What are your thoughts on this? Here are mine:
I've roasted dozens of chickens and turkeys, and have never basted. Never. Not once. And almost all of my birds have come out tender and juicy. I just don't over cook them.
My friends have some odd bird cooking strategies. Breast down. Rotating -- down, side, up, side. Repeating basting. Foiling. And, what I think is the silliest idea -- wrapping the bird in cheesecloth.
More thoughts:
If you start with a bird in an empty pan, and end with a bird in a pan filled with juices, it doesn't matter what finagling you did, but those juices came out of the bird. The only way to get a moister bird, is to keep the juices inside. That's it.
Basting, or spooning a few tablespoons of juice/fat over the skin every now and then, ain't gonna get any moisture into the meat of the bird. The juice comes out because the heat inside breaks down tissue as the liquid expands -- pushing it out. (I'm speculating here.) A moist outer surface will do nothing to stop this process. If anything, a dry outer surface may inhibit the passing of water through the barrier, but I doubt it.
Basting doesn't get any moisture under the skin. Think about it. Take a piece of chicken, spoon some water with food dye on it, and then cut it open. Did any color get inside? No. That's why we marinade for long periods of time.
Basting doesn't form some type of barrier that will keep juices from passing.
Cheesecloth does nothing but keep the skin wet and soggy. Which is gross. Or it causes the skin to pull off when the cheesecloth is removed. Which is a shonder.
The only way I can think of to get a moister bird is to increase the moisture inside prior to cooking -- i.e., brining or injecting.
What I do (if anyone cares) is add pats of butter to the skin prior to roasting. I find that this helps the skin crisp properly and obtain a lovely golden color. And butter tastes good. If I could figure out how to include heavy cream in my chicken roasting, I would. Perhaps I'll brine in cream?
Of course, none of the above has been subject to any scientific or alcoholic experiement.
I've roasted dozens of chickens and turkeys, and have never basted. Never. Not once. And almost all of my birds have come out tender and juicy. I just don't over cook them.
My friends have some odd bird cooking strategies. Breast down. Rotating -- down, side, up, side. Repeating basting. Foiling. And, what I think is the silliest idea -- wrapping the bird in cheesecloth.
More thoughts:
If you start with a bird in an empty pan, and end with a bird in a pan filled with juices, it doesn't matter what finagling you did, but those juices came out of the bird. The only way to get a moister bird, is to keep the juices inside. That's it.
Basting, or spooning a few tablespoons of juice/fat over the skin every now and then, ain't gonna get any moisture into the meat of the bird. The juice comes out because the heat inside breaks down tissue as the liquid expands -- pushing it out. (I'm speculating here.) A moist outer surface will do nothing to stop this process. If anything, a dry outer surface may inhibit the passing of water through the barrier, but I doubt it.
Basting doesn't get any moisture under the skin. Think about it. Take a piece of chicken, spoon some water with food dye on it, and then cut it open. Did any color get inside? No. That's why we marinade for long periods of time.
Basting doesn't form some type of barrier that will keep juices from passing.
Cheesecloth does nothing but keep the skin wet and soggy. Which is gross. Or it causes the skin to pull off when the cheesecloth is removed. Which is a shonder.
The only way I can think of to get a moister bird is to increase the moisture inside prior to cooking -- i.e., brining or injecting.
What I do (if anyone cares) is add pats of butter to the skin prior to roasting. I find that this helps the skin crisp properly and obtain a lovely golden color. And butter tastes good. If I could figure out how to include heavy cream in my chicken roasting, I would. Perhaps I'll brine in cream?
Of course, none of the above has been subject to any scientific or alcoholic experiement.