Cooking A Chicken

[nerwby]

To get a really juicy chicken is it best to boil rather than roast?

Newby

[sandyRoe]

Retrochic, have you never heard the Irish expression, 'Boil the breakfast'? It was usually porridge rather than eggs.

[Retrochic]

Ummmm on a recent thread on ham people were giving recipes and you said something to the effect of 'oh what a faff just put it in water and boil it'. just wondered if you boiled everything.

[ummmm]

Boiled bacon and cabbage. Yeah, that's probably an Irish dish.

That's the only meat I boil except chicken when I cook it for the boys sandwiches.

I don't even boil veg so I'm not a fan of boiling things :-)

[ummmm]

Haha...what just popped up on facebook after yesterdays win...'off to celebrate with some boiled bacon and cabbage'

[sandyRoe]

And there's nothing quite like crubeens with boiled cabbage.

[ummmm]

Nooooo, Sandy, no no no.

[Jackdaw33]

The only food I remember from my one and only visit to Ireland as a small boy was a kind of edible seaweed called, I think, dilisk, or something similar. It was rather nice and my Irish great aunt used to eat it by the bucketful.

[sandyRoe]

Dulse. We pronounced it 'dulis'. Red coloured and even after being rinsed loaded with salt.

[ummmm]

Jack...my granddad used to have it sent over and made seaweed soup. I have loads of seaweed in my cupboard :-)

[RATTER15]

I find boiled chicken has a bit of wet texture with little taste, but ok if going in a stew or soup.

[Jackdaw33]

That's the stuff. This was Co Mayo so may have had a regional name. I remember it being 6d per bag, but this was in 1957.

[ummmm]

My daughter lives in Mayo :-)

[Jackdaw33]

The town was called Castlebar.

[DTCwordfan]

To get a chicken juicy, cook it to the minimum time for the weight - roast at 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6 (whole chicken: 25 minutes per 500g, plus an extra 25 minutes; breasts, 15 minutes; thighs and wings, 40 minutes).

AND then let it rest out of the oven for twenty - thirty minutes and the juices, which have gone to the centre of the meat are drawn back into the capillaries and that makes it juicy.....just put some foil over the bird and then a tea towel. The bird carries on cooking for the first ten to fifteen minutes by the way

[ummmm]

I know Castlebar. Nice part of the world. Was there last year, hopefully be there this year too. We have a house in Sligo.

[DTCwordfan]

A Sligo Mum's Letter to her daughter...(and yes there is a chicken reference)

Dear Daughter,

Just a few lines to let you know that I am still alive. Indeed. I am writing this letter slowly because I know that you cannot read very fast.

It only rained twice last week. First time was for three days and the second for four. On Monday the wind blew so hard that one of the chickens laid the same egg four times.

About your Dad - he has a lovely new job. He now has 500 people under him. He is cutting the grass at the cemetery.

Auntie Peggy has sent you a pair of socks she knitted, she put a third one in because she heard you have grown another foot since she last saw you.

That coat you wanted me to send you; your Auntie Nora said it would be a little too heavy to send in the mail with the heavy buttons, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

Your sister, Mary, had a baby this morning. I haven't found out yet whether it was a boy or a girl, so I don't know if you are an Uncle or an Aunt.

There was a new style of washing machine in the house that the Church have given your Dad for his work, but it's not working too good. I put 14 shirts into it last week, pulled the chain and I haven't seen them since!

You won't recognise the furniture or anything when you come home; we moved because your Father read in the paper that most accidents happen within 20 miles of home so we have changed it all.

I won't be able to send you the address as the last family here took the numbers with them for their next house, so they wouldn't have to change their address.

Oh, for that Irish roast chicken recipe that you wanted, remember half a bottle of Jameson's in it makes it nice and juicy.

Your loving Mother,

PS I was going to send you ten euros, but I have already sealed the envelope.