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Chicken Question

Next cook: roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots - a BigGreenCraig recipe that calls for a whole chicken, legs tied, sitting on top of carrots and potatoes in a roasting pan. I have a spatchcocked chicken since I thought I'd be doing more of a @Mattman3969L&S, but don't have enough time today.

Question: Would it be better to fling the chicken down sprawled flat, or force it back into its chicken shape using the stretchy cords that can be put around chickens to hold legs in place? I used those cords in a vintage Farberware open spit grill I bought on ebay. 

And guessing if flat it might take a little less time than if back into a chicken shape? Or not? The recipe says about 1.5 hours at 350. 

I realize there are 10,001 great ways to cook chicken. I get distracted too easily by too many options, so am going to do this one this time. Blinders on to the rest. http://www.biggreencraig.com/roasted-chicken-w-potatoes--carrots.html 

Thanks in advance for help with newbie cook #7 (or 6.5 if the first empty cook counts as .5). 

Beth
Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
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Comments

  • SmokingPiney
    SmokingPiney Posts: 2,282
    Since you already have a bird spatchcocked, why not use it? It will definitely cook faster than a whole bird, so your only real concern will be making sure the potatoes and carrots cook through. If the bird gets done before the potatoes and carrots, just pull and foil it and let the spuds and carrots ride to done. 

    Use the spatched bird, cook it to done, and check the spuds and carrots for doneness.  
    South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS 
  • The_Stache
    The_Stache Posts: 1,153
    I think you'll be okay using the SC chicken in the roaster.  As @SmokingPiney said, just check your temps after 45 minutes to an hour on the chicken and pull if it reaches correct temps before the veggies are done.

    I've done this in a cast iron covered roaster and the total process took about an hour at 375.


    Kirkland, TN
    2 LBGE, 1 MM


  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    I get the blinders on but a slight deviation option is to put your potatoes, veggies etc in a pan and place that under the spatch chix (a two level setup).  The chix drippings provide great flavor much like being one with the chix in the pan.  Your chix and cook so just have fun with it however you go.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • SmokingPiney
    SmokingPiney Posts: 2,282
    Post pics, @bjeans. And may the monsoon rains be far away from your cook this time.  :)
    South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS 
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    I think that will work fine splayed on top. I agree with @SmokingPiney just check and make sure the taters are finished. You could even give the taters a little head start. I would cook it in a larger diameter pan like a big cast iron skillet. Something big enough that the chicken has room to lay out. 

    Basically like this, 
    image

    ..but with taters and carrots instead of the leafy veg. 


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    Another question: WHAT would I do without you guys?!? 

    @lousubcap so the pan/veggies would be on the plate setter and the chicken on the grid above it? (PSWoo.)  OTOH, the grid is filthy since It wasn't cleaned after the downpour cook. But I'd like to know even if it isn't done this time.

    @The_Stache thanks for the tip - just hope the chicken wouldn't be so fall-off-the-bone that it would be impossible to lift up. I don't yet have a wide lifter. 

    @SmokingPiney 70% chance of rain *late* so with luck... I wish I hadn't started so late but the bottom of the old black-and-white speckled roasting pan is missing, so I found one at an Ace Hardware I'd never visited that was a BGE dealer and had a lot of neat, old time things too so had to wander the aisles like my mother liked to do in hardware stores. (DNA.)

    @SmokeyPitt if my chicken turns out half as good as yours I'd be beyond happy. Our Lodge is a little too small but it's on my list. Ace had those too. 
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Full disclosure- that pic is not mine. It is from a NY Times recipe. I'm sure any of us could make it look that good (given the same photography skills, lighting, equipment). 


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    @bjeans - I put the pan on a grid above the platesetter then the chix on another above it.  But if you can get a good air gap between the platesetter and lower pan it will turn out well.  The key is the gap to prevent burning the goodies in the pan.  
    That said, you can put the veggie pan on your grid (indirect above the platesetter) cannabalize any cooking grid from your kitchen gear, lay that across the top of the pan and place the chix on it.  Spatch chix with the veggies beneath is a definite winner.  Thanks for asking and hope the above makes sense.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    edited August 2017
    @SmokeyPitt I'm sure your cooks look better in real life.

    Question - Got the egg steady at 350 for 30+ minutes before putting the chicken in. It dropped 25 degrees, which I expected, but didn't go up and it's been 15 minutes. So I opened vents a little. But maybe that's not unusual when putting a big cold pan with cold food into the egg and best to let it be? I've read the Don't Chase the Temperature bible chapter. 

    BTW, there were three sizes of Graniteware roasters. I took the middle one. It barely fit and is a bare bit resting on one side of the egg lip.



    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    Great spirit and approach-you are dialed into this.  Stay the course, keep eggsperimenting and keep havin fun.
    Now-regarding the cook just run til the chix hits the finish line temp- 155*F  in the breast and 175+ in the thighs.  
    I would orient the chix legs to the BGE hinge (hotter back there on BGEs due to the air flow pattern) so you can get or achieve the preferred temperature difference.  BTW- if the breast isn't there and the thighs/legs are just ride til the breast makes it.  The dark meat can handle it.  FWIW-


    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    lousubcap said:
    @bjeans - I put the pan on a grid above the platesetter then the chix on another above it.  But if you can get a good air gap between the platesetter and lower pan it will turn out well.  The key is the gap to prevent burning the goodies in the pan.  
    That said, you can put the veggie pan on your grid (indirect above the platesetter) cannabalize any cooking grid from your kitchen gear, lay that across the top of the pan and place the chix on it.  Spatch chix with the veggies beneath is a definite winner.  Thanks for asking and hope the above makes sense.  
    @lousubcap the recipe called for putting the roasting pan directly on the plate setter. I wonder if the veggies will burn. I'll remember to raise it off the platesetter a bit next time, especially since when I dumbly opened the vents a little, temp went to 375 and now I'm trying to lower it. 

    When you said (first paragraph) that you put the pan on a grid above the platesetter, do you mean up by the felt, and the chicken would be way up in the dome above the pan? Or Is the pan above the platesetter because the grid itself raises it just a bit? Clear as mud?
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    edited August 2017
    It's been a little over an hour; everything is absolutely done and then some, potatoes soft, but the chicken isn't nicely browned like the the thighs were, though they were done raised on a grate. I guess I still need to bring it in. 

    ETA: I'm wrong, there's some browning, just not quite as much as I'd like to see. 

    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    @bjeans - First up-great result.  Most eggcellent. Believe your indications and in this arena it is either finish temp or feel.  So if you had the temp then you made the right call.
    About your question-I go with a grid above the platesetter (around felt line as you note) (btw you must have some run time here as "felt-line" fell out of flavor a few years ago ;) ) and a second grid above that.  But you can get there with one grid and then lay the chix over the top of the veggie pan as mentioned above.   Hope this helps.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    @bjeans Nice cook. You are getting great advice. I'm enjoying watching your cooks and following your learning curve. You have several things going for you that will make you a pro on the egg in no time. You do research. You already know how to cook - you're just learning about the egg. And lastly you seem to be having fun. Having fun is important. It's just food we're cooking - global peace doesn't stand in the balance, lol. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    That chicken looks most edible.   Great job!!

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    @SciAggie no world peace from cooking on eggs? ... I quit. And thank you for the ultra kind words. 

    Actually, I don't know much about cooking. I can follow recipes and do basic stuff, but can spend weeks not cooking, except for breakfast, and not always that. But there's something about being outside with a hummingbird a couple feet away at window feeder and wood ducks on a nearby branch waiting for me to split so they can eat some safflower/millet from deck rail feeder... 

    ... and playing with fire and the challenge, and this great forum, and I'm not sure what else yet. 

    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    So @lousubcap what's the current lingo, fast!, for the felt ____? 

    Thanks for re-explaining. So if I have the platesetter in the PS Woo, and a grid on top of that, is there a way to put another grid on that grid - that is, for cooks where you wouldn't have put a grid on top of a pan like you previously mentioned. I guess I could get a double grate from BGE or ask the Ceramic Grill Store owner. 
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    Not trying to step on @lousubcap here but what he is talking about is the woo extender.  Since you have the woo this is a simple way to get higher in the dome. 

    https://ceramicgrillstore.com/products/pswoo2-extender-bge


    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    S.O.S. please.

    Everything tasted great, but except for the wings, the skin wasn't crispy at all. Ideas? I couldn't have left it in longer. The veggies would have gotten mushy (they were perfect) and some chicken part or other was already at 181 or so. And the chicken was juicy and also tasted very good. 

    Theory: after putting in the chicken and the temp dropping to 325, after 15 minutes, I opened the vents a little. The temp quickly hit 375 and it took a while to edge back down after re-closing the vent some. Being at 375 for a while, everything cooked more quickly than it would have at 350, so maybe there wasn't enough time for the skin to get crispy? 

    Or despite the recipe should it have been higher up in the dome? 

    That's all I've got. 

    BTW, the chicken was rubbed with olive oil and then rubbed with a rub. Next time I'd add more onion; they roasted nicely. 

    Beth
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    Not trying to step on @lousubcap here but what he is talking about is the woo extender.  Since you have the woo this is a simple way to get higher in the dome. 

    https://ceramicgrillstore.com/products/pswoo2-extender-bge

    @Mattman3969 perfect! I was hoping not to have to use something that would be a hassle taking apart and putting back together again. I was hoping you'd chime in. Yesterday I made two eastern Carolina vinegar sauces to try with pulled chicken you helped me with in another thread, so and that's coming up soon. 
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    Just my opinion but I think your temp was too low and with the bird down in a pot crispy skin will be very hard to achieve.  The bird was more steamed than grilled/baked.   Next time skip the roasting pan.  Put the veggies in a pan and the bird above them. 

    Look at the extender I gave you the link to.  High in the dome = crispy skin at 425-450.  

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    Aloha @bjeans-
    @Mattman3969 has the preferred option but then make sure you get the D ring if you go down that road.  Otherwise you can get a second grid (weber has a 17" (or used to)) pound a few beers (3) from aluminum cans and use them to suspend the second grid or go with fire bricks, bolts and washers etc.  The search function will give you plenty of reading.
    Now-regarding crispy chix-the simplest is to air dry overnight (or more) in a fridge before prepping and cooking.  Dusting with corn starch before the cook will also work.  FWIW-
    Love the spirit-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    Just my opinion but I think your temp was too low and with the bird down in a pot crispy skin will be very hard to achieve.  The bird was more steamed than grilled/baked.   Next time skip the roasting pan.  Put the veggies in a pan and the bird above them. 

    Look at the extender I gave you the link to.  High in the dome = crispy skin at 425-450.  
    Makes complete sense. 

    If the veggies are in a pan on the platesetter, and the chicken up two levels - on the extender on the PSWoo - will the veggies not burn because everything is being cooked for a shorter amount of time at a higher temperature? 
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    If you get the extender or use the beer can method that Cap mentions you can put your platesetter in the woo, the grid on top of that with the veggies on this level then the woo/beer cans with one more grid that the chicken sits on.  

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    Like this.  Just imagine your panned veggies where the eggplant is and your chicken where the sweet potatoes are 


    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    If you get the extender or use the beer can method that Cap mentions you can put your platesetter in the woo, the grid on top of that with the veggies on this level then the woo/beer cans with one more grid that the chicken sits on.  
    Would that be because cooking them on the platesetter could burn/overcook them if going up to 425/450 with the chicken high up in the dome? 

    Sorry for the basic questions - trying to graduate from egg kindergarten. 
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • bjeans
    bjeans Posts: 191
    Like this.  Just imagine your panned veggies where the eggplant is and your chicken where the sweet potatoes are 

    I totally get it - and will get an extender. I wondered if the veggies (from the recipe) are being raised off the plate setter to get them further from the fire so they won't burn in the pan at that higher 425/450 temp for the chicken. 
    Ex LBGE owner and current BGE liker 
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    You got it 

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    You are picking this up quickly - you're already tackling the Big Problems... crispy skin is one of the grails of egging!  
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle