted butter
1 hand of  currants
1 hand of chopped apricots
1 hand chopped prune
1 hand chopped  dried apples
150 gram of smoked pork, diced and lightly fried.
 1 hand o of chopped almond
Long pepper, sugar, salt and ginger to taste.


Combine into  dough, flavor with spices, fry a little piece and see if taste good.


We did do this for dinner party once, we didnt gild the animal, instead we put doll heads on the end and just made look like gore.  Yes I am so normal sometimes.


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## di reston (Oct 14, 2016)

I'd go for the Moroccan tajine type of vessel for doing a whole chicken. Moroccan chicken with seven vegetables would be my first choice, then the recipes with prunes and almonds, with the traditional Moroccan spices (ras el hanout). Chicken with chickpeas onions and spices is also appealing. In the absence of a tajine, I would use a deep dutch oven with a tight fitting lid, you could seal the lid on with a flour and water paste. Now you've raised the idea, I find it extremely appealing!

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


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## Rocklobster (Oct 14, 2016)

I've been standing them up on a beverage can in the oven. This gets the skin crispy on all sides. The same set up as beer can chicken, but I don't bother wasting the beer. I just use the empty can, or with a bit of water in it to stand it up. Rub it with your spice mix, put it in a baking pan and baste it occasionally with it's own juices...spreading the legs out, it will stand up itself like a tripod. You probably will need to take an oven rack out and put the other one on the very bottom  slot of the oven because the chicken will stand fairly tall. I also make a little tin foil hat for the top so it doesn't burn when the top element comes on while cooking because it will be pretty close to the heat. Then, I make some sort of sauce to dip it in. GF bought me a stand for it now, so I don't have to use a can any more...


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## CraigC (Oct 14, 2016)

CakePoet said:


> Spatchcooked chicken?



That would be spatchcocked. You remove the backbone and flatten the bird out. I just did two of these on the Egg, one with Mexican spices and the other with just lemon slices, S&P. We used the Mexican spiced one in a salad. The other will be used in another meal.

If you like Cajun food, try this recipe from the late, great Paul Prudhomme! It does use paprika.

PRUDHOMME CHICKEN recipe | Epicurious.com

Totally Egg adaptable.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> Some good ideas there GG, I like the Peruvian take, looks awesome.
> 
> I'm thinking on these lines, though
> 
> ...



Yogurt is already curdled  A little more acid won't hurt it. I put lemon or lime juice or vinegar in yogurt all the time to make sauces.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

Rocklobster said:


> I've been standing them up on a beverage can in the oven. This gets the skin crispy on all sides. The same set up as beer can chicken, but I don't bother wasting the beer. I just use the empty can, or with a bit of water in it to stand it up. Rub it with your spice mix, put it in a baking pan and baste it occasionally with it's own juices...spreading the legs out, it will stand up itself like a tripod. You probably will need to take an oven rack out and put the other one on the very bottom  slot of the oven because the chicken will stand fairly tall. I also make a little tin foil hat for the top so it doesn't burn when the top element comes on while cooking because it will be pretty close to the heat. Then, I make some sort of sauce to dip it in. GF bought me a stand for it now, so I don't have to use a can any more...



I bought one of these several years ago, since I don't often have beverage cans around. I use white wine and herbs in the can.


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## Roll_Bones (Oct 14, 2016)

Justin Wilson made a whole deep fried chicken once on his show.
I thought it was unusual that he did not season the chicken in any way.  Nothing. 
Just took the whole pullet* and dropped into hot oil.
Pulled out his gallon jug of wine and he was all set.

* First time I ever heard the term.

Edit: It could have been a halved chicken?


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> I bought one of these several years ago, since I don't often have beverage cans around. I use white wine and herbs in the can.



Forgot the picture:


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

Roll_Bones said:


> Justin Wilson made a whole deep fried chicken once on his show.
> I thought it was unusual that he did not season the chicken in any way.  Nothing.
> Just took the whole pullet* and dropped into hot oil.
> Pulled out his gallon jug of wine and he was all set.
> ...



Are you asking what pullet means? It's a chicken less than one year old. Back in the day, people used to keep chickens for years for eggs. When they got too old to lay anymore, they were eaten. So there was a distinction among different ages of chickens. These days, most supermarket chickens are three to four months old, so technically they're all pullets.


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## msmofet (Oct 14, 2016)

Rub with a BBQ dry rub mixture of your choice (homemade or store bought). BBQ over indirect heat (with or without smoke chips) turning half way through Till cooked almost to temp. Baste with wet BBQ sauce move to direct heat turning and basting till completely cooked through and nicely browned.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

msmofet said:


> Rub with a BBQ dry rub mixture of your choice (homemade or store bought). BBQ over indirect heat (with or without smoke chips) turning half way through Till cooked almost to temp. Baste with wet BBQ sauce move to direct heat turning and basting till completely cooked through and nicely browned.



The cool thing about the beer-can (or wine-butt, in my case ) chicken method is that you can do a rub and baste with sauce without having to turn a whole chicken with tongs. You can just turn the holder around to turn the chicken front to back. Much easier to handle.


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## msmofet (Oct 14, 2016)

I like to break it down and do pieces not a whole chicken. Very easy to handle pieces.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 14, 2016)

msmofet said:


> I like to break it down and do pieces not a whole chicken. Very easy to handle pieces.



Oh, I see. e-fox was talking about a whole chicken, so I was confused. Thanks.


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## erehweslefox (Oct 14, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> Oh, I see. e-fox was talking about a whole chicken, so I was confused. Thanks.



Well one can always turn a whole chicken into pieces, very difficult to turn pieces into a whole chicken. 

TBS


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## jennyema (Oct 14, 2016)

Zuni cafe roast chicken... the best ever!!!!

Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad recipe | Epicurious.com


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## GotGarlic (Oct 15, 2016)

erehweslefox said:


> Well one can always turn a whole chicken into pieces, very difficult to turn pieces into a whole chicken.
> 
> TBS



I realize that. I thought she was talking about a whole chicken because that's what you asked about.


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## Roll_Bones (Oct 16, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> Are you asking what pullet means? It's a chicken less than one year old. Back in the day, people used to keep chickens for years for eggs. When they got too old to lay anymore, they were eaten. So there was a distinction among different ages of chickens. These days, most supermarket chickens are three to four months old, so technically they're all pullets.



No. You already explained what a pullet was to me a year or so ago.  I think it was you?  Not sure.
I was just suggesting deep frying the whole bird as one would do with a turkey.


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## hellen75 (Oct 16, 2016)

*lodge cast iron dutch oven*



erehweslefox said:


> OK I know this has been done to death. but I'm wondering if you friendly cooks have a new take on doing a whole chicken.
> 
> I tend to go with the engagement chicken recipe. If you haven't seen it it is basically salt, pepper garlic olive oil and lots of lemons.
> 
> ...



Hello ! I didn't understand what is a lodge cast iron dutch oven ??


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## GotGarlic (Oct 16, 2016)

Roll_Bones said:


> No. You already explained what a pullet was to me a year or so ago.  I think it was you?  Not sure.
> I was just suggesting deep frying the whole bird as one would do with a turkey.



Okay. The use of the asterisk was confusing.


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## jennyema (Oct 16, 2016)

hellen75 said:


> Hello ! I didn't understand what is a lodge cast iron dutch oven ??




It's a Lodge brand cast iron Dutch oven 


https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...-DPAhVJeSYKHZKzCfUQMwhSKAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8


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## erehweslefox (Oct 18, 2016)

hellen75 said:


> Hello ! I didn't understand what is a lodge cast iron dutch oven ??



I'm glad you asked, after the fall of eden, when Adam and Eve where on there own, God gave them two things. Our friends yeast to make bread and sometimes beer!, and our fickle friend hard iron. Iron can be made into tools for fighting, tools for plowing, but an iron dutch oven is the best I have found yet.

All the prose aside, a lodge cast iron dutch oven is a pot, about four quarts, made of cast iron, with a lid, traditionally used for casseroles, and in camp for camp meals. There are many brands of this, but Lodge is thought the one we judge other brands by.


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