MadameLaMinx
Gold Member
Ellie666 said:
You need to shop about for your string, you're being ripped off.
Really no need to be so sarcastic.
Roast Chicken stopping weight loss
- Thread starter barbs1965
- Start date
You need to shop about for your string, you're being ripped off.
Really no need to be so sarcastic.
MadameLaMinx
Gold Member
Not really, if he's never bought and cooked a chicken before its far from a silly question.
AnnaFaraday
..
This is true. There are loads of things which everyone else would know the price of but I haven't a clue because I never buy them. A pint of milk, for instance! No idea! Baked beans? Wouldn't contaminate my shopping trolley with the things, so no idea what they cost!
Anyway, as my very kind nephew always says when I go to him with yet another computer enquiry - there are no silly questions, just things you don't know yet!
AnnaFaraday
..
Chickens vary hugely in what they cost. They can be very cheap, but they may be battery-reared - it's up to you whether that matters more than the price. Free-range will be more expensive, and if it is a special type of chicken or corn-fed or something like that, then it will be a lot more.
Personally I think that free-range is definitely worth the extra cost in both texture and flavour.
And roasting a chicken is just about the easiest thing you can cook. Take it out of the wrapping, make sure there isn't a plastic pack of giblets inside (but sadly there rarely is these days - used to make lovely stock from giblets for the gravy!), pop it into a roasting dish and into the oven. If you get the chicken from a supermarket it will give you the cooking times; if you get it from the butchers, just ask.
(My timings are 20 minutes per pound plus an extra 20 minutes, at gas mark 5 - but that just tells you how old I am!!).
If you want to have stuffing, put it into the neck end - there is a space under the flap of skin to tuck the stuffing in - rather than put it inside the carcase. It can slow down the cooking time, and it is fiddly to get out. Or you can cook it separately, or if you are me, don't bother at all.
When the chicken looks nice and brown, and the skin is crispy, stick a skewer or a thin knife into the thickest part of the thigh and if the juices run clear, and not pink, you are ready.
Take it out of the oven and let it sit there for about 15 minutes (no it won't get too cold). This is called resting, and it makes a difference to the texture, the taste, and how easy it is to carve. And it is easier to carve, or to joint, if you take the legs off first.
Of course, being a good SW person, you are going to take off all that lovely, gorgeous, crispy, savoury, delicious, skin and throw it out . . . aren't you???
Have a go - you can't make too much of a mess of it, to be honest, and then you will have something that will give you a few meals, plus a soup if you boil up the bones afterwards.
Good luck!
Last edited:
lsf666
Watch this space...
I think that's why I said it was silly - not because they hadn't cooked a chicken before! I've seen chickens for £1.99 for a value one and up to £25 for organic etc so there is no standard price.AnnaFaraday said:
Same also applies to beans and milk too
Prices vary - check your local supermarket.Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
MadameLaMinx
Gold Member
Yeah, but if you haven't bought one before, how would you know that they vary? Questions get asked on here all the time that to some might appear to be terribly obvious, but clearly to the asker, is not. It's our job here to offer support, not to ridicule someone who just doesn't know the same things we do.
Thanks to Anna for the comprehensive post, I was going to do similar but am posting on the phone because I'm cooking.
Thanks to Anna for the comprehensive post, I was going to do similar but am posting on the phone because I'm cooking.
Vixxster
Nojo on the YoYo
LOL all this hoo ha over a little chicken! See what snackyness deprivation does to us!
And if Anna's post is a little complicated, I always swear by this method:
Open chicken, remove string, put oven on 180 degrees, put chicken in roasting tray, and roast for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. (for a 1.3 kg chook)
Nom.
Fin.
And if Anna's post is a little complicated, I always swear by this method:
Open chicken, remove string, put oven on 180 degrees, put chicken in roasting tray, and roast for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. (for a 1.3 kg chook)
Nom.
Fin.
Mrs.S.
Gold Member
Ellie666 said:
I think the above post came across as ridiculing the original question. Maybe not intentionally, and maybe it was written in jest, however that's the problem with the written word!
I certainly read the post and thought 'what a snotty cow', but as I said that's just how it came across to me.
MadameLaMinx
Gold Member
I have a perfectly functional sense of humour thanks, it just fails to find humour in mocking other people for asking what they believe to be a sensible question. There are ways to respond to those questions which does not give off the impression that you are belittling the person asking. Try them.
Shirleen
Gold Member
I get quite miffed that so called 'Free range Chickens' are not in fact 'free' LOL!
Whole chickens work out a lot cheaper than breast fillets. Watch a few videos on Video Jug and YouTube on how to joint your own chicken, how to carve your own chicken etc.
Don't throw the wings and carcass away as they make great stock simmered with a halved onion, a halved carrot (don't peel either of them), A few peppercorns, a pinch of salt, any fresh herbs you have, for 20-30 minutes, skimming off any froth that appears. Strain through muslin and you have the base for a fabulous soup or Risotto
Whole chickens work out a lot cheaper than breast fillets. Watch a few videos on Video Jug and YouTube on how to joint your own chicken, how to carve your own chicken etc.
Don't throw the wings and carcass away as they make great stock simmered with a halved onion, a halved carrot (don't peel either of them), A few peppercorns, a pinch of salt, any fresh herbs you have, for 20-30 minutes, skimming off any froth that appears. Strain through muslin and you have the base for a fabulous soup or Risotto
kingleds
Gold Member
MadameLaMinx said:
As is usual, agree MLM.
To the original question about how much a chicken costs, one that would feed 2-3 people in aldi is about £3.00. Plus you've probably got a decent carcass for stock - that's not free range though. However I did get a decent size free range one on special offer in Asda recently for about £4.00
kingleds
Gold Member
Shirleen said:
Shirleen - where do I buy muslin from, if that's not a silly question? I did check in those things called supermarkets today but couldn't see any. Am making a dish which will have leftover carcass & wings from about 3 chickens next week so could do with not wasting it.
