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[Decker, Margaret]

I don't think the candlelit halls should be changes for something 
like making sure the food is cooked.

The last feast I did we had thighs and drumsticks if IIRC and some of 
them were undercooked.  Looking back I know how that happened.  We 
were using convection ovens and I had someone spot check the chicken 
in the BIG baking trays, and we didn't put them in the warming ovens 
because they were done too late to be put in the warming ovens.  Not 
late for the feast just they were the last thing done so they didn't 
need to be put in the warming ovens in relation to when they were 
getting served.

As far as fully baked chickens.  I remember someone in my group who 
cooks bringing up the chicken not done thing, as well as the info on 
this list about people being able to carve meat.  I have been toying 
with the idea of sending roasted chickens out to tables semi-carved 
just because it would make it easier for them to serve them around 
the table and I would also be able to make sure they were done.

I realize semi-carving meat and sending it to the table may not be 
period, but health safety should come before periodness IMHO.

	Angeline


>  >
>>  > However, under cooked whole chickens seem to be a recurrent SCA feast
><snip>
>>  I was doing something else, the message came back to the kitchen that some
>>  of the chicken was still quite pink inside!  Ooops!  I raced out into the
>>  hall and, in my best herald's voice made the appropriate announcement
>>  (something to the effect of "stop eating that chicken, it is not properly
>>  cooked and return all chickens to the kitchen pronto").  Oddly enough, I
>was
>>  told by someone that I should have been less ... overt, shall we say ...
>>  about the uncooked chicken *sigh*.
>>
>This is one of the reasons I don't like candle lit feast halls. You can't
>tell if the meat is fully cooked or not. A little artificial illumination is
>not a bad thing. Now I understand the need for ambience and such, but a
>fully candled Chandelier provided as much light as some lower watt bulbs do
>now.  Food poisioning is not a fun thing to endure.  I was unfortunate
>enough to suffer through this after a feast in Calontir. It only happened
>once, most Calontir and I am sure SCA in General feast are poison free.
>
>Thorbjorn
>
>