[Sca-cooks] roasting chickens

[a5foil]

Greetings from Thomas Longshanks! Sorry to be gone from the list so much - I
miss you folks.

Jadwiga said:
> Ok, so I'm roasting chickens for this event on the 21st. I need, by my
> calculations, about 20-27 pounds of bone-in meat. I have access to
> electric roasters. I'm thinking that 3 roasting chickens, about 8 pounds
> each would be alright, but would I be better off with the smaller fryers?
> And if I put all three chickens in one roaster (which I was planning on
> doing) do I treat the timing as if I had one big 24 pound chicken, or just
> 1 8 pound chicken, or somewhere in between?

It depends on what you are doing with the meat. In my experience, 4 lb.
(large) fryers, sometimes labeled "young chicken", give the best results in
terms of flavor, moistness and crispy skin, for servings of roasted or
spit-roasted chicken. As one of several courses, a 4 lb bird will yield 8
servings, 10 if you halve the breasts and have other meat courses. I use 4
lb birds, almost exclusively, because I can't argue with the results.

If you are going to debone the meat and use it in something else, then 8 lb.
roasters may be more economical (higher flesh-to-bone ratio), but the flavor
and texture can suffer with the older birds, depending on the producer.
Roasters, these days, are often injected with saline solution, so you may be
paying for some extra water weight, too. Check the label carefully. Roasters
need to cook lower and slower for them to stay tender and moist. You may
want to consider getting breasts and thighs, so you don't have to fool with
wings, backs and legs, but that will depend on your budget.

You will get the best results, IMO, if you simulate spit-roasting, which
keeps the juices distributed and cooks the bird more evenly throughout. I
will cook four (standard residential range) to six (commercial oven) 4 lb
birds at a time, with the birds separate from one another and evenly spaced.
It is better if they are on some kind of cooking rack, so they are not
pressed against the bottom of the roasting pan(s). To avoid underdone
chicken syndrome, and to ensure even cooking, I take the birds out of the
refrigerator and prep them about an hour before they cook, so they are not
refrigerator cold going into the oven. I cook them at 350 degrees for 20
minutes per pound based on the weight of the largest bird, so about an hour
and twenty minutes for the lot. I start them breast down and cook for 15
minutes, turn them on their sides for 15 minutes, turn them on their other
sides for 15 minutes, and then turn them breast up for the remaining 35
minutes, so the skin gets crispy and golden brown.

You should be able to adapt the above approach to your electric roaster.
Don't overload your electric roaster, and do not pack the birds tightly
together - the skin won't brown and the meat will express most of its juice
(trust me). Position the birds so they are not touching the sides of the
roaster, and so there is at least 1-2" of space between them birds.

If you are facing a bottleneck in the kitchen, I have learned that you can
do the chickens a day ahead, and rewarm them for about 20 minutes in a
400-450 degree oven. The skin re-crisps, the birds are thoroughly hot, but
they don't overcook or dry out. Remove them from the refrigerator about an
hour before you want to put them in the oven.

Good luck, and hope this helps. Got to get back to work.
- Master Thomas