Seriously, I googled this, and I got nothing. Perhaps I didn’t enter in the proper word string, but anyhow.
I’m learning to cook whole chicken, make my own broth, etc.
Whole chickens are heavy. What is the best way to flip them over while searing, or to remove them from the pot? Are there special tongs or some kind of technique I’m missing?
I have a pair of tongs similar to this but they are too weak to do the job.
While we’re at it, any tricks for getting the meat off the bones?
Thanks!
I use a couple of big forks. You just need something large enough to stick in the cavity and something else to turn it. If it’s been spitchcocked you can just use large tongs, all you’d be doing is turning it over.
Okay, so maybe that’s the problem. It never occurred to me to put something inside the cavity, I’ve just been trying to turn it from the exterior.
I’m taking my new 8 qt instant pot for a test drive so getting it out of this deep pot will be the greatest challenge.
Thanks.
This is why you keep a pair of heavy rubber gloves in the kitchen. Just grab and flip.
First, there are giant forks specifically for lifting poultry.
You could try using them, they might work, but they’re really meant for lifting and removing, not flipping it. If you use them, you might end up (and I’d be ready to go this route), removing the chicken, putting it on a cutting board, flipping it there, and putting it back in.
However, if all you’re trying to do is sear all the sides of it…it’s not going to get all that hot. Just turn the burner down so the oil doesn’t splatter while you’re working (even if it’s not now, it will when the new, fresh flesh hits the hot oil), and use a couple of regular forks to roll it over in the pot/skillet. I think you’re having trouble finding anything because you’re overthinking it. It’s like trying google how to stir noodles. Just flip the chicken over, it won’t be that big of a deal. But, as I said, my biggest tip for that kind of thing is to turn the burner down/off while you’re working on it then back up. Just makes life easier.
As for getting the meat off the bones. Once it’s cooked, it’ll just fall off. In fact, that’s one way to know when it’s done. You won’t even really be able to pick it up anymore since it’ll just fall right apart. Stick a fork in it and instead of the entire chicken coming back up, you’ll just get some shredded meat. That’s one of the things that makes crock pot cooking so easy. No worry about temperatures, times etc, the meat either falls apart or it’s not done yet. From there, you can just pull it apart with your hands. You can let it rest for a while if it’s too hot.
Also, one last thing, making your own broth is one thing, but if you just need a roasted chicken for something, honestly, you can’t go wrong with the rotisserie chickens that most grocery stores have. Those ones that are in the deli section, sold hot, usually cooked within the last hour or so. They’re really good, fall off the bone right in your hand tender and perfect for whatever you need them for. When I make chicken soup, for example, I boil my vegetables, in broth, then the noodles and shred one of those while everything is cooking and toss it in. I can have really good chicken soup in about 20 minutes.
Not too surprising – it’s considered rather rude to flip the bird.
When I make chicken soup, I just pour the whole thing into a strainer, but this isn’t a foolproof technique, as it involves lifting a large pot full of boiling liquid.
This. The best kitchen utensils you have are your hands.
It sounds like Hoover didn’t really think this idea through.
Then yell like HELL b/c heavy rubber gloves still would keep the heat from hurting your hands ! That sound really gross to me . I tried clean string around the chicken to hold it legs and wings in place and around the bird . When bird done I lift it out by using the string and have a plate right next to the roasting pan and put it on the plate. If you have pets you need to be careful in throwing the string away so your pet(s) won’t try to eat it.
I have a pair of silicone oven mitts that are good to something like 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
You have a Slotted Spoon, right? Slip the slotted spoon under the chicken, and with the other hand, keep it balanced with a fork. Be careful, practice-heft it first to make sure you have a good hold, and adjust your imploements if necessary. If you’re transferring to another pot, use a dinner plate as a way station, and then regrip to move it from the plate to the new pot.
Make sure your slotted spoon is steel, and not that teflon shit that will bend under the weight of the chicken.
Funny, I went to try to put something in the cavity to lift it out of the pot, and that’s exactly what happened - it just fell into pieces. It’s the most tender chicken I’ve ever cooked. Gotta love that Instant Pot.
I have a broad, curved spatula that works great. It’s about 7 inches wide and 6 inches long, with it curved about enough to form a quarter circle along the length. Thing is, I ‘inherited’ that spatula from my mother and it’s way old, so I have no idea is such a thing is still sold.
Anyway, slide it under the bird from one side and use a carving type fork to impale it from the other to steady it and the process goes easily enough. Well, at least for early/midcooking flipping. Once the bird is near done everything comes apart too easily to handle it that way.
My sister has two roasting racks. She inverts one on top of the bird on the other and manages to hold both while she turns it over. This works well, but whether you want to invent enough money and storage space to keep two roasting racks around… I don’t.
Missed the edit window, sorry. A little googling turned up this: http://www.jbprince.com/utensils/stiff-curved-spatula-perforated.asp
but mine is rather larger in both dimensions.
Didn’t realize you were talking about when it was done, I thought you were just searing the skin for flavor. I quarter a chicken to make soup. It’s easier to lift out the big sections with a big spoon instead of fishing for bones that fall off the whole carcass. You can also cut the breast meat off before making the broth, just toss in the skin, bones, and back, the breast meat isn’t adding much flavor. Simmer the breast meat for a little while to cook it, then remove it and dice it and add it back in at the end so it remains chunky. You need to reduce the broth when you’re done, a lot, to really get the chicken flavor out. A lot of cooks will kick it up with canned broth, bullion, or base. A loosely connected relative of mine made incredibly good chicken soup. I could never pry her secrets loose though.
If it is that tender, then my strategy is to put one end of your tongs into the cavity and support the bottom with one of those spider strainers.
If it is still too tender for that to work, you might give up on one piece altogether. Do your best (with the spider strainer) to remove each thigh quarter first, then remove the body as I described above.
Also, I rarely cook an entire chicken this way. My preference is to bake the chicken, eat as much as my wife and I want for dinner, then we pick off the big pieces of meat and boil just the bones, skin, any unpicked bits of meat, and the pan drippings from the baking process, along with a carrot, piece of celery and quarter of an onion. (Often, we’ll freeze the bones and do this process once we have two or three carcasses to work with.)
This chain-style lifter goes under the bird and you can just pick it up by the handles. I also use it in my pressure cooker getting out things that are tight, like a cheesecake.
StG
Tongs work, but you have to have real kitchen tongs, not those flimsy-looking serving tongs.
Anyway, just stick one arm of the tong into the cavity, and pinch together with the one on the outside, and just take the chicken out of the pot. It’s essentially what you do with a big spoon, but with more positive control of the chicken.
As I’m reading the thread, I’m thinking, “Am I going to be the first to suggest spring-loaded tongs?” Of course, the last post suggests them. :mad: 
The OXO’s are pretty good, and I’d go with those if you don’t know what to look for. Lots of others are crap at actually holding anything.
Learn how to roast a chicken and you’ll never want to buy a rotisserie. Note I said “never want”, not “never will”, because sometimes convenience will trump taste. My secret to great roast chicken - a chicken stand. Ignore the beer - that just insulates the inside and doesn’t do crap for added flavor or moisture. Air is better. Set it in a cast iron pan to catch the drippings, and make gravy when you are done. No flipping necessary. Even better if you’ve a convection oven.
I was kind of talking about both. I just find it somewhat ungainly to maneuver a whole chicken in any capacity and unfortunately most of my utensils are silicone. Maybe I need to invest in a good set of tongs. I tried using silicone oven mitts the first time, and it felt unsanitary.
Rotisserie chicken sounds tempting but I am trying to save money. I can get a 5.5 lb uncooked bird for $5 and that yields a little over two pounds of shredded meat plus 16 cups of chicken broth. I’m not sure what the price differential would be for having it already cooked, plus my husband is allergic to all manner of seasonings, including garlic, that would probably go automatically on a rotisserie.
Thanks for the feedback everyone!
