Olive Oil On Spatched Chicken?

1voyager

I've done several searches with combinations of keywords but couldn't find a definitive answer.

Should I coat the bird with olive oil before cooking? Boss Lady says yes. I say no.

I understand the rest:

Rinse and dry with paper towel

Spatchcock

Separate skin from body for crispy result

Coat with salt and pepper and dry in refrigerator, uncovered, for 12 or more hours

Raised direct @ 375 degrees

Thanks in advance

FATC1TY

The oil will help crisp it up a little more if needed. I tend to leave it off myself as it taste funny at higher temps 

lousubcap

I frequently coat with peanut oil (higher flashpoint) but to maintain harmony in the household you may want to give it a go (at least on one half).  FWIW-

1voyager

Harmony in the household is a good thing. 

booksw

I’ve never added any oil to a chicken cook unless it was part of a marinade.  The skin of the chicken has enough chicken fat in it that it isn’t really needed, in my opinion.  Also, additional oil increases my risk of something inside the egg other than lump catching on fire (and that generally never goes well) .  If I were you, I would spatchcock two chickens- one with and one without oil and let us know what you learn!  Figuring out what works is one of my favorite parts of this journey

RRP

Seems any time I have put EVOO on a chicken the bird ends up looking like a 3 pound bird wearing a 1 pound bird coat! The skin shrinks that much!

1voyager

Result:

5 1/2 pound bird, 375 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Both the non-oiled side and the oiled side had potato chip crispy skin and moist meat. I couldn't see a difference. Just a nice, golden brown appearance. The non-oiled side tasted great. The oiled side tasted "funny" as @FATCITY mentioned. There was slight taste of burnt oil.

Conclusion: No oil next time.

jtcBoynton

Generally EVOO is best for non-cooking applications.  A more neutral flavored oil would have been better for this application.  Even standard OO would have been better than EV.

GoldenQ

All the cooking schools say not to cook with EVOO but add later like salads and cook with the higher temp oils. 

1voyager

Thanks for the advice.

If I can't convince Boss Lady to skip the oil next time, then I'll use grapeseed.

nolaegghead

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-roast-a-crispy-skinned-chicken-article

booksw

nolaegghead said:

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-roast-a-crispy-skinned-chicken-article

What a great article- thank you!  One thing they allude to- it is easier to get a good result if the chicken is on the smaller side.  The example they use is a 4 pound chicken.  Sometimes grocery stores only have birds that are over 5 pounds and I generally will cook something else rather than buy that large of a chicken.

@nolaegghead  Do you think they are saying to use a cast iron skillet as your roasting pan in the oven?  

EggbertGreenII

nolaegghead said:

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-roast-a-crispy-skinned-chicken-article

Thanks, this is a great article.

nolaegghead

booksw said:

nolaegghead said:

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-roast-a-crispy-skinned-chicken-article

What a great article- thank you!  One thing they allude to- it is easier to get a good result if the chicken is on the smaller side.  The example they use is a 4 pound chicken.  Sometimes grocery stores only have birds that are over 5 pounds and I generally will cook something else rather than buy that large of a chicken.

@nolaegghead  Do you think they are saying to use a cast iron skillet as your roasting pan in the oven?  

Using a cast iron pan for roasted chicken is popular, but the pan really only cooks the bottom of the chicken and it used primarily to cook some veggies in the chicken fat/juices (and to make gravy later, optionally). 

We had a little streak here on the forum cooking it that way.  But it is not necessary for crispy chicken skin.

I think the separating the skin from the chicken (you can reach under it with your fingers and do this) and stuffing some fresh herbs under the skin to keep it away from the meat, as well as poking some holes in it for steam to escape and letting it dry with some salt in the fridge uncovered are all good techniques that can be used in some combination.

The corn starch gives you temporary crisp, so I would avoid that.

I'm not convinced the size really matters insofar as the skin goes, but you do have more latitude to meat tenderness from overcooking with a young bird.  Older big birds can be extremely delicious, as long as you don't overcook the breasts.

northGAcock

Havn’t used oil but thanks to @Dyal_SC. I recently chased Dow some olive chips. Very nice smoke flavor on chicken.

booksw

@nolaegghead the epicurious article you posted has been inside my head for the past week and now I am experimenting with that article in mind.  We are in the midst of a major landscape construction project so my BGE is out of commission for the next few days.  I have a new toy to play with- a Wolf combination steam-convection oven.  I dry brined a whole air cooled bird with “BGE Savory Pecan” and am now cooking it starting with convection steam at 320 fro 45 min then straight convection at 400 for 15 min

SonVolt

Dry-brining really does make for a crispier skin IMO... salt the heck out of it the day before and let it air dry in the fridge. Back side too. I don't bother separating the skin unless I'm specifically trying to work some herbs/butter/rub etc underneath.  If it's a straight salt and pepper bird I don't worry about it. 

I give a light coat of grapeseed oil (can't stand Canola) to chicken before roasting out of habit, not sure it really matters. It may facilitate browning earlier before the fat has had a chance to render. 

If you can't find 3lb birds just get cornish game hens. I actually prefer cooking game hens on the grill because they cook quicker and you can serve a half chicken per person without it being too much food. 

dannys

1voyager said:

Rinse and dry with paper towel

Current best practice for handling poultry is NOT rinse/wash it.  The theory is that it only spreads the micro-organisms around your sink and prep station.  Any surface contaminants will be killed when you roast it (assuming above safe temperature - which 375F is).