I was hoping to roast a chicken this evening, but I didn’t take it out early enough. The bird’s still somewhat frozen. The giblets are… mostly still inside. I did manage to get the heart out, but that’s it.
So:
If I roast it a bit longer than normal, will it cook at all reasonably? And, will it be disgusting to cook it with the giblets in it? What if I take it out about 30 minutes in and remove them?
Thanks in advance.
No. Roasting is out of the question on a somewhat frozen bird. However, if you have time you can still save this.
Step 1: get it emerged in running water. I’d put it in a stock pot and turn on the faucet. Leave it running under a slow but steady drizzle and convection should help thaw the bird. Do not use hot water, just get the water running at about room temperature.
ETA there is a contamination risk here but a mild one. Because you’re raising the bird out of the safe temperature zone to thaw it then there could be some bacterial growth. You’ll be cooking it thoroughly immediately afterward and the period should be short which makes the risk minimal but I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least mention it.
Step 2: give up on roasting and go for broiling. It’s faster since takes about twenty minutes of cook time. The key here is you’ll have to cut out the spine and break the breastbone so it lays flat. Alton Brown has some good directions for this that can be found at the Food network.
Good luck.
If you roast it for a longer time, at a lower temperature, you’ll be find. WHat I do? Partially thawed bird, in the oven at 500 for like 15-20 minutes, then at 250 for like 8 hours. Perfect.
You MUST take the giblets out. In fact, I’d say the heart (and neck) are the least problematic - you have got to get that liver out of there.
well, the giblets may be nasty if you leave them frozen, but I’ve roasted as I outlined above, and then thrown the giblets away after the fact. (I work nights, so have various strategies for cooking while I sleep; I try to adapt most of my recipes to 8 hours of cooking time. A partially frozen bird is perfect for this, giblets and all.)
You can render a partially frozen chicken edible and safe by cooking it longer, but you’ll have to cook it so much longer in order to make sure the inside is completely done and not still running pink juices that the breast meat will be horribly dried-out. Personally I’d allow it to finish defrosting, and either cook something else tonight, or resign yourself to dinner being later than usual. Defrosting it under cold running water is an excellent suggestion. Just hold it there under the faucet and keep directing the flow of water into the body cavity to where you can feel the icy parts.
In my experience, roasting a chicken with the giblets still inside gives the entire chicken a nasty bitter off-taste.
Thank you for saving our dinner!
I defrosted the chicken in water until I could get the giblets out, then I butterflied it and broiled it.
I know I’m too late here, but I’ve had good success completing a defrost in the microwave. Just make sure to use low power and check often.
See, that would suit me just fine. I like my poultry dry. Turkey included. Dry and smothered with gravy.