Part cooking chicken

Berbatov

Hi All,

Can anyway tell me if it's safe to part roast a chicken, say for an hour and a quarter, leave it and come back and finish it off later, without giving me or anyone else food poisoning?

olaola

Depends on how long you're going to cook it for when you get back I reckon.

TBH, I'd err on the side of caution and say no. Why do you want to do this anyway? Time saver?

Berbatov

Yeah time saver, have a few people coming round for dinner and want to roast a chicken but won't be at home till shortly before they arrive so won't have time to roast fully while they're their.

Anyway I could cook it completely hand then reheat, just a bit concerned that this will dry it out.

olaola

If you're going to stuff it etc, then I'd defo cook it all in one go. You could get away without re-heating it tbh, serve on warm plate with warm veg & gravy and not many people will notice.

Or joint it and then cook it all when you come home? Or even spatchcock it?

the beer revolu

Definitely, do not part cook it.
Have it ready to go in the oven.
Fire it in when you get home - it'll be done in 1 1/2 hours unless it's huge.

or joint it as suggested above but DO NOT part cook it.

krankykitty

Have a look at the recipe about half way down the page for Heston's ultra slow cooked chicken - if you were to be in a few hours beforehand to put this on, would be cooking slowly while you're out?

http://thepauperedchef.com/2007/04/how_slow_can_yo.html

I would recommend not messing too much with part-cooking chicken - could lead to some nasty consequences :eek:

rocknchef

cook the chicken as normal. carve it up and place in oven dish with some water and a little knob of butter and cover with wet grease proof paper and then cover that with some tin-foil. whack it back in the oven and it should stay nice and juicy.

Berbatov

Ok, I definetely won't part cook it.

Thanks for the advice and for keeping away the potential horrible consequences! probably will joint it and then cook when I get in.

mags16

I regularly spatchcock chickens and they then cook a lot faster. Cut the chicken down it's backbone, spread it out and flatten it by pressing on the breast. You should feel the breastbone break. It will look like roadkill. The video in the link shows you how to do it but don't bother cutting out the backbone completely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGQr8xmxRT0

You then roast at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time. Gas mark 8 for just over an hour. Of course check that the chicken is completely cooked before serving. With spatchcocking, the breast cooks slower than the legs so check the thickest part of the breast. If it is still pink, cook it for a little longer.

I roast with lemon, rosemary and garlic and it is delicious.