Winner, winner...
August 16, 2016 11:08 AM Subscribe
Are rotisserie chickens a bargain? The short answer is "probably not," except for Costco (and Smart and Final, which I have never heard of). The long answer is an interesting detour through Boston Market, chicken sourcing, and Mark Bittman's famous simple roast chicken recipe. Which rotisserie chicken is the best is subject to somewhat more debate. If cost efficiency isn't your thing, you can dive right in with the $79 version at The NoMad - with foie gras and black truffle.
When a cook’s time is included as labor costs in the above calculation, whole chickens become more expensive than rotisserie options.
Isn't this the calculation basically everyone who buys a rotisserie chicken is making? "It's only $8.00 and I don't have to cook it!" This is the appeal of rotisserie chickens; this is the bargain people think they're getting. This feels like one of those papers I wrote in college where I'd knock down some totally facile interpretation of a text, because it was late and I was out of ideas.
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS you get whole from the store which are more work to cook to even deliciousness than a three pound chicken.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:15 AM on August 16, 2016 [43 favorites]
Isn't this the calculation basically everyone who buys a rotisserie chicken is making? "It's only $8.00 and I don't have to cook it!" This is the appeal of rotisserie chickens; this is the bargain people think they're getting. This feels like one of those papers I wrote in college where I'd knock down some totally facile interpretation of a text, because it was late and I was out of ideas.
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS you get whole from the store which are more work to cook to even deliciousness than a three pound chicken.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:15 AM on August 16, 2016 [43 favorites]
Their definition of bargain is "as cheap as, or cheaper than, uncooked whole chickens." But if I factor in the time it would take me to cook the chicken, a rotisserie chicken is a great deal. Make a small salad or whatever veggies you have in the fridge, and dinner is done for under $10. Way cheaper than takeout and about as easy.
posted by mai at 11:16 AM on August 16, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by mai at 11:16 AM on August 16, 2016 [12 favorites]
I don't know how you can keep the romance alive with rotisserie chicken after you've wrenched out the least-desirable thigh meat leftovers from the gelatinous brown swamp of congealed rotisserie chicken juice in the bottom of the tray the day after
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:20 AM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:20 AM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Yeah, I feel like they couldn't quite get a story out of "no, rotisserie chickens aren't nearly-spoiled chickens on their last legs" and had to find a different angle.
I roast chickens more or less regularly - it's the only way I bother to cook it, because mostly I'm not a huge fan - and it's time-consuming and fiddly and only worth it if I spring for a farmers' market, heirloom breed chicken. But my mother-in-law brought us a rotisserie chicken when my wife was recovering from surgery a couple of months ago and man, hot salty roast chicken on demand has its place in the world.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:21 AM on August 16, 2016 [13 favorites]
I roast chickens more or less regularly - it's the only way I bother to cook it, because mostly I'm not a huge fan - and it's time-consuming and fiddly and only worth it if I spring for a farmers' market, heirloom breed chicken. But my mother-in-law brought us a rotisserie chicken when my wife was recovering from surgery a couple of months ago and man, hot salty roast chicken on demand has its place in the world.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:21 AM on August 16, 2016 [13 favorites]
I don't know how you can keep the romance alive with rotisserie chicken after you've wrenched out the least-desirable thigh meat leftovers from the gelatinous brown swamp of congealed rotisserie chicken juice in the bottom of the tray the day after
Look, just because it's not your fetish...
posted by Etrigan at 11:21 AM on August 16, 2016 [33 favorites]
Look, just because it's not your fetish...
posted by Etrigan at 11:21 AM on August 16, 2016 [33 favorites]
I don't know how you can keep the romance alive with rotisserie chicken after you've wrenched out the least-desirable thigh meat leftovers from the gelatinous brown swamp of congealed rotisserie chicken juice in the bottom of the tray the day after
I don't understand -- you eat all of the thigh meat first, why would there be any left over?
posted by sparklemotion at 11:23 AM on August 16, 2016 [46 favorites]
I don't understand -- you eat all of the thigh meat first, why would there be any left over?
posted by sparklemotion at 11:23 AM on August 16, 2016 [46 favorites]
I don't know how you can keep the romance alive with rotisserie chicken after you've wrenched out the least-desirable thigh meat leftovers from the gelatinous brown swamp of congealed rotisserie chicken juice in the bottom of the tray the day after
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:20 PM on 8/16
Hey, hey, hey! Watch it with the sexy talk! I'm trying to work here!
posted by MexicanYenta at 11:24 AM on August 16, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:20 PM on 8/16
Hey, hey, hey! Watch it with the sexy talk! I'm trying to work here!
posted by MexicanYenta at 11:24 AM on August 16, 2016 [14 favorites]
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS you get whole from the store which are more work to cook to even deliciousness than a three pound chicken.
The grocery chains that I shop at have a pretty decent selection of sizes of whole raw chickens. YMMV. But, I have always had good luck with any size chicken just following the basic instructions on the label: cook at x temperature for Y minutes per pound, whatever it is. Sometimes I overcook it, and it's not as great, but the leftovers are just fine for soup.
Rotisserie chicken is basically processed fast-food. Comparing it to roasting yr own is the same as comparing a McDonalds cheeseburger to a homemeade one. Your Mileage Will Vary a lot depending on the convenience factor and your own cooking skills, equipment, etc.
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:26 AM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
The grocery chains that I shop at have a pretty decent selection of sizes of whole raw chickens. YMMV. But, I have always had good luck with any size chicken just following the basic instructions on the label: cook at x temperature for Y minutes per pound, whatever it is. Sometimes I overcook it, and it's not as great, but the leftovers are just fine for soup.
Rotisserie chicken is basically processed fast-food. Comparing it to roasting yr own is the same as comparing a McDonalds cheeseburger to a homemeade one. Your Mileage Will Vary a lot depending on the convenience factor and your own cooking skills, equipment, etc.
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:26 AM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Smart and Final (which is not some kind of close-out store, it was just the result of a merger by Mr. Smart and Mr. Final) is my primary grocery store and was already so before the Implementation of the Chicken, and I can tell a real difference in traffic since then. Clearly the hot chicken is a big draw, and I get it - especially on the nights you're doing the shopping, you need that night's dinner to come together fast. It's why I buy one of those ridiculously enormous (doesn't fit in my hateful awful fridge) take-and-bake pizzas when I'm doing my Costco shop.
But anyway, the *best* thing about S&F is that they sell boneless skinless leg quarters, also for dirt cheap, and that is the only good part of the chicken anyway. I've never seen them sold like that anywhere else.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:26 AM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
But anyway, the *best* thing about S&F is that they sell boneless skinless leg quarters, also for dirt cheap, and that is the only good part of the chicken anyway. I've never seen them sold like that anywhere else.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:26 AM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
The analysis also neglects the cost of the butter I would use to roast a chicken. I live in Wisconsin and was largely raised on James Beard, so you go ahead and guess how much that is.
posted by The Gaffer at 11:26 AM on August 16, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by The Gaffer at 11:26 AM on August 16, 2016 [9 favorites]
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS you get whole from the store which are more work to cook to even deliciousness than a three pound chicken
My stepdad once attended a conference where he spoke to someone who was in the chicken farming industry. He asked the guy why it seemed like chicken breasts were getting bigger every year. The guy told him that it takes the same amount of work to raise a chicken, bigger or smaller, but they get more money for more chicken.
posted by Fleebnork at 11:29 AM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
My stepdad once attended a conference where he spoke to someone who was in the chicken farming industry. He asked the guy why it seemed like chicken breasts were getting bigger every year. The guy told him that it takes the same amount of work to raise a chicken, bigger or smaller, but they get more money for more chicken.
posted by Fleebnork at 11:29 AM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I read this. It was a typically stupid economics article. I liked how they called people who are willing to buy rotisserie chickens "lazy," and I also liked how they completely miss the point of the chickens, which is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO FUCKING COOK THEM.
posted by OmieWise at 11:31 AM on August 16, 2016 [30 favorites]
posted by OmieWise at 11:31 AM on August 16, 2016 [30 favorites]
I do not begrudge anyone for choosing a rotisserie chicken over a home cooked one, but cooking my own chicken is a fairly easy meal and I get bones for stock later. To make it really easy, though, my opinion is that you need a good thermometer and the knowledge of how to carve a bird. The thermometer (especially a good leave-in probe style) is especially important for getting it cooked properly, and with the leave-in style you can just set the thing to alarm when the bird reaches the proper temperature and basically forget about it until it's done.
With practice, I've managed to bring my carving time (full chicken dismembered into two breasts, two wings, and four leg pieces) down to about 45 seconds. I sometimes wonder if there are carving competitions.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:34 AM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
With practice, I've managed to bring my carving time (full chicken dismembered into two breasts, two wings, and four leg pieces) down to about 45 seconds. I sometimes wonder if there are carving competitions.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:34 AM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
remember that time tim said it was weird that some places now have rotisserie chickens right by the checkout like candy bars and gum and reader's digest and everyone flipped out on him like he was saying that only freaks eat chicken
that was the best
posted by poffin boffin at 11:36 AM on August 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
that was the best
posted by poffin boffin at 11:36 AM on August 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
Oh, and I forgot about my preferred cooking method! Instead of oil, I brush the skin with melted butter mixed with herbs - with a bird out of the fridge, the butter resolidifies on the skin and stays put until you're ready to cook. I also cut a lemon in half and jam that in the cavity, which adds a nice lemony flavor and adds a little thermal mass to the inside of the cavity to make it more uniformly dense and prevent the breasts from drying out.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:38 AM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by backseatpilot at 11:38 AM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I ... was largely raised on James Beard
Amazing that he was so successful while constantly carrying a child.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:40 AM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
Amazing that he was so successful while constantly carrying a child.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:40 AM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
backseatpilot, that's remarkably similar to Beard's method (which is frankly overbuttered as printed because he was a diary-mad lunatic) . For myself, I find that trussing the bird when I'm not in practice is harder to do neatly than carving, but that carving benefits heavily from a heavy, exquisitely sharp knife.
posted by The Gaffer at 11:41 AM on August 16, 2016
posted by The Gaffer at 11:41 AM on August 16, 2016
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS you get whole from the store
If you think that's bad, you should see the ones they sell for food!
posted by indubitable at 11:42 AM on August 16, 2016 [16 favorites]
If you think that's bad, you should see the ones they sell for food!
posted by indubitable at 11:42 AM on August 16, 2016 [16 favorites]
From the comments to the NYT roast chicken recipe:
I have used a similar roast technique for years to make marvelous chicken.
Simple:
1. Preheat oven to very hot, 500 Degrees.
2. Put in chicken
3. When fire alarm in the next room goes off. remove battery and turn oven down to 375. about 45 min.
4. Replace battery
That right there is better writing than the entirety of the priceonomics article.
posted by yhbc at 11:43 AM on August 16, 2016 [30 favorites]
I have used a similar roast technique for years to make marvelous chicken.
Simple:
1. Preheat oven to very hot, 500 Degrees.
2. Put in chicken
3. When fire alarm in the next room goes off. remove battery and turn oven down to 375. about 45 min.
4. Replace battery
That right there is better writing than the entirety of the priceonomics article.
posted by yhbc at 11:43 AM on August 16, 2016 [30 favorites]
I only buy rotisserie chickens when I 'm making something that needs already-cooked chicken, so taking the time to cook one just adds to the bother. Like enchiladas. Shred the meat off a rotisserie chiken, roll in tortillas, pour Frontera Red Chile Enchilada sauce over them, sprinkle with cheese, and bake.
posted by dnash at 11:43 AM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by dnash at 11:43 AM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
It has been a while since I lived near a Smart and Final. Do they still sell "Heavy Manufacturing Cream"? I was always apprehensive about the "Heavy Manufacturing Cream".
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 11:44 AM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 11:44 AM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Customers can thank Boston Market—which opened its first store in 1985 in Newton, Mass., under the name Boston Chicken—for the modern rotisserie chicken industry.
Fail. Swiss Chalet was founded in 1954.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:44 AM on August 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
Fail. Swiss Chalet was founded in 1954.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:44 AM on August 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
One more thing, because this is apparently the topic that sets my heart afire: get air-cooled chickens if you can at all. The brand I typically see is Smart Chicken, which is also more gently plucked. The air cooling means your bird isn't a waterlogged monument to sadness, and the gentle plucking trades 30s of your time plucking feather ends for a fattier, more flavorful skin.
posted by The Gaffer at 11:46 AM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by The Gaffer at 11:46 AM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Is there a trick to getting a rotisserie chicken that's cooked correctly, and not overcooked to mush?
Don't overmarinate or overbrine it. A couple of hours of wet brine before skewering is more than enough.
posted by Talez at 11:52 AM on August 16, 2016
Don't overmarinate or overbrine it. A couple of hours of wet brine before skewering is more than enough.
posted by Talez at 11:52 AM on August 16, 2016
Rotisserie chickens look amazing.
Yup, nothing better than salt-saturated, rubber-skinned, grease-pooled supermarket rotisserie chicken.
Gurp.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:52 AM on August 16, 2016
Yup, nothing better than salt-saturated, rubber-skinned, grease-pooled supermarket rotisserie chicken.
Gurp.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:52 AM on August 16, 2016
I also cut a lemon in half and jam that in the cavity, which adds a nice lemony flavor and adds a little thermal mass to the inside of the cavity to make it more uniformly dense and prevent the breasts from drying out.
Yup. I also jam a piece of onion in there and a sprig of whatever herb I have, thyme or rosemary. But the best is slicing some garlic and shoving the slices under the skin on top of the breast and down into the legs.
Roasting a chicken is like the easiest most hands-off thing, and it almost always comes out perfect. Plus you get the added awesome bonus of roasting potatoes right in the pan with it.
posted by chococat at 11:52 AM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yup. I also jam a piece of onion in there and a sprig of whatever herb I have, thyme or rosemary. But the best is slicing some garlic and shoving the slices under the skin on top of the breast and down into the legs.
Roasting a chicken is like the easiest most hands-off thing, and it almost always comes out perfect. Plus you get the added awesome bonus of roasting potatoes right in the pan with it.
posted by chococat at 11:52 AM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
1. Preheat oven to very hot, 500 Degrees.
2. Put in chicken
3. When fire alarm in the next room goes off. remove battery and turn oven down to 375. about 45 min.
4. Replace battery
5. Spend an hour inhaling toxic fumes and bending awkwardly because you have to clean your oven again.
6. Go to Costco, pay $5 to not have to clean your oven.
posted by Dashy at 11:54 AM on August 16, 2016 [14 favorites]
2. Put in chicken
3. When fire alarm in the next room goes off. remove battery and turn oven down to 375. about 45 min.
4. Replace battery
5. Spend an hour inhaling toxic fumes and bending awkwardly because you have to clean your oven again.
6. Go to Costco, pay $5 to not have to clean your oven.
posted by Dashy at 11:54 AM on August 16, 2016 [14 favorites]
I do not begrudge anyone for choosing a rotisserie chicken over a home cooked one, but cooking my own chicken is a fairly easy meal and I get bones for stock later.Is there any reason you couldn't make stock from the bones of a rotisserie chicken? I haven't done it myself, but I don't see why that wouldn't work.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:58 AM on August 16, 2016 [13 favorites]
This feels like one of those stories that leads to shaming poor people for even considering convenience foods, because buying a whole raw chicken is way cheaper than buying this, and you totally "just" have to season it and throw it in the oven, and include none of the prices of said seasonings or the time involved in the calculation, and then you can eat it with... plain unbuttered white bread and a head of iceberg lettuce and what do you mean food is expensive for poor people?
I've bought these a lot as a single person because they have several life cycles. Tonight's dinner is a hot chicken breast; tomorrow night's dinner is a cold chicken breast on a salad. Tomorrow's lunch is chicken salad. I have in fact made soup out of the remains of a rotisserie chicken on a number of occasions--but that can go into the freezer for managing on a day off. I'd do none of that if I had to front-load the whole thing with the process of cooking a whole chicken.
It is not that it's a difficult thing. But it is not "the easiest" thing. It is a thing that can come out wrong. It is a thing that takes time and effort and planning. Some people totally have the ability to do it. Some people is not the same as everybody. It is not "laziness" to not have time and energy to cook every night. Compared to the price of actually eating out, a rotisserie chicken plus a bag of frozen peas plus a container of microwave mashed potatoes is not a bad deal and not terrible for you. And compared to properly cooking at home, it takes substantially time and physical/mental energy. Win/win, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by Sequence at 12:00 PM on August 16, 2016 [61 favorites]
I've bought these a lot as a single person because they have several life cycles. Tonight's dinner is a hot chicken breast; tomorrow night's dinner is a cold chicken breast on a salad. Tomorrow's lunch is chicken salad. I have in fact made soup out of the remains of a rotisserie chicken on a number of occasions--but that can go into the freezer for managing on a day off. I'd do none of that if I had to front-load the whole thing with the process of cooking a whole chicken.
It is not that it's a difficult thing. But it is not "the easiest" thing. It is a thing that can come out wrong. It is a thing that takes time and effort and planning. Some people totally have the ability to do it. Some people is not the same as everybody. It is not "laziness" to not have time and energy to cook every night. Compared to the price of actually eating out, a rotisserie chicken plus a bag of frozen peas plus a container of microwave mashed potatoes is not a bad deal and not terrible for you. And compared to properly cooking at home, it takes substantially time and physical/mental energy. Win/win, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by Sequence at 12:00 PM on August 16, 2016 [61 favorites]
I'd rather buy chickens precooked during the summer to avoid heating up my house with an oven.
Is there any reason you couldn't make stock from the bones of a rotisserie chicken?
I've done that. Tasted like chicken.
posted by mattamatic at 12:00 PM on August 16, 2016 [19 favorites]
Is there any reason you couldn't make stock from the bones of a rotisserie chicken?
I've done that. Tasted like chicken.
posted by mattamatic at 12:00 PM on August 16, 2016 [19 favorites]
I roast my own chickens when I can. It's cheaper and they taste better.
But rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is a wonderful thing when you get out of work at 4:30, pick up your kid at 5, and need something tasty to get out for dinner before everyone goes mad from low blood sugar.
If I could stay home all day and be a househusband I'd never buy one again. But my partner doesn't make enough to be my sugarmamma so I have to work, and that means I can only roast a chicken on weekends.
posted by sotonohito at 12:02 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
But rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is a wonderful thing when you get out of work at 4:30, pick up your kid at 5, and need something tasty to get out for dinner before everyone goes mad from low blood sugar.
If I could stay home all day and be a househusband I'd never buy one again. But my partner doesn't make enough to be my sugarmamma so I have to work, and that means I can only roast a chicken on weekends.
posted by sotonohito at 12:02 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
If I could stay home all day I would still buy them sometimes. Rotisserie chicken tastes good and when I'm starving, picking up a delicious chicken and a bagged salad at the grocery store is a hell of a lot better than picking up giant burritos at Chipotle across the street.
I like to cook and roasting a chicken is not difficult, but picking one up that's already cooked is way easier. My grocery store also has Hot Baked Eight, which is already cut up into pieces for you! The world is amazing!
This article is a clear sign that people on the internet are running out of things to be holier-than-thou about. Let me eat my $6 chicken.
posted by something something at 12:06 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
I like to cook and roasting a chicken is not difficult, but picking one up that's already cooked is way easier. My grocery store also has Hot Baked Eight, which is already cut up into pieces for you! The world is amazing!
This article is a clear sign that people on the internet are running out of things to be holier-than-thou about. Let me eat my $6 chicken.
posted by something something at 12:06 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
I practically live off of Costco $5 rotisserie chickens. I buy two, de-bone them right away, which I enjoy more than i should, and freeze half. It's a grad student's dream.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:06 PM on August 16, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:06 PM on August 16, 2016 [9 favorites]
I've made stock from rotisserie chickens. It turns out just fine but maybe saltier than a home made chicken.
posted by ian1977 at 12:07 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ian1977 at 12:07 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
My favorite are the rotisserie chickens next to the express checkout. What does it say about us as a culture that an entire hot cooked chicken qualifies as an impulse-buy item?
posted by beerperson at 12:09 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by beerperson at 12:09 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Got a oh $3.57 day old rotisserie bird at the local not-too-evil chain (Market Basket) heckofadeal!
posted by sammyo at 12:09 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by sammyo at 12:09 PM on August 16, 2016
5. Spend an hour inhaling toxic fumes and bending awkwardly because you have to clean your oven again.
6. Go to Costco, pay $5 to not have to clean your oven.
A few months back, we came back from Costco with a rotisserie chicken. One of us put the chicken -- package and all -- in the oven, so as to insulate it and keep it warm a little longer. The other of us did not know this had happened and pre-heated the oven so as to prepare something unrelated.
Who's at fault here, MeFi?
posted by Etrigan at 12:14 PM on August 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
6. Go to Costco, pay $5 to not have to clean your oven.
A few months back, we came back from Costco with a rotisserie chicken. One of us put the chicken -- package and all -- in the oven, so as to insulate it and keep it warm a little longer. The other of us did not know this had happened and pre-heated the oven so as to prepare something unrelated.
Who's at fault here, MeFi?
posted by Etrigan at 12:14 PM on August 16, 2016 [5 favorites]
I don't understand -- you eat all of the thigh meat first, why would there be any left over?
Because the dark meat is better at keeping its moistness when heated. White meat, which is already pretty dry when fresh from the store, is drier than cardboard the day after.
posted by gyc at 12:15 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Because the dark meat is better at keeping its moistness when heated. White meat, which is already pretty dry when fresh from the store, is drier than cardboard the day after.
posted by gyc at 12:15 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
For the most part, consumers are not getting the bargain with rotisserie chicken that they think. Mystery solved. But for people in a rush—or who don’t like to cook or hate leftovers—it’s the right item at the right price.
I'm not seeing shaming or holier-than-thouness in the article. It is answering a legitimate question, why are rotisserie chickens (seemingly) such a good deal
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:15 PM on August 16, 2016
I'm not seeing shaming or holier-than-thouness in the article. It is answering a legitimate question, why are rotisserie chickens (seemingly) such a good deal
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:15 PM on August 16, 2016
This feels like one of those stories that leads to shaming poor people for even considering convenience foods, because buying a whole raw chicken is way cheaper than buying this, and you totally "just" have to[...]
Poor people, and mothers who dare to do anything with their time that wasn't featured on Little House On The Prairie.
Honestly, if we cared about efficiency and use of resources rather than "laziness" and what effectively comes down to virtue-signaling, we wouldn't have actual kitchens in our (small, yardless, high-rise, chicken-coopless) homes. Food would be centrally prepared, much like rotisserie chickens done on a big bulk roasting device. And in the case of the chickens specifically, they are probably prepared at least as healthily and with more rigorous food-handling protocols than the average home-roasted buttery chook.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [15 favorites]
Poor people, and mothers who dare to do anything with their time that wasn't featured on Little House On The Prairie.
Honestly, if we cared about efficiency and use of resources rather than "laziness" and what effectively comes down to virtue-signaling, we wouldn't have actual kitchens in our (small, yardless, high-rise, chicken-coopless) homes. Food would be centrally prepared, much like rotisserie chickens done on a big bulk roasting device. And in the case of the chickens specifically, they are probably prepared at least as healthily and with more rigorous food-handling protocols than the average home-roasted buttery chook.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [15 favorites]
A few months back, we came back from Costco with a rotisserie chicken. One of us put the chicken -- package and all -- in the oven, so as to insulate it and keep it warm a little longer. The other of us did not know this had happened and pre-heated the oven so as to prepare something unrelated.
Who's at fault here, MeFi?
Just like you always put the toilet seat down whether you used it or not, you always check the oven before you turn it on, whether you put something in it or not.
Pre-heater owes warmer a Costco take-and-bake.
posted by madajb at 12:20 PM on August 16, 2016 [16 favorites]
Who's at fault here, MeFi?
Just like you always put the toilet seat down whether you used it or not, you always check the oven before you turn it on, whether you put something in it or not.
Pre-heater owes warmer a Costco take-and-bake.
posted by madajb at 12:20 PM on August 16, 2016 [16 favorites]
Who's at fault here, MeFi?
The preheater. You always need to check the oven before you turn it on, because you might be living with a New Yorker.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:26 PM on August 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
The preheater. You always need to check the oven before you turn it on, because you might be living with a New Yorker.
posted by sparklemotion at 12:26 PM on August 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
Hm, now I want to stop and get a chicken, but we still have the remnants of a brisket to finish off, so I'll stick with that.
I am slowly introducing my son to the way we make meals in our house, which is 90% "What's in the fridge/cabinet that goes together?" because we cook giant batches of meat once a week and then reheat what we want each night and make a side to go with. Rice, pasta, vegetables, whatever. Or make it into quesadillas/sandwiches.
Recently he wanted to take the rotisserie chicken scraps and mix them with the tiny amount of beef-and-rice leftovers, plus some more rice. Not my thing, but he seemed to enjoy it.
posted by emjaybee at 12:28 PM on August 16, 2016
I am slowly introducing my son to the way we make meals in our house, which is 90% "What's in the fridge/cabinet that goes together?" because we cook giant batches of meat once a week and then reheat what we want each night and make a side to go with. Rice, pasta, vegetables, whatever. Or make it into quesadillas/sandwiches.
Recently he wanted to take the rotisserie chicken scraps and mix them with the tiny amount of beef-and-rice leftovers, plus some more rice. Not my thing, but he seemed to enjoy it.
posted by emjaybee at 12:28 PM on August 16, 2016
Oh god my mother stores so much stuff in the oven, it drives me batshit.
Anyway, do you home-chicken-cooking people not eat pork or something? Because ... pork.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:29 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Anyway, do you home-chicken-cooking people not eat pork or something? Because ... pork.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:29 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
a big bulk roasting device
You know, the markets in France, they get these panel trucks that drive in. One side of the back rolls up to show row upon row of rotating roast chickens. But the best part is, at the bottom are chopped potatoes, roasting in all that juice dripping down. The potatoes are sold by the kilo so you don't need to be embarrassed about ordering a huge amount.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:30 PM on August 16, 2016 [27 favorites]
You know, the markets in France, they get these panel trucks that drive in. One side of the back rolls up to show row upon row of rotating roast chickens. But the best part is, at the bottom are chopped potatoes, roasting in all that juice dripping down. The potatoes are sold by the kilo so you don't need to be embarrassed about ordering a huge amount.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:30 PM on August 16, 2016 [27 favorites]
Rotisserie Chicken thigh meat soaked in its own juices under a heat lamp is the American version of duck confit.
And it is also good.
posted by srboisvert at 12:30 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
And it is also good.
posted by srboisvert at 12:30 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
I love getting home before these chickens get cool, stripping off the still-warm skin, and shoving a handful of it into my mouth. SO DELICIOUS.
posted by Fister Roboto at 12:31 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Fister Roboto at 12:31 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
I've never checked the oven to see if there was anything in it before preheating it, nor have I ever seen anyone do this, but since it turns out you people are talking about storing stuff in your oven, I can rest assured that I'm the sane one in a world gone mad, not the other way around.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:32 PM on August 16, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:32 PM on August 16, 2016 [13 favorites]
Does anyone else put bits of fond directly on their potatoes?
posted by The Gaffer at 12:33 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by The Gaffer at 12:33 PM on August 16, 2016
It's not so much the "cost" of time saved that matters to me, it's the meal time. If you finish work at 5 or later like most people, good luck roasting a raw chicken before your stomach starts eating itself alive.
posted by randomnity at 12:33 PM on August 16, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by randomnity at 12:33 PM on August 16, 2016 [9 favorites]
Every time I want to make a roast chicken, I consult my cookbook recipes which call for a chicken in the 3–3½ pound range. I then go to the supermarket, where I invariably have trouble finding a chicken that weighs less than 5 pounds. At least now I know where all the small chickens are going.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:34 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:34 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Well, now I know what I am having for dinner tonight.
posted by briank at 12:34 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by briank at 12:34 PM on August 16, 2016
Rotisserie chickens are more greasy/salty than roasting it myself, but for me the only real downside to rotisserie is that by the time I get it, the skin is already damp and floppy. Half the reason I roast my own chickens is so I can pull the pan out of the oven, set it on the stove, peel off crispy chicken skin bits, and stand there munching them and growling like a dog over a raw steak. 95% of the time I'd rather have that than the finest dessert.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:35 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:35 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
I've never tried roasting potatoes under a chicken before, I guess I just found my project for tonight!
posted by indubitable at 12:36 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by indubitable at 12:36 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I hope I wasn't coming across as shaming?
I'm not a fantastic cook by any means so I only meant that roasting a chicken is a not-too difficult thing to do for anyone who might be intimidated by cooking. We get a rotisserie chickens occasionally but if I've got the time to roast one (usually on a Saturday or Sunday night) I prefer that. No laziness implied if that's not your thing.
In the end, mmm chicken.
posted by chococat at 12:38 PM on August 16, 2016
I'm not a fantastic cook by any means so I only meant that roasting a chicken is a not-too difficult thing to do for anyone who might be intimidated by cooking. We get a rotisserie chickens occasionally but if I've got the time to roast one (usually on a Saturday or Sunday night) I prefer that. No laziness implied if that's not your thing.
In the end, mmm chicken.
posted by chococat at 12:38 PM on August 16, 2016
It's been referenced before but I feel obligated to repeat that the $4.99 costco roasted chickens are obscene. Back when I lived in an apartment complex next to a costco, I used to just eat the meat until stuffed, then use the scraps to make refried bean & chicken quesadillas and fry the tortillas in the schmaltz.
Twice the size of any regular grocery store equivalent that I've ever seen, half the price; and as good as any chicken I've ever tasted at any price.
If I could just remind myself to throw out the tray of congealed grease and bones before it goes rancid in the trash ...
posted by hobo gitano de queretaro at 12:39 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Twice the size of any regular grocery store equivalent that I've ever seen, half the price; and as good as any chicken I've ever tasted at any price.
If I could just remind myself to throw out the tray of congealed grease and bones before it goes rancid in the trash ...
posted by hobo gitano de queretaro at 12:39 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Reading about those French rotisserie chickens reminds me of a lovely story about an American making Thanksgiving dinner in Paris, and her butcher saving the day by letting her use his rotisserie when her electricity goes out.
Next year my butcher places a sign outside his shop reminding Americans to order turkeys early and advertising that he will rotisserie the birds for a small extra charge.posted by Nelson at 12:40 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
I've never checked the oven to see if there was anything in it before preheating it,
both my oven and my microwave incessantly beep what i am sure they believe to be a helpful beep whenever you put something in without turning the appliance on
they also both beep incessantly when they are finished cooking whatever you cooked in them, even though the power automatically turns off and no further cooking is happening (at least in the microwave), just beeping beeping beeping endlessly every 30 seconds or so
one time i left something in the microwave as long as i could stand to just to see how long it would continue beeping to inform me that my reheated soup was getting cold again; i broke down in utter madness after 90 minutes of beeping, 90 5-tone beeps one per minute, endless beeping, relentless, unceasing, eternal
l'enfer, c'est les beeps
posted by poffin boffin at 12:41 PM on August 16, 2016 [22 favorites]
both my oven and my microwave incessantly beep what i am sure they believe to be a helpful beep whenever you put something in without turning the appliance on
they also both beep incessantly when they are finished cooking whatever you cooked in them, even though the power automatically turns off and no further cooking is happening (at least in the microwave), just beeping beeping beeping endlessly every 30 seconds or so
one time i left something in the microwave as long as i could stand to just to see how long it would continue beeping to inform me that my reheated soup was getting cold again; i broke down in utter madness after 90 minutes of beeping, 90 5-tone beeps one per minute, endless beeping, relentless, unceasing, eternal
l'enfer, c'est les beeps
posted by poffin boffin at 12:41 PM on August 16, 2016 [22 favorites]
Rotisserie chicken is basically processed fast-food. Comparing it to roasting yr own is the same as comparing a McDonalds cheeseburger to a homemeade one.
I have trouble with "processed" being used like this -- as a vague scare term without much content. It reminds me of the way wackdoodle nutrition people talk about "chemicals" and "toxins." Turning raw ingredients into edible food is processing, whether I'm doing it myself or paying someone -- artisanal craftsperson or multinational corporation -- to do it. The trick is to pay attention to the quality of the raw ingredients and actually know what is involved in the processing.
I've roasted a lot of chickens and I can't imagine Costco or anyone else is doing anything that different from what I do -- you put some flavoring on the outside and then you heat it until it's cooked.
The issue with cheap rotisserie chicken is the same issue that exits with cheap raw chicken -- and with all cheap meat, really. If it's that inexpensive, someone else is paying the price: animals, people, and the environment are suffering more they they have to.
If you want a reason to avoid cheap rotisserie chicken, don't worry about "processing" -- read up on Tyson, a company that makes Monsanto look like Doctors Without Borders.
posted by neroli at 12:50 PM on August 16, 2016 [29 favorites]
I have trouble with "processed" being used like this -- as a vague scare term without much content. It reminds me of the way wackdoodle nutrition people talk about "chemicals" and "toxins." Turning raw ingredients into edible food is processing, whether I'm doing it myself or paying someone -- artisanal craftsperson or multinational corporation -- to do it. The trick is to pay attention to the quality of the raw ingredients and actually know what is involved in the processing.
I've roasted a lot of chickens and I can't imagine Costco or anyone else is doing anything that different from what I do -- you put some flavoring on the outside and then you heat it until it's cooked.
The issue with cheap rotisserie chicken is the same issue that exits with cheap raw chicken -- and with all cheap meat, really. If it's that inexpensive, someone else is paying the price: animals, people, and the environment are suffering more they they have to.
If you want a reason to avoid cheap rotisserie chicken, don't worry about "processing" -- read up on Tyson, a company that makes Monsanto look like Doctors Without Borders.
posted by neroli at 12:50 PM on August 16, 2016 [29 favorites]
when i have a bad day or a sad day or just a normal day i like to stop at berkeley bowl on my way home from work and get a rotisserie chicken and then stand at my kitchen island eating it hot with my bare hands as soon as i get home
this is even more satisfying if i've had at least one beer first
posted by burgerrr at 12:52 PM on August 16, 2016 [14 favorites]
this is even more satisfying if i've had at least one beer first
posted by burgerrr at 12:52 PM on August 16, 2016 [14 favorites]
Costco chickens, my technique:
Legs and thighs are devoured first. Breast meat is turned into chicken salad if it is very dry, chicken curry or enchiladas, or soup if not. All the bones and the rest are preserved for stock. You can get 5 meals out of it for one person. They are pretty inconsistent though, sometimes over or under cooked. Sam's Club chickens have been poisonously salty the times I've been subjected to them. Market Basket chickens are too tiny to be worth it unless you are starving and want to eat them immediately (though this is the messiest fast food meal possible).
posted by Bee'sWing at 12:55 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Legs and thighs are devoured first. Breast meat is turned into chicken salad if it is very dry, chicken curry or enchiladas, or soup if not. All the bones and the rest are preserved for stock. You can get 5 meals out of it for one person. They are pretty inconsistent though, sometimes over or under cooked. Sam's Club chickens have been poisonously salty the times I've been subjected to them. Market Basket chickens are too tiny to be worth it unless you are starving and want to eat them immediately (though this is the messiest fast food meal possible).
posted by Bee'sWing at 12:55 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
My favorite are the rotisserie chickens next to the express checkout. What does it say about us as a culture that an entire hot cooked chicken qualifies as an impulse-buy item?
1. God Bless America.
2. It's the item you want to pick up last on your shopping trip, so that it stays hot. Right by the checkouts is the most logical place for the hot to-go items. It's only our culture that makes use classify things by the checkouts as "impulse buys".
posted by Hypatia at 12:57 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
1. God Bless America.
2. It's the item you want to pick up last on your shopping trip, so that it stays hot. Right by the checkouts is the most logical place for the hot to-go items. It's only our culture that makes use classify things by the checkouts as "impulse buys".
posted by Hypatia at 12:57 PM on August 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
now i'm just going to spend my day thinking about the rotisserie chicken i'm gonna eat after work
posted by burgerrr at 12:58 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by burgerrr at 12:58 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I roast chicken at home, I have no problem with people who roast chicken at home. I love roast chicken at home.
But I can't mimic rotisserie chicken at home. The taste is different, the cooking is different. We're not talking Apples and Oranges here, but we are talking Valencia Oranges and Naval Oranges here.
When I want roast chicken I want roast chicken and I can do that in the oven. When I want rotisserie chicken I want rotisserie chicken, and that I have to buy from some place with a good rotisserie set-up.
In short, I don't buy the premise of this article.
posted by bswinburn at 12:59 PM on August 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
But I can't mimic rotisserie chicken at home. The taste is different, the cooking is different. We're not talking Apples and Oranges here, but we are talking Valencia Oranges and Naval Oranges here.
When I want roast chicken I want roast chicken and I can do that in the oven. When I want rotisserie chicken I want rotisserie chicken, and that I have to buy from some place with a good rotisserie set-up.
In short, I don't buy the premise of this article.
posted by bswinburn at 12:59 PM on August 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
Sometimes I have had a bad day, and will get a whole rotisserie chicken at the supermarket on my way home, and throw a chicken pity party. The salt-lubricated meat slides right down my throat, so in something like seven minutes I have eaten the entire thing and am picking at the joints for leftover meat, telling whoever is around to stop looking at me because what I've done is shameful, and go on to contemplate the chicken who has lived and died within a space of eight weeks for me to eat it in one go.
Tell me I'm not the only one.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 1:02 PM on August 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
Tell me I'm not the only one.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 1:02 PM on August 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
Yeah, I have my roasting technique down cold thanks to the Zuni cookbook. I salt the chicken the night before (ok.. if I have my crap together) with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Shove some thyme and rosemary under the skin after pulling the skin away from the bird and I use the rosemary to ensure there's an air gap between the skin and flesh.
Then day of - cast iron roasting pan in a 475F oven for an hour. Drop the patted dry chicken in there, sizzle away and roast for 30 minutes, flip for 20, flip for 10 and pull and let cool while trying to remember to save the skin for my wife lest I end up an unwitting victim of my own enthusiam.
Easy to do, but I'm definitely not pulling that during the week!
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:06 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Then day of - cast iron roasting pan in a 475F oven for an hour. Drop the patted dry chicken in there, sizzle away and roast for 30 minutes, flip for 20, flip for 10 and pull and let cool while trying to remember to save the skin for my wife lest I end up an unwitting victim of my own enthusiam.
Easy to do, but I'm definitely not pulling that during the week!
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:06 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
(though this is the messiest fast food meal possible).
You say that like it's a bad thing.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:07 PM on August 16, 2016
You say that like it's a bad thing.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:07 PM on August 16, 2016
Almost all commercially produced chickens are a Cornish cross hybrid breed. They have a ridiculously high feed conversion ratio (around 2 pounds of feed per pound of meat), making them cheap to produce. They are slaughtered at about 8 weeks old, weighing 8-10 pounds. They grow insanely fast, and they are hungry all the time. The farmers have to take away their food for part of the day, or they will give themselves heart attacks eating so much. Allowed to grow to maturity, their legs can break, unable to hold up their bodies, and they look ridiculous and unbalanced. I'm dubious about whether it's humane to raise these animals at all, even given ideal conditions. If you're paying this kind of price for a bird, you can count on the conditions being far from ideal.
posted by sanedragon at 1:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by sanedragon at 1:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Well at least the article includes “rushed” in with “lazy.”
Sometimes I really wonder about people with kids who have an hour to roast a chicken on a weeknight. And then I remember that I spend just over an hour commuting from downtown Toronto to Scarborough (also technically Toronto) and that is probably the hour that people cook their chickens in. A lot of nights, I pick my kids up at 6 and then one has martial arts at 7, -or- one has martial arts at 6:15 and then we’re trying to get them fed before a decent bedtime around 7:30,so time is really at a premium in the evenings.
I use a crockpot and make meals ahead and all that stuff but being able to get a hot, cooked chicken + salad and bread for way less than most takeout is really nice some nights.
And yes the ethics of it bother me sometimes so we try to keep it to a minimum but...there we are.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:20 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I really wonder about people with kids who have an hour to roast a chicken on a weeknight. And then I remember that I spend just over an hour commuting from downtown Toronto to Scarborough (also technically Toronto) and that is probably the hour that people cook their chickens in. A lot of nights, I pick my kids up at 6 and then one has martial arts at 7, -or- one has martial arts at 6:15 and then we’re trying to get them fed before a decent bedtime around 7:30,so time is really at a premium in the evenings.
I use a crockpot and make meals ahead and all that stuff but being able to get a hot, cooked chicken + salad and bread for way less than most takeout is really nice some nights.
And yes the ethics of it bother me sometimes so we try to keep it to a minimum but...there we are.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:20 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I really wonder about people with kids who have an hour to roast a chicken on a weeknight.
As you kind of noticed, it depends on where you spend that hour. If you can be home, roasted chicken is one of the very low-work dinners. If you do a roast chicken + rice (in a rice cooker), it is very little work for the cook, is tasty (we like rice) and reasonably healthy. Even if you steam a little broccoli on the side, still the work quotient is quite low. However, the elapsed time is still significant, even if the active time is not.
posted by Bovine Love at 1:25 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
As you kind of noticed, it depends on where you spend that hour. If you can be home, roasted chicken is one of the very low-work dinners. If you do a roast chicken + rice (in a rice cooker), it is very little work for the cook, is tasty (we like rice) and reasonably healthy. Even if you steam a little broccoli on the side, still the work quotient is quite low. However, the elapsed time is still significant, even if the active time is not.
posted by Bovine Love at 1:25 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
There is so much wrong about that article I almost couldn't read it through.
Nothing is wrong with rotisserie chicken, except maybe the fact that they are all factory birds and lived a miserable life (well OK that is important, but easy to forget when you are hungry and it's late in the day). Usually, I roast my own free-range chickens, and now I have to try the Bittman recipe, which I haven't seen before, but I can think of no other fast food as delicious, satisfying and practical as a rotisserie chicken.
Also, it reminds me of being 16 and always going for chicken and fries after parties, with good friends.
posted by mumimor at 1:26 PM on August 16, 2016
Nothing is wrong with rotisserie chicken, except maybe the fact that they are all factory birds and lived a miserable life (well OK that is important, but easy to forget when you are hungry and it's late in the day). Usually, I roast my own free-range chickens, and now I have to try the Bittman recipe, which I haven't seen before, but I can think of no other fast food as delicious, satisfying and practical as a rotisserie chicken.
Also, it reminds me of being 16 and always going for chicken and fries after parties, with good friends.
posted by mumimor at 1:26 PM on August 16, 2016
I have been reading this entire thread while drooling, because we decided to get all conscience-stricken about where our produce, dairy and meat comes from*, and thus we've basically eliminated all chicken from our diet.
Once a year, I buy what we have come to refer to as our "Montessori meat" from a local small-farm farmer, who ensures that his animals are grass-fed, able to romp around clean sunny pastures in Sonoma county, and not pumped full of hormones. We pay $3/pound for a whole cow, and $3/pound for a whole pig.
(This works only because we have a freezer and I coordinate a meat sale with friends, so our family of three does not have to eat an entire cow in one year.)
I wanted to do the same thing with chickens -- humanely raised, fed well, etc. And the cost at local places was somewhere between $10-12 a pound. That's too rich for the budget. And now we find ourselves in the novel position of thinking of beef or pork as our "cheap" meat and regarding chicken as a luxury item.
Anyway, I love a good roast chicken, but when we make it at home, it's definitely different from rotisserie chicken, which I remember as being much more comfort food-y. And delicious.
* I know, there are probably awful things associated with flour and sugar and cardamom too, but we're doing this in steps.
posted by sobell at 1:30 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
Once a year, I buy what we have come to refer to as our "Montessori meat" from a local small-farm farmer, who ensures that his animals are grass-fed, able to romp around clean sunny pastures in Sonoma county, and not pumped full of hormones. We pay $3/pound for a whole cow, and $3/pound for a whole pig.
(This works only because we have a freezer and I coordinate a meat sale with friends, so our family of three does not have to eat an entire cow in one year.)
I wanted to do the same thing with chickens -- humanely raised, fed well, etc. And the cost at local places was somewhere between $10-12 a pound. That's too rich for the budget. And now we find ourselves in the novel position of thinking of beef or pork as our "cheap" meat and regarding chicken as a luxury item.
Anyway, I love a good roast chicken, but when we make it at home, it's definitely different from rotisserie chicken, which I remember as being much more comfort food-y. And delicious.
* I know, there are probably awful things associated with flour and sugar and cardamom too, but we're doing this in steps.
posted by sobell at 1:30 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
Mrs. sanedragon is raising 50 heritage breed cockerel chicks in our back yard for slaughter this fall. Pretty much the exact opposite of a convenient take-home meal.... So far, from this I've learned that chickens are idiot assholes and it's easy to not feel guilty about eating them.
posted by sanedragon at 1:36 PM on August 16, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by sanedragon at 1:36 PM on August 16, 2016 [16 favorites]
of thinking of beef or pork as our "cheap" meat and regarding chicken as a luxury item.
To be fair, when I was a small kid before factory farming had taken hold here in Europe, chicken was a seasonal luxury for late spring and summer. There is a reason for those recipes where poultry is cooked for ages - wether it be for soup or those French coq au vin stew things.
posted by mumimor at 1:55 PM on August 16, 2016
To be fair, when I was a small kid before factory farming had taken hold here in Europe, chicken was a seasonal luxury for late spring and summer. There is a reason for those recipes where poultry is cooked for ages - wether it be for soup or those French coq au vin stew things.
posted by mumimor at 1:55 PM on August 16, 2016
I love rotisserie chicken but because of where we live, we've never had the Costco chicken. The nearest US stores are six hours away at least. There's one up in Regina but that's still a little over three hours and I don't know if I can bring that bird back over the border. Anyone got any notion on how to transport a Costco chicken over a long distance so it'll keep?
posted by Ber at 2:08 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by Ber at 2:08 PM on August 16, 2016
I spend just over an hour commuting from downtown Toronto to Scarborough (also technically Toronto) and that is probably the hour that people cook their chickens in.
You need to get one of those exhaust-manifold ovens, and cook your chicken on the way home.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:12 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
You need to get one of those exhaust-manifold ovens, and cook your chicken on the way home.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:12 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS
You're welcome.
Love,
Agribusiness
posted by maryr at 2:18 PM on August 16, 2016
You're welcome.
Love,
Agribusiness
posted by maryr at 2:18 PM on August 16, 2016
Rotisserie chicken because either that or on the rack or it's no Yorkshire pudding for you, my love.
posted by datawrangler at 2:20 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by datawrangler at 2:20 PM on August 16, 2016
Plus the real villain here is the GIANT FUCKING CHICKENS.
As long as the Giant and the chickens are of age and it's all consensual, who are we to judge?
posted by The Bellman at 2:23 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
As long as the Giant and the chickens are of age and it's all consensual, who are we to judge?
posted by The Bellman at 2:23 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
However, the elapsed time is still significant, even if the active time is not. Yeah, exactly.
You need to get one of those exhaust-manifold ovens, and cook your chicken on the way home.
I just need a robot chef really. Although I think I did read the article about the people that cooked everything in foil wrapped packets in their car on a cross-country road trip...
posted by warriorqueen at 2:30 PM on August 16, 2016
You need to get one of those exhaust-manifold ovens, and cook your chicken on the way home.
I just need a robot chef really. Although I think I did read the article about the people that cooked everything in foil wrapped packets in their car on a cross-country road trip...
posted by warriorqueen at 2:30 PM on August 16, 2016
...also sadly (maybe?) most of my current commute is by public transit. Although there's a new revenue stream for the TTC.
posted by warriorqueen at 2:33 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by warriorqueen at 2:33 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
My Gran had a timer in her oven, and a roasting spit: we'd put a chicken on a spit every Tuesday after school (I lived at my grans'), go out to do stuff, and come home at night to a lovely roast. Mmm, another reason I just love roast chicken.
Very often there would be Hasselback potatoes spiced with caraway seeds under the chicken. Delicious.
posted by mumimor at 2:44 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Very often there would be Hasselback potatoes spiced with caraway seeds under the chicken. Delicious.
posted by mumimor at 2:44 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Mrs. sanedragon is raising 50 heritage breed cockerel chicks in our back yard for slaughter this fall. Pretty much the exact opposite of a convenient take-home meal.... So far, from this I've learned that chickens are idiot assholes and it's easy to not feel guilty about eating them.
What state is this in? If this is the Greater Boston Area could some arrangement be made once the chickens are ready for slaughter?
posted by Talez at 2:56 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
What state is this in? If this is the Greater Boston Area could some arrangement be made once the chickens are ready for slaughter?
posted by Talez at 2:56 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I had to take in my father's elderly cat when my father went to assisted living, and said cat was a fussy eater with few teeth. It was a common thing for me to buy a rotisserie chicken and feed some of the meat to the cat. Delicious thighs for dinner. Leftovers and gelatin-broth would go into Chicken Stroganoff the next day. Win win.
posted by acrasis at 4:43 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by acrasis at 4:43 PM on August 16, 2016
prize bull octorok: "I don't know how you can keep the romance alive with rotisserie chicken after you've wrenched out the least-desirable thigh meat leftovers from the gelatinous brown swamp of congealed rotisserie chicken juice in the bottom of the tray the day after"
That stuff goes right in the stock pot before it congeals.
Joakim Ziegler: "Is there any reason you couldn't make stock from the bones of a rotisserie chicken?"
Nope, do it all the time. It's a bit salty so make sure to adjust the salt you normally add to stock.
posted by Mitheral at 4:56 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
That stuff goes right in the stock pot before it congeals.
Joakim Ziegler: "Is there any reason you couldn't make stock from the bones of a rotisserie chicken?"
Nope, do it all the time. It's a bit salty so make sure to adjust the salt you normally add to stock.
posted by Mitheral at 4:56 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
One cure for that rubbery skin is peeling it off and crisping it in the microwave, like bacon.
posted by STFUDonnie at 5:07 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by STFUDonnie at 5:07 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
The store nearest me drops the price of any remaining to $2:48 around 7:30 PM or so. I actually got burnt out for a bit once I discovered this.
posted by sourwookie at 5:19 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by sourwookie at 5:19 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I haven't read all of the replies here. I did read the first article. Thought I might add my anecdatata.
I was once the deli guy at a medium sized supermarket. I sliced lox and I also made the roto chicken. Again I apologize if someone already brought this up, but the main use of the rotochicks was the smell. We started the machine before the store was open. In stores where I baked, that was the same.
The smell.
Sure we took a loss on the chicken. As well it took up time that I could be doing any number of other things, as the opener. But the owner was adamant. "I want that chicken smell in the store when the doors open."
Think about it. You go to the smaller local store for a few things. You know the people there by name. And they know you too. When that door opens you smell roasting chicken. That's the first thing you smell. Your mom made that. You're home.
Other rules we had. You tie the legs and you tuck the wings back. If you don't do it right they end up flopping around and eventually fall off. You want a chicken missing a wing or a leg? No.
The chickens were delivered that morning. Every day. On ice. Fresher, sometimes then the ones in the cases. They were small but not tiny. They had to fit on the skewers and not rub against the other chickens.
I pulled them out of the ice. Checked them for flaws. No feathers. No holes or cuts. Hey it happenes. If I rejected one it went back to the supplier. With a harsh word or two. Then I made my spice rub. Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, a touch of sage and thyme and paprika. I gave each one a nice full body massage. A point here. I made it fresh every day. Some places would make like five pounds of rub and keep it in a container. That shit goes bad in a few days. No flavor.
Then I spike the birds. Like I said, legs tied tight. Wings folded back, no flapping allowed.
Push the end forks tight. Then tighter. Why? They lose mass when they defrost and then when they lose fat. No customer wants a bird that didn't spin with the rest and ends up burnt and raw at the same time.
When you ended up with one of my birds you enjoyed it. How do I know? For a while we allowed people to pre-order birds. Ultimately I was making a whole bunch for people who would pre-order. People would come in and I'd have to say, sorry those are all sold. That lasted three days.
So... Maybe people make them and are clueless. I fell sorry for them. A good rotobird is a great rotobird.
posted by Splunge at 5:46 PM on August 16, 2016 [34 favorites]
I was once the deli guy at a medium sized supermarket. I sliced lox and I also made the roto chicken. Again I apologize if someone already brought this up, but the main use of the rotochicks was the smell. We started the machine before the store was open. In stores where I baked, that was the same.
The smell.
Sure we took a loss on the chicken. As well it took up time that I could be doing any number of other things, as the opener. But the owner was adamant. "I want that chicken smell in the store when the doors open."
Think about it. You go to the smaller local store for a few things. You know the people there by name. And they know you too. When that door opens you smell roasting chicken. That's the first thing you smell. Your mom made that. You're home.
Other rules we had. You tie the legs and you tuck the wings back. If you don't do it right they end up flopping around and eventually fall off. You want a chicken missing a wing or a leg? No.
The chickens were delivered that morning. Every day. On ice. Fresher, sometimes then the ones in the cases. They were small but not tiny. They had to fit on the skewers and not rub against the other chickens.
I pulled them out of the ice. Checked them for flaws. No feathers. No holes or cuts. Hey it happenes. If I rejected one it went back to the supplier. With a harsh word or two. Then I made my spice rub. Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, a touch of sage and thyme and paprika. I gave each one a nice full body massage. A point here. I made it fresh every day. Some places would make like five pounds of rub and keep it in a container. That shit goes bad in a few days. No flavor.
Then I spike the birds. Like I said, legs tied tight. Wings folded back, no flapping allowed.
Push the end forks tight. Then tighter. Why? They lose mass when they defrost and then when they lose fat. No customer wants a bird that didn't spin with the rest and ends up burnt and raw at the same time.
When you ended up with one of my birds you enjoyed it. How do I know? For a while we allowed people to pre-order birds. Ultimately I was making a whole bunch for people who would pre-order. People would come in and I'd have to say, sorry those are all sold. That lasted three days.
So... Maybe people make them and are clueless. I fell sorry for them. A good rotobird is a great rotobird.
posted by Splunge at 5:46 PM on August 16, 2016 [34 favorites]
BTW if anyone wants a class on slicing nova just ask. It was fun.
posted by Splunge at 6:00 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 6:00 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I love rotisserie chicken but because of where we live, we've never had the Costco chicken. The nearest US stores are six hours away at least. There's one up in Regina but that's still a little over three hours and I don't know if I can bring that bird back over the border. Anyone got any notion on how to transport a Costco chicken over a long distance so it'll keep?
Have you considered picking it up along with a flat of croissants and having a post-Costco tailgate party?
posted by concrete at 6:05 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Have you considered picking it up along with a flat of croissants and having a post-Costco tailgate party?
posted by concrete at 6:05 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I like rotisserie chicken, from a particular place that *only* does rotisserie chicken, because they limit themselves to salting the things. Not a fan of the mystery seasonings at the grocery store (especially the "seasonal" seasonings. I think it's still BBQ flavours out right now. But the sunscreens are on sale, and there was a chill to the wind this evening - the pumpkin spice latte chickens are on the way)
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:08 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:08 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
> ...nearest me drops the price of any remaining...
I'd love to hear about the logistics of running something like a busy Boston Market. Predicting the amount of chickens required for a given day and arranging delivery schedules and all that (It's a Monday but it's also the day after gets paid, &c.).
To everyone who enjoys rotisserie chicken, I highly recommend trying Chinese-style bbq. Just make sure it's from a shop where they roast it; depending on where you are, some shops just bring it in from a central roaster. There's bbq duck, not dissimilar to Peking duck, bbq pork of course, then there's roast pork with a crunchy rind, and sausages (Taiwanese places have can have a lot of different kinds).
Some quality places also do their own preserved duck, pork, and all kinds of sausages, too. Typically, they resemble a dry confit where the fat's completely infiltrated the meat resulting in a very low moisture level (they can be stored at room temp).
posted by porpoise at 6:09 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'd love to hear about the logistics of running something like a busy Boston Market. Predicting the amount of chickens required for a given day and arranging delivery schedules and all that (It's a Monday but it's also the day after
To everyone who enjoys rotisserie chicken, I highly recommend trying Chinese-style bbq. Just make sure it's from a shop where they roast it; depending on where you are, some shops just bring it in from a central roaster. There's bbq duck, not dissimilar to Peking duck, bbq pork of course, then there's roast pork with a crunchy rind, and sausages (Taiwanese places have can have a lot of different kinds).
Some quality places also do their own preserved duck, pork, and all kinds of sausages, too. Typically, they resemble a dry confit where the fat's completely infiltrated the meat resulting in a very low moisture level (they can be stored at room temp).
posted by porpoise at 6:09 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Boston Chicken, that brings back memories. I grew up in the Boston area with two parents who worked full-time, in a suburb that didn't have great take-out options at the time, so Boston Chicken was a staple. There was a 6-month period when renovations meant we had no kitchen, and we would get meals from Boston Chicken 2-3 times a week. It was so good back in those days - the chicken was really tender and juicy, and the mashed potatoes were amazing. Then they went national, and I think they got bought by McDonald's and it pretty much sucks now.
I don't love most grocery store rotisserie chickens because they get so dry. But if you live anywhere near a Peruvian rotisserie chicken place, do yourself a favor and try it out. Oh dear lord, so delicious. Get extra green sauce.
posted by lunasol at 6:14 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I don't love most grocery store rotisserie chickens because they get so dry. But if you live anywhere near a Peruvian rotisserie chicken place, do yourself a favor and try it out. Oh dear lord, so delicious. Get extra green sauce.
posted by lunasol at 6:14 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
The logistics of any restaurants are pretty simple. You have a book (or now I guess, a spreadsheet) that shows you what you needed in the last month or two of last year. It tells you how much you used and if there was a shortfall or an excess. You try to extrapolate from that what you might need for the the same month based on that. It usually works. But not always.
posted by Splunge at 6:18 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by Splunge at 6:18 PM on August 16, 2016
I got into the habit of grabbing a Tuesday (sale price!) rotisserie chicken from my local Metro maybe once every 5-6 weeks. It's usually -- OK. The breast meat is pretty dry if eaten straight the day after, but it's fine if I put in soup or some other moist dish. The legs taste like old but not awful meat on day 2, so day 1 = legs plus salad, day 2 = breast in some recipe and day 3 = last bits go into the freezer for stock.
But last month I bought one of these chickens on a Wednesday (the day after the usual high-demand sale day). I tried some of the leg and it tasted like day2++. I thought I was just being picky, so I tried the breast -- and I spat it out. It was awful. It didn't taste like it was rotten, just well and truly past its prime.
I brought it back to the store and got a refund the next day, and asked them what was going on. They wouldn't tell me if anyone else had complained, so my best guess is that it was a leftover Tuesday chicken that was re-heated and sold to me on Wednesday.
I no longer buy rotisserie chickens from Metro. I roast my own Bourdain-style, or I get a really good Portuguese chicken from the resto down the road.
posted by maudlin at 6:20 PM on August 16, 2016
But last month I bought one of these chickens on a Wednesday (the day after the usual high-demand sale day). I tried some of the leg and it tasted like day2++. I thought I was just being picky, so I tried the breast -- and I spat it out. It was awful. It didn't taste like it was rotten, just well and truly past its prime.
I brought it back to the store and got a refund the next day, and asked them what was going on. They wouldn't tell me if anyone else had complained, so my best guess is that it was a leftover Tuesday chicken that was re-heated and sold to me on Wednesday.
I no longer buy rotisserie chickens from Metro. I roast my own Bourdain-style, or I get a really good Portuguese chicken from the resto down the road.
posted by maudlin at 6:20 PM on August 16, 2016
Oh, and! My favorite chicken roasting method is definitely Thomas Keller's, where the concept is basically to cook it as dry as possible, so as to get maximally crispy skin (and thus tender meat). Which completely makes sense to me, as crispy skin is the entire reason to roast your own chicken instead of buying a rotisserie chicken, right?
Anyway, the method is basically: salt the chicken and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for ... a while (overnight if you planned ahead), then roast it at 450F, uncovered again, for about 70-80 minutes (the recipe says 50-60 but that's for a smaller bird than you can usually get in the US). That's it. As others have said, it's not an easy weeknight thing, and I definitely think of it as a dish that's a bit of a production to make, but it does come out very good, and the skin will be delicious and crispy.
One thing about this method is that it results in a lot of dripping grease, and the oven is hot enough that the grease will smoke - a trick I learned from the comments on that recipe is to line the bottom of the pan with sliced potatoes (or any root veggie, really). Then you also have schmaltz-roasted potatoes!
posted by lunasol at 6:36 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Anyway, the method is basically: salt the chicken and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for ... a while (overnight if you planned ahead), then roast it at 450F, uncovered again, for about 70-80 minutes (the recipe says 50-60 but that's for a smaller bird than you can usually get in the US). That's it. As others have said, it's not an easy weeknight thing, and I definitely think of it as a dish that's a bit of a production to make, but it does come out very good, and the skin will be delicious and crispy.
One thing about this method is that it results in a lot of dripping grease, and the oven is hot enough that the grease will smoke - a trick I learned from the comments on that recipe is to line the bottom of the pan with sliced potatoes (or any root veggie, really). Then you also have schmaltz-roasted potatoes!
posted by lunasol at 6:36 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
mmm.....Portuguese chicken. I wish I had a portuguese chicken place near me.
I'd love to hear about the logistics of running something like a busy Boston Market.
I went into a KFC once (yes, just once, don't judge me...ok, more than once, but I'm just talking about this once) and I ordered chicken and they said they didn't have any. So I was kind of confused by this, cause if you're running a KFC it seems like you should maybe keep some chicken on hand. So I said "Well, don't you think you should make some?" And they explained that it takes 20 minutes to cook, but they were closing in 15 minutes, so they weren't making any more. I think I suggested that if they weren't going to sell any chicken anyway, maybe they should just close early, but they were pretty firm about neither closing nor selling any chicken.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:55 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'd love to hear about the logistics of running something like a busy Boston Market.
I went into a KFC once (yes, just once, don't judge me...ok, more than once, but I'm just talking about this once) and I ordered chicken and they said they didn't have any. So I was kind of confused by this, cause if you're running a KFC it seems like you should maybe keep some chicken on hand. So I said "Well, don't you think you should make some?" And they explained that it takes 20 minutes to cook, but they were closing in 15 minutes, so they weren't making any more. I think I suggested that if they weren't going to sell any chicken anyway, maybe they should just close early, but they were pretty firm about neither closing nor selling any chicken.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:55 PM on August 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'd love to hear about the logistics of running something like a busy Boston Market. Predicting the amount of chickens required for a given day and arranging delivery schedules and all that
Mrs Fields Cookies spun off a software company, arguably an industry, of doing predictions early enough to have fresh cookies when people wanted them.
posted by clew at 7:15 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Mrs Fields Cookies spun off a software company, arguably an industry, of doing predictions early enough to have fresh cookies when people wanted them.
posted by clew at 7:15 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Boston Market—which opened its first store in 1985 in Newton, Mass
Wait. What? I lived in Newton in 1985, and I have no memory of this.
posted by slkinsey at 7:16 PM on August 16, 2016
Wait. What? I lived in Newton in 1985, and I have no memory of this.
posted by slkinsey at 7:16 PM on August 16, 2016
In Toronto I'm pretty sure it's cheaper to buy a grocery store rotisserie chicken, or better yet a Portuguese churrasquiera (sp?) bird than it is to cook one myself, and that's not taking time into account.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:19 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:19 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Anyway, do you home-chicken-cooking people not eat pork or something? Because ... pork.
The day that supermarkets start selling rotisserie piglets will be a glorious day indeed.
I mostly roast chickens myself, but there is something very nice about a good rotisserie bird. Unfortunately at the local stores it seems to be a crapshoot, overcooked about half the time.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:37 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
The day that supermarkets start selling rotisserie piglets will be a glorious day indeed.
I mostly roast chickens myself, but there is something very nice about a good rotisserie bird. Unfortunately at the local stores it seems to be a crapshoot, overcooked about half the time.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:37 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
White meat, which is already pretty dry when fresh from the store, is drier than cardboard the day after.
Mmmm. Day old refrigerated white chicken meat. Dipped piece by piece in Hellmans mayonnaise. Resolves the dryness issue.
posted by notreally at 7:45 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Mmmm. Day old refrigerated white chicken meat. Dipped piece by piece in Hellmans mayonnaise. Resolves the dryness issue.
posted by notreally at 7:45 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Mmmm. Day old refrigerated white chicken meat. Dipped piece by piece in Hellmans mayonnaise Grey Poupon.
FTFY
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:14 PM on August 16, 2016
FTFY
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:14 PM on August 16, 2016
Mmmm. Day old refrigerated white chicken meat. Dipped piece by piece in Hellmans mayonnaise Grey Poupon Chalet sauce.
What is wrong with you people?? I don't even eat Chalet sauce, and I know the answer is Chalet sauce.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
What is wrong with you people?? I don't even eat Chalet sauce, and I know the answer is Chalet sauce.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
So far, from this I've learned that chickens are idiot assholes and it's easy to not feel guilty about eating them.
They're also a direct relative of T. rex. So eating a chicken dinner has an added frisson of vengeance, for all of our early mammalian ancestors that were on the other end of the food chain.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:33 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
They're also a direct relative of T. rex. So eating a chicken dinner has an added frisson of vengeance, for all of our early mammalian ancestors that were on the other end of the food chain.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:33 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Well now I know what I'm having for dinner the first Wednesday in October.
(I figure we'll be finally done with heat advisories by then. Since I've an oven which I have personally observed to be capable of raising the temperature of the house three degrees F by itself when used in the middle of the winter to roast root vegetables, 45+ minutes at 400+ F with the weather we've been having is very much a nope.)
posted by seyirci at 8:34 PM on August 16, 2016
(I figure we'll be finally done with heat advisories by then. Since I've an oven which I have personally observed to be capable of raising the temperature of the house three degrees F by itself when used in the middle of the winter to roast root vegetables, 45+ minutes at 400+ F with the weather we've been having is very much a nope.)
posted by seyirci at 8:34 PM on August 16, 2016
In Toronto I'm pretty sure it's cheaper to buy a grocery store rotisserie chicken, or better yet a Portuguese churrasquiera (sp?) bird than it is to cook one myself, and that's not taking time into account.
That's for sure. The rotisserie chicken quarter I get is ~$5, vs, I think, $7 or 8? for boneless/skinless breast at Metro.
The actual roasting time isn't too bad with small birds, imo (at high temps, with foil tenting, etc.), it's the preheating that makes it a folly on a weekday. (I like to give the stove a while for that, because I don't think I'll ever not be a little nervous with chicken. Also because I have a charmingly low-fi stove. Just have to sort of trust it's as hot as I intend it to be.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:40 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's for sure. The rotisserie chicken quarter I get is ~$5, vs, I think, $7 or 8? for boneless/skinless breast at Metro.
The actual roasting time isn't too bad with small birds, imo (at high temps, with foil tenting, etc.), it's the preheating that makes it a folly on a weekday. (I like to give the stove a while for that, because I don't think I'll ever not be a little nervous with chicken. Also because I have a charmingly low-fi stove. Just have to sort of trust it's as hot as I intend it to be.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:40 PM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Mrs Fields Cookies spun off a software company, arguably an industry, of doing predictions early enough to have fresh cookies when people wanted them.
Which is **amazing** considering Debbie Fields' horrible, horrible time management filming her desserts show years ago. The last recipe would always devolve into throwing the ingredients together willy-nilly, so they could reveal the prepared dish before time ran out.
posted by mikelieman at 10:03 PM on August 16, 2016
Which is **amazing** considering Debbie Fields' horrible, horrible time management filming her desserts show years ago. The last recipe would always devolve into throwing the ingredients together willy-nilly, so they could reveal the prepared dish before time ran out.
posted by mikelieman at 10:03 PM on August 16, 2016
Mrs Fields may have had a software business, but in Britain, restaurant management helped kick off the entire computing sector in the 1950s.
posted by tss at 3:18 AM on August 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by tss at 3:18 AM on August 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
> Just have to sort of trust it's as hot as I intend it to be.
Instant read thermometers are good things. Also - you'll be a holidays-dinner superstar with perfect turkeys every. single. time.
Although, I guess you're worried more about the temperature being applied to the bird rather than the bird getting up to temp - there are also digital thermometers that will output the temperature of the air inside the oven.
posted by porpoise at 8:50 AM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Instant read thermometers are good things. Also - you'll be a holidays-dinner superstar with perfect turkeys every. single. time.
Although, I guess you're worried more about the temperature being applied to the bird rather than the bird getting up to temp - there are also digital thermometers that will output the temperature of the air inside the oven.
posted by porpoise at 8:50 AM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
>>Boston Market—which opened its first store in 1985 in Newton, Mass
>Wait. What? I lived in Newton in 1985, and I have no memory of this.
Yes, one of the things newcomers find surprising about the Boston area is our distinct lack of Boston Markets.
(Why would I go to Boston Market when I can get a perfectly good chicken down at the Stop & Shop? Or better yet, Market Basket.)
posted by maryr at 9:13 AM on August 17, 2016
>Wait. What? I lived in Newton in 1985, and I have no memory of this.
Yes, one of the things newcomers find surprising about the Boston area is our distinct lack of Boston Markets.
(Why would I go to Boston Market when I can get a perfectly good chicken down at the Stop & Shop? Or better yet, Market Basket.)
posted by maryr at 9:13 AM on August 17, 2016
Good tip, porpoise, thanks! Yeah, I'm more in the dark about the temp of the oven per se.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:16 AM on August 17, 2016
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:16 AM on August 17, 2016
when i have a bad day or a sad day or just a normal day i like to stop at berkeley bowl on my way home from work and get a rotisserie chicken and then stand at my kitchen island eating it hot with my bare hands as soon as i get home
this is even more satisfying if i've had at least one beer first
just wanted to let you all know i did this last night and it was awesome
posted by burgerrr at 9:23 AM on August 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
this is even more satisfying if i've had at least one beer first
just wanted to let you all know i did this last night and it was awesome
posted by burgerrr at 9:23 AM on August 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
I would like to thank the Whole Foods plain rotisserie chicken I got last week for the B on my Computer Science Final, instead of a D or F or -0 or whathaveyou, because I feel like warmed over death with a chest cold. The only thing that's been keeping it at bay is homemade chicken soup made from the dregs and scraps of last weekend's rotisserie chicken dinner.
I cooked the carcass/skin/gelatinous goo with some onion and leek scraps, a couple of bay leaves, and a swig of apple cider vinegar for 36 hours in the crockpot. Then I strained it all out, and made a wonderful soup with onions, carrots, pork andouille sausage, leeks, and enoki mushrooms. More bay leaves and some bouquet garni for herbs, cooking it all for another 14 hours.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:51 PM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
I cooked the carcass/skin/gelatinous goo with some onion and leek scraps, a couple of bay leaves, and a swig of apple cider vinegar for 36 hours in the crockpot. Then I strained it all out, and made a wonderful soup with onions, carrots, pork andouille sausage, leeks, and enoki mushrooms. More bay leaves and some bouquet garni for herbs, cooking it all for another 14 hours.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:51 PM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
YOU WILL PRY MY ROTISSERIE CHICKEN FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS.
posted by asteria at 1:38 AM on August 18, 2016
posted by asteria at 1:38 AM on August 18, 2016
BTW, that Bittman chicken recipe is brilliant and I've always gotten great results from it as long as my oven has been cleaned to within an inch of its life and didn't get even slightly smoky. I'm afraid that my new talking smoke detector on the main floor would pull this if I tried it again.
posted by maudlin at 6:25 AM on August 18, 2016
posted by maudlin at 6:25 AM on August 18, 2016
Late to this thread, but one other reason why price per kilo doesn't actually matter that much:
Scenario 1: You buy a roasted chicken to feed your family.
You and your spouse each claim a breast and try not to eat the skin, because you're supposed to be watching your cholesterol. You divvy up the legs among the kids even though you'd rather have the dark meat. Whoever is cutting up the chicken accidentally ate all the good parts of the wings anyway. You pick the last bits off the carcass, alternately feeding them to yourself and the dog.
Scenario 2: You roast a chicken to feed your family.
You and your spouse each claim a breast and try not to eat the skin, because you're supposed to be watching your cholesterol. You divvy up the legs among the kids even though you'd rather have the dark meat. Whoever is cutting up the chicken accidentally ate all the good parts of the wings anyway. You pick the last bits off the carcass, alternately feeding them to yourself and the dog.
Regardless of scenario: Dinner is over, chicken is gone.
Does it matter if there were a couple more ounces of chicken in each person's dinner in the latter case? Everyone ate chicken. We eat too large of servings of meat in general.
This changes a bit if you have fewer people and leftovers, but as a single person, I don't tend to eat the whole chicken before I no longer trust it to still be good anyway, so the last sandwich worth of leftover breast meat goes to waste. If I was roasting a larger bird myself, it would just end up being the last two sandwiches worth.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:05 AM on August 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
Scenario 1: You buy a roasted chicken to feed your family.
You and your spouse each claim a breast and try not to eat the skin, because you're supposed to be watching your cholesterol. You divvy up the legs among the kids even though you'd rather have the dark meat. Whoever is cutting up the chicken accidentally ate all the good parts of the wings anyway. You pick the last bits off the carcass, alternately feeding them to yourself and the dog.
Scenario 2: You roast a chicken to feed your family.
You and your spouse each claim a breast and try not to eat the skin, because you're supposed to be watching your cholesterol. You divvy up the legs among the kids even though you'd rather have the dark meat. Whoever is cutting up the chicken accidentally ate all the good parts of the wings anyway. You pick the last bits off the carcass, alternately feeding them to yourself and the dog.
Regardless of scenario: Dinner is over, chicken is gone.
Does it matter if there were a couple more ounces of chicken in each person's dinner in the latter case? Everyone ate chicken. We eat too large of servings of meat in general.
This changes a bit if you have fewer people and leftovers, but as a single person, I don't tend to eat the whole chicken before I no longer trust it to still be good anyway, so the last sandwich worth of leftover breast meat goes to waste. If I was roasting a larger bird myself, it would just end up being the last two sandwiches worth.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:05 AM on August 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
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posted by Nelson at 11:14 AM on August 16, 2016 [1 favorite]