# Roasted chicken skin sliding off upon carving



## Konya001040 (Dec 17, 2008)

I recently started cooking at home a lot and have conquered many dishes since then (chili, beef stew, fried chicken, stir-fried "Chinese" food, roast beef, tomato sauce, home-baked bread and homemade sausage, just to name a few.)  I've been fooling around with roast chicken, and I've had some good results, but every time while I'm carving it, the skin comes right off.  Other peoples' roast chicken that I've eaten has had a golden brown and crispy skin that was pretty much adhered to the meat under it.  I generally cook mine un-trussed at 350F for about two hours (or whenever it reaches 160F) There seems to be a lot of moisture under the skin.  I put it in a flat-bottom roasting pan.

Should I use a roasting rack or maybe rub some melted butter under the skin?  I can't really figure it out.

Thanks for your time.


----------



## JoeV (Dec 17, 2008)

Konya001040 said:


> I recently started cooking at home a lot and have conquered many dishes since then (chili, beef stew, fried chicken, stir-fried "Chinese" food, roast beef, tomato sauce, home-baked bread and homemade sausage, just to name a few.)  I've been fooling around with roast chicken, and I've had some good results, but every time while I'm carving it, the skin comes right off.  Other peoples' roast chicken that I've eaten has had a golden brown and crispy skin that was pretty much adhered to the meat under it.  I generally cook mine un-trussed at 350F for about two hours (or whenever it reaches 160F) There seems to be a lot of moisture under the skin.  I put it in a flat-bottom roasting pan.
> 
> Should I use a roasting rack or maybe rub some melted butter under the skin?  I can't really figure it out.
> 
> Thanks for your time.



First, welcome to DC. Second, I don't see a problem with the skin coming away from the meat. This tells me that there is still moisture in and on the meat, and that I'm not going to need a bottle of gravy to put moisture back into the meat, especially the breast meat which many people overcook and dry out to the point where the skin sticks to it (all the fat is melted away and the skin is now crispy, which means dry)

If you're not fussy about taste and texture, keep cooking the bird uncovered until the skin stick to the meat, and it will stay there when you carve it...but don't forget the gravy. For me, I'll take the naturally juicy meat that is cooked to the perfect temperature.

I'm not trying to get cute with this answer, but often we are duped into believing certain myths about cooking times and temperatures, which go way beyond what the food safety experts tell us are necessary. My parents cooked beef and pork, dare I say, until it was a gray, dried out hunk of tasteless meat that you could resole your shoes with, then buried it under a pail full of gravy so that they could eat it. It was so dry that it was like cardboard, and would not go down your throat without the gravy lubricant. No Joke! The same is with the chicken. At 160-165 degrees the moisture level and taste are at their peak, and going beyond that point simply erodes the taste and changes the texture as well. But, you'll never change some people's opinion of this, because "_that's the way Mom and Grandma did it, so it must be the right way_."

Don't be concerned with the skin falling off. Just enjoy the superb flavor of a perfectly cooked bird.


----------



## pacanis (Dec 17, 2008)

Yep. What Joe said to a tee.
I've only cooked beer can chicken on the grill, but it's basically the same thing. I have found a sharp knife and my fingers help keep the skin in place on my pieces when carving.

And good for you for wanting to preserve the best part of the chicken!  :^)


----------



## kitchenelf (Dec 17, 2008)

Skin does slide off easily.  Hold the bird with your fingers above where you are cutting.  Make a forceful cut with a sharp knife through the skin.  Maybe your knife isn't sharp enough.  Once through the skin it should be easy.  Each piece you cut thereafter do the same thing.  I hope that made sense.  I have been known to simply lay the skin back on the piece it belongs to!


----------



## Andy M. (Dec 17, 2008)

Before carving the chicken, peel off all the skin, add salt and pepper and eat it all yourself.  then go ahead and carve the chicken.  The skin is the cook's bonus for cooking dinner.


----------



## RobsanX (Dec 17, 2008)

I've seen recipes that start roasted chickens out at 450-500 deg. for about 20 minutes then finishing off at 350 deg. until cooked through. I haven't tried it because I'm not that particular about having crispy skin...


----------



## smoothseas (Dec 17, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Before carving the chicken, peel off all the skin, add salt and pepper and eat it all yourself. then go ahead and carve the chicken. The skin is the cook's bonus for cooking dinner.


 

spot on!!!


----------



## BreezyCooking (Dec 17, 2008)

I agree with JoeV - if the skin is super-glued onto the meat, that's going to be one water-gulping dinner - lol!!  I much prefer sliding skin.  Just let it slide, carve your meat, & then add a few slices of that wonderful skin on top of each serving (or, as others have suggested, wolf it down yourself).  I'm uber lucky, if uber unhealthy - lol - that my husband doesn't care much for the skin, so I pretty much get it all!!


----------



## sparrowgrass (Dec 17, 2008)

AndyM, that is my method.  Of course, I live alone, so there is no-one to fuss at me.


----------



## DramaQueen (Dec 17, 2008)

JoeV said:


> I'm not trying to get cute with this answer, but often we are duped into believing certain myths about cooking times and temperatures, which go way beyond what the food safety experts tell us are necessary. My parents cooked beef and pork, dare I say, until it was a gray, dried out hunk of tasteless meat that you could resole your shoes with, then buried it under a pail full of gravy so that they could eat it. It was so dry that it was like cardboard, and would not go down your throat without the gravy lubricant. No Joke! The same is with the chicken. At 160-165 degrees the moisture level and taste are at their peak, and going beyond that point simply erodes the taste and changes the texture as well. But, you'll never change some people's opinion of this, because "_that's the way Mom and Grandma did it, so it must be the right way_."
> 
> Don't be concerned with the skin falling off. Just enjoy the superb flavor of a perfectly cooked bird.



*I'm laughing but I have to agree with what you say about our parents cooking food to death.  My mother in law considered herself a good cook, yet she roasted meat and chicken til it was dark brown and so dry you couldn't swallow it.  She was obsessed with making sure everything was cooked.  She cooked canned green beans for 30 minutes!!   She did make the best Cornish pasties on the planet though, I have to give her that.

Like JoeV said, don't worry about skin sliding off.  This gives the carver a chance to pick it up and eat it right there on the spot.    Enjoy the chicken. **  The skiin always comes off of my chicken.  *


----------

