Roast Chicken, Cast Iron Seared

itsmce

@nolaegghead - Good point about the veggies in the pan.  Guess the spuds will have to be on the side.

caliking

I've been cooking the white meat to 150°F  and dark meat to 165°F for a 2-3 years now. Chicken comes out much juicer and flavorful than it used to when I was cooking to higher temps. The revelation came after a trip to Paris - we bought a regular roast chicken at a store and it was amazing. Found out later that their "safe" temp is 165°F for dark meat.  

nolaegghead

@caliking - I discovered it through sous vide, coking the white meat to 148.  Makes all the difference in the world.

pantsypants

would you recommend a bit of cornstartch in the rub ?

nolaegghead

Wouldn't hurt.

pantsypants

It's happening !

nolaegghead

Alright!

If it isn't browning evenly, rotate it every now and then.  I usually cut off the wings and save them (they can burn) and trim some of that butt flap off, but it doesn't really matter.  More fat in the pan the more skin-frying action you'll get.

pantsypants

yeah plus the duck fat that i lined the pan with shouldnt hurt .

I couldnt resist and i just added some veggies .( sorry @nolaegghead )

this lil **** looks amazing though !!!
pics to follow soon enough

nolaegghead

Can't wait!

pantsypants

oh man me neither !!
it looks unreal

pantsypants

Yes !!!!

tulocay

Looks mighty fine.

nolaegghead

Looks great!  How's it taste?

Did you pull when the breast was 150F?

I think you may not need the corn starch cooked at 500F. 

Would you change anything?

pantsypants

It's crazy how good this is

itsmce

@nolaegghead -  OK, so I DID try this for dinner last night. The family approved. Perhaps the pan was too hot, or my temp was too high because there was definitely burned parts of the bird. (the skin on the thigh, and parts of the wings) I preheated the cast iron in the egg to 500. Added the chicken and the sizzling commenced. The egg was between 500 and 550 for the duration of the cook. It was nothing short of scary lifting the splattering skillet out of the egg when the bird was done. I cooked direct, was that right? Oh, and the cleanup of the CI pan was no fun after dinner.

nolaegghead

itsmce said:

@nolaegghead -  OK, so I DID try this for dinner last night. The family approved. Perhaps the pan was too hot, or my temp was too high because there was definitely burned parts of the bird. (the skin on the thigh, and parts of the wings) I preheated the cast iron in the egg to 500. Added the chicken and the sizzling commenced. The egg was between 500 and 550 for the duration of the cook. It was nothing short of scary lifting the splattering skillet out of the egg when the bird was done. I cooked direct, was that right? Oh, and the cleanup of the CI pan was no fun after dinner.

Oh my.  No, indirect.  You're lucky you didn't have a fireball.  You probably had that skillet up n the aluminum smelting range.

Focker

itsmce said

 

Oh, and the cleanup of the CI pan was no fun after dinner.

 

 

EVERY EGGHEAD NEEDS A RINGER

 

 

itsmce

OK, so I did screw up.  I will try again and go INdirect.

@Focker - Tell me about this Ringer thing.

Angus1978

I did this last night.....we almost ate the whole bird.....I didn't have quite enough lump to maintain the 500 degree heat, thought I was running low and I was right.

Thanks for the recipe though!

PNWFoodie

pantsypants said:

Yes !!!!

That, my friend, looks amazing!

CANMAN1976

Just popped the leg joints on my bird going to give this a shot. Do I oil the CI pan before I add the chicken and will canola oil burn at 500 deg??

Oh and the snowbirds are on the rock;)

nolaegghead

Just a bare pan.  No oil needed.  You don't need to pop the leg joints, but that does make it easier to take the legs off when eating - good idea.

CANMAN1976

nolaegghead said:

Just a bare pan.  No oil needed.  You don't need to pop the leg joints, but that does make it easier to take the legs off when eating - good idea.

Thanks Nola I bet this is gonna be good!

travisstrick

Here's mine

CANMAN1976

Looks good Travis, I'm gonna try my with cremini mushrooms ,onions and potato. You cooked yours with the chicken hey ? How was the skin?

travisstrick

Ckn skin was ok.

I par cooked the potatoes for 5min in the microwave. That seemed to be perfect.

CANMAN1976

Almost done... Smells good:)

nolaegghead

Steam pours off the veggies.  I would predict getting the pan higher up in the dome will crisp up the skin more.  The skin on mine was starting to turn black, but that could have been because of the blackening seasoning

tulocay

I just cooked one for lunch today. Skin was nice and crispy.

nolaegghead

The first one I cooked, the dark meat was cooking faster then the breast, so I pulled when the breast was at 150.  I thought it was the best, juiciest breast meat I've ever had outside of SV. 

Then I kinda realized, crap, I've been overcooking my chicken my whole life.  Also, cooking at an unusually high temperature (pizza like) crisps up the skin and the bird is done quick.  Less time in the oven, less time for it to dry out.   The oil collects in the pan, doesn't contaminate or make a mess of your egg.  The pan took 2 seconds to wipe out, not scraping or scrubbing.  Hell yeah, it's FTW.