leftover whole chicken ???


 
J

John Furdyn

TVWBB Pro
My first 3 whole chicken cook came out "Great"
My mother said it couldn't be any better.
.
2 on top grate 1 on bottom, water in the pan cooked at 250 lid a tick over 3 hrs. Until exactly 170 thigh temp, pulled, foiled in a cooler for a good 30-40 minutes, waiting for the sides. Brined chicken for 4.5 hrs.

Family eat one chicken for supper tonight.

Pulled the meat off the bones on 1 remaining chicken. Use for sammy's or gravey and filling, etc.

Last chicken I cut in half, left the skin on
Thinking of putting it on the gasser in a few days heating slowly, maybe put a little BBQ sauce, on it.

Will it come out almost as good as it was the first day ? Should I have done things differently with the leftovers ?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks
 
it will come out great just re-heat slowly wrapped in foil. it doesnt matter how you heat it as long as it is wrapped so it doesnt dry out while re-heating.

i usually add a couple of tablespoons of water into the foil when rehaeating in the oven or on the grill.
 
Drying out comes from overheating. The chicken need not be heated slowly. If the chicken is foil-wrapped, good, the foil will help even out reheating. Just take it to the warm point (I usually reheat at 350) then remove from the foil and either crank the heat for a few minutes or stick on the grate if reheating outside. As long as you take it no higher than serving temp (~150) it won't dry out.
 
Cut it up, and mix it with dried cranberries, walnuts, celery, and onions. Add some mayo and voila!!!! Great chicken salad. Just had a sammy for dinner!
 
Originally posted by Dave Hutson:
Cut it up, and mix it with dried cranberries, walnuts, celery, and onions. Add some mayo and voila!!!! Great chicken salad. Just had a sammy for dinner!
Click to expand...

After stripping and dicing the meat, use the carcass and skin to make a chicken stock.
 
I want to put some "BBQ sauce" on the chicken and hopefully crisp up the skin so we can eat the skin as well.

Should I still reheat in the foil "some" and then sauce and turn up the grill on high to crisp up the skin,and color the sauce some ??
 
John, yes. You could just put it on one side of your gasser with the burner on the opposite side turned on with the lid down until it heats up, then finish on the hot side. Same deal on a charcoal grill. Coals banked on one side, chicken on the other until heated. Crisp over the coals. If you take a cold chicken, and try to heat it through over the hot fire with sauce, it'll burn. Good luck.
 
Kevin

If I crisp up the skin some, over direct heat, and then put a little sauce on it, and let it continue warming on indirect heat.

How would that work ?

Also do you or anyone have a rough idea about the meat "yield", of chicken "fryer's" vs "Roasters" ?

I know pork bone in butts, yield about 50 % or so. Just curious as to how it compares to chicken fryer's and roasters.

In the last week I smoked a 5.5 lb roaster, as well as (3) 3.8 lb fryers seams to me that the "fat" to "meat" ratio, is higher on the fryer's. At least that the way it looked to me. Just IMO.

P.S. I used the "Breast Down", trick yesterday, that you told me about, before on whole turkey breast or chicken. While (foiled), resting in the cooler for about 40 minutes. Worked great.

Thanks
 
one last thing. i have taken to just nuking my leftovers in the microwave and eating em during the week when i dont have time to do long cooks and take my time at the pit the way i like to.
 
John,

My recommendation is to reheat with foil as previously discussed, then, out of the foil, skin side down, crisp the skin over direct heat. You're only looking to crisp the skin; the reheating has been accomplished. Then pull the chicken and brush on a light glaze of sauce for flavor. Adding a liquid to the skin will, to some degree, counter the crisping you just achieved.

I'll take a guess on the yield. I'm thinking roasters and fryers will yield about the same; between 65% and 70% usable meat.

Paul
 
Correct on both counts. Yield can vary depending on whether the chicken is pumped or whether is was water- rather than air-cooled.

I never buy roasters for anything.

Adding sauce will almost immediately remove any crispness you achieve. The skin will be edible, probably with good texture if you hit that point during reheat, but not crisp.
 
Thanks all for your inputs/info.

Kevin

Earlier in this post you indicated chicken will not dry out, if you don't over heat (reheating) it, you mentioned serving temp (150).

Do you actually measure the temp with your instant read thermometer, while reheating it to 150 ? I assume it's that critical, if you don't want to dry it out ?

Does the 150 and drying out apply to all other meats, mainly pulled pork ?

Thanks again
 
John-- Most of the time I don't temp but only because I'm very used to eyeballing the meat and circumstances and figuring what kind of time I'm looking at. I do temp, however, if I've got a lot on my plate and there is a chance I might not get to the meat in time to remove it, especially when I'm cooking for a client and doing a multi-app or -small plate or multi-course thing. I prep, cook, reheat, plate and serve alone so it is easy to get waylaid and miss the pull point.

There is some leeway of ~5? on either side of 150 for many items (especially those that aren't too lean) but, yes, the temp applies. Much higher than that and you are cooking the meat again: muscle fibers contract, squeezing juices out; fats and connective tissue start rendering again; at temps of 212 water converts to steam and is lost that way. Pulled pork can suffer, as can pulled beef, from overheating. At too high a temp (especially if too high for too long) and it ends up like dry meat swimming in liquid, the classic finish for fattier meat that has been over-reheated.
 
Reply
Click to expand...

All good ideas and advice upstream. Do you have a vac sealer? You might consider one for the future. One of the uses of a vac sealer beyond the office is slow reheating (in the bag) by placing a bag item in hot water.

In this case heat water to about 160-180 degrees drop in the bag and let the chicken come up to temp. You won't over cook, it will retain moisture and then you can remove from the bag and flash in the grill to crisp the skin.
 
Kevin

It never ceases to amaze me, your understanding of the mechanics if you will of what goes on, inside meats, either during cooking, and now
reheating. And your ability to commumicate it.
I get the point very well. Thanks

Ray

I like the idea of the vacuum sealing and reheating in water will give it a try.
Thanks as well.

Happy Smoking!!!!
 
Originally posted by r benash:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Reply
Click to expand...

All good ideas and advice upstream. Do you have a vac sealer? You might consider one for the future. One of the uses of a vac sealer beyond the office is slow reheating (in the bag) by placing a bag item in hot water.

In this case heat water to about 160-180 degrees drop in the bag and let the chicken come up to temp. You won't over cook, it will retain moisture and then you can remove from the bag and flash in the grill to crisp the skin. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ray,
Any idea how long it would take a chicken breast to come up to temp when done as you say? How would one check the temp when it is still in the foodsaver bag? I have been struggling with this method of reheating for some time and I need advice.
Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top