Lazy Sunday afternoon

[onefixedstar]

Essay marking proceeds apace, with a few good papers, and a lot of papers demonstrating that students don't know how to properly cite material. The maximum length for the papers was 20 pages, double spaced, and I think that's probably too much for an undergraduate course. My guess is that only one-third of the students actually hit 20 pages, and many of those are stuffed with extraneous material. However, since I'm but the lowly TA, I don't get to determine the assignment parameters, and so it doesn't really matter what I think.

Much more exciting for me is the chicken we bought yesterday to roast today. I've been reading through roasting recipes in between essay marking, and now I want at least three or four chickens to roast so that I can experiment with different methods. First, there's the question of whether brining really makes the difference in moistness that some people claim. (Since I haven't started it yet, I won't be doing that this time.) Then there's the heat question--how high do I go? Start really high for really crispy skin, and then lower it down to 350 or so to cook the meat? Cover the breast at the beginning so that the meat stays moist, and then brown the skin at the end? Cook the chicken entirely on low heat for a very long time, as this recipe suggests? (Look at those reviews; there must be something to it!) And of course, there are seasonings to consider. Rosemary, garlic, onion, and lemon is popular. (Possibly with a bit of thyme or sage.) But then there's the spice mix in that other recipe. And probably many more possibilities if I were to look around. Oh, the choices!

Roast chicken! Chicken soup! Chicken fajitas! Chicken enchiladas! Chicken salad sandwiches! Yum, yum, yum.

Comments

[semiotic-trader.livejournal.com]

I generally roast my chicken using the start-high-finish-low method, but that's not the result of any lengthy experimentation. Do the long, slow roast method and let me know how it turns out!

On another note, I find it interesting how everyone is using the new "location" feature in LJ. It appears that it was designed as a tie-in to Google Maps, but I've seen a number of people use it with personal tags (such as "B's place") that mean nothing to Google.

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

Hmm, since it's now almost 2:00 and I haven't started the chicken yet, I think I'll skip the long slow roast this time. I probably will try it next time, using the recipe I linked to above. (That one requires starting the night before.)

I suppose the tie-in to Google maps makes sense, but I don't want to make it that easy to find me! Besides, this is more interesting. :)

[steninja.livejournal.com]

I never knew roasting a chicken would be so complicated.

You know we usually do the lower heat, cover the meat, and then brown the skin under the broiler at the end.

I would like to know how the slow method works.

Mmm... Chicken everything... :)

[semiotic-trader.livejournal.com]

The problem with that method is that home broilers are notoriously weak, so by the time you get a nice, crispy brown on the skin, you've dried out the meat underneath.

Maybe I should try that, and crisp the skin with my blowtorch. Hmmmmm...

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

Good to know.

[reiber.livejournal.com]

I guess you're lucky, then, that Dominion has BOGO Whole Chickens on this week, 5.49/kg. Just thought I'd mention it, and that the new sheet in my department says that you can store meat (including poultry) for 6 to 12 months in the freezer. ;)

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

If only there were a chance that my freezer (or B's freezer) would hold a whole chicken. Sadly, I don't think that will happen. Still...how long is the sale on for?

[reiber.livejournal.com]

Sale's on all week (til Friday at midnight) and Chickens are good in the fridge for 5 days from the retail production date (just follow the best before date on the chicken package) which means that if you want to have roast chicken a few times in one week, or maybe once (more) this week and once next week then you could do that. Just a thought...

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

Thanks!