Whole chicken vs chicken parts ???


 
J

John Furdyn

TVWBB Pro
It's been my obervation, if I cook chicken lg. qtrs. (leg & thigh attached), that the "legs"
are more juicey and tender,than if I cook them separtley.

Also just this week, after, cooking some whole chickens. I noticed that the Breast is more, tender, and juicey than if I were to cook the breast separtley.

Is it just my "inexperience", or is there something to this ?

Maybe I just got luckey, or maybe it's the brining of the whole chicken that made everthing so tender juicey and tastey.

After reheating the last whole chicken for supper last night, I'm not sure how much better it could possible be IMO ?? The difference between last night and the day I smoked the chickens was almost neglegable.

Any thoughts/comments etc aprreciated.

Thanks
 
My opinion is you need to do what ever works for you. I like whole chickens just fine but find serving pieces easier. Please do not take this wrong but in my opinion if your pieces are not as juicy, then you probably are cooking them a tad too long. This is where a thermapen comes into play for me.
 
John,
My experience as well, I mostly now must cook whole chickens. However, if the chicken is cut up immediately prior to cooking, the parts come out better IMHO. I think that they may dry out when processed.
 
Dale & Don

Maybe it's a combination of both.

The 3 chickens I cooked earler this week, came out terrific, probably because I tooked the off right at the right time, tempwise.

I have to admit I don't do quite as good of a job monitioring the temp when cooking the parts.

Also there might be something about the parts being a little drier if you will the the whole,
chicken.

I generally don't, brine the parts either. Somehow I don't think the parts need it ??
 
John -

My wife and I have found that when we buy parts that are already cut up, the "pieces" seem to be larger than if we cut up a whole chicken ourselves.

We've noticed, too, that some brands of chicken breasts available in our local grocery stores seem to be tougher and drier than others. We've gotten to the point that we pretty much buy all of our chicken at the Piggly Wiggly - we think it just tastes better and is more moist and tender.

Maybe your experience is a result of the particular pieces of chicken you cooked.

Just a thought.

Pat
 
Pat

That could be, I have to pay more attention, to how the chicken turns out from the 3 different grocery stores we buy meat from. Maybe one is better than the other.

As Kevin kruger indicated in another post, could have something to do with the cooling process during processing the meat. Air cooled vs water cooled, I think I read something about that written up by Chris, in the cooking secttion.

Thanks for bringing that up. Good point.
 
Brining make a big difference in the moisture of the meat and the meat's tolerance to heat. A brined bird will cook better and better tolerate reheating.

White meat and dark meat cook at different rates and need to be brought up to different temps, I believe this is due, partly, to density differences. Dark meat cooks slower and is done at a slightly higher temp. I noticed Larry puts a bag of ice on his turkey breast and lets it set that way on the counter before smoking. Starting out the two meats at different temps helps them get to the finish line at the same time.

Its something to consider, however its probably something like what the others have mentioned (size, quality of meat, etc).
 
Originally posted by John Furdyn:


As Kevin kruger indicated in another post, could have something to do with the cooling process during processing the meat. Air cooled vs water cooled,
Click to expand...

Yes, I forgot to mention that I strongly believe this makes a huge difference. Brands like Bell & Evans air cool the chicken resulting in moister, much more flavorful birds...it is pretty much all I buy now, expect for the occasional natural chicken at the Farmers Market...they are much more expensive, but a whole chicken is usually about 10-12, not too bad for a meal for 4.

As for prep, I am a big fan of spatchcocking, high heat, put it on, come back in 45 minutes...really a very easy cook.
 
I agree with everthing you said, brining, differences (cooking),in the light and dark meats etc.

I wasn't aware that brining could help the reheating of meats as well, although that makes sense to me now that you mentioned it.

After reheating the last bird the other day, as I indicated the difference was "minimal" in the quality of the meat from when it was first off the smoker.

Don

I haven't tried spacthcocking yet, maybe that should be my next go at chicken.

I guess all and all there are a ot of factors to making good Q !!!

Thanks All
 
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