emulating a grown up...

[shalora]

So how is it that I'm 32 years old and I don't know how to roast a chicken? I've been pelting a work friend with texts - she used to be a chef and she actually knows how to cook stuff

Comments

[maiden_midwife]

Usually with oven roasting of meats you cook it for a certain number of minutes per pound, and the number of minutes increases when the item is stuffed.

Here's a link that may be helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/Help-Apartment-Has-Kitchen-Cookbook/dp/1881527638

Also, here's a cookbook that could be helpful, maybe you can find it at the library.
http://www.amazon.com/Help-Apartment-Has-Kitchen-Cookbook/dp/1881527638

[shalora]

I actually found an article on eHow about how to roast a chicken. They guestimated 45 minutes to an hour for the average chicken and said that it's done when you cut into a joint and the juices run clear. Took mine about an hour and 20 minutes, but we have clear juices and it smells divine. It's stuffed, but it's a small-ish chicken, so if they were right about that "45 min/1 hour" thing, then I'm thinking an hour and 20 with the stuffing was probably good... It was thoroughly thawed, and the stuffing was still hot when I stuffed it, so it got some roasting from the inside out too. ;) (I sauteed the celery and onion rather than just mixing it all cold)

And of course I am now due at the dance studio and still haven't showered and it's supposed to "rest" for 10 minutes and I really need to get better at time management. *sigh*

[ruhaniyyih]

Time management happens when you have an idea how much time something's going to take. I'd like you to give my friend Pippa a little break and let her know that "knowing how" to do something isn't something that happens without experience, including trial and error. The greatest experts in the world on any given subject started out not knowing. Even at 32. No self-flagellation today. :)

[arethinn]

I actually found an article on eHow about how to roast a chicken. They guestimated 45 minutes to an hour for the average chickenThat doesn't sound like anywhere near enough unless you're roasting at a high temperature (425 or something) or you have a bird uncommonly tiny in today's market. I did a roast chicken (unstuffed) a couple of weeks ago and a 4 1/2 lb bird took about 1 h 30-40 min at 375. (The old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook we have helpfully suggests times for roasting down to a 1 1/2-2 lb chicken - I have no idea where I'd get one that small these days, short of going to a farm and asking for an adolescent