Basic cooking question, please help

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little neshamala

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:19 pm

Sorry if this sounds silly but...
Does the ammount of food being cooked affect what temp/how long to bake for?
For instance if a recipe says bake 6 chicken quarters at 450 for 1.5 hrs, and im only making 2 pieces, do I still bake at same temp and time?
I can never get my chicken really soft and juicy and I want to know why...

working hard

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:26 pm

I cannot give a general answer however, 450 sounds very high for chicken quarters. I cook my chicken on 350 for 1.5 hours.

naturalmom5

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:27 pm

Don't cook two little pieces in a huge oven

nicole81

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:29 pm

I agree that it sounds high, but in general for food that is cooked in pieces (like chicken quarters and salmon fillets) you don't change the cooking time (unless they are particularly small or large pieces). What affects the time would be the size or weight of what you're cooking, ie a whole chicken will take longer than a quarter, and a 5 pound roast will need to bake longer than a 3 pounder.

Leahh

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:33 pm

In a conventional oven the amount of food should not effect the temperature or cooking time.
In a microwave oven the amount of food does effect the time.

zaq

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:41 pm

Yes and no. In the microwave, more mass means longer cooking time. In a regular oven, in theory it takes as long to cook two chicken wings as it does to cook three dozen. In reality, it takes somewhat longer to cook more mass because it all has to reach cooking temperature before it actually starts to cook, and it takes more time for that to happen if you have a crowded pan or if you have pans on two or three shelves instead of one. It's not usually a huge difference unless you really crowd the oven and the heat can't circulate well.

FTR, recipes often lie. Why? because people don't want to hear that they need to cook their chicken for three hours. So they lie and tell you to cook for half that. Really. I am not making this up. I read it in a "Kitchen-Confidential" type article by a noted chef. The article happened to have been about caramelizing onions, which recipes say takes 10-20 minutes. Bushwah! The chef admitted it takes an hour to an hour and a half at the very least. This I can attest to from personal experience, and was I ever tickled to read that article! How could it be that things always take me twice as long to cook as the instructions say? Now I know and so do you.

YMMV also because your oven isn't the same as Levana's; Rachael may like her chicken just barely done but you fancy you can still hear it clucking unless the meat is literally falling off the bones; Susie's chickens are bigger or smaller to begin with than yours; Martha's are tref and therefore contain more (or less, I don't know) liquid in the flesh; her pans hold the heat better or worse than yours, yadda yadda.

But if you are literally baking 2 chicken quarters in a pan big enough for 6, your chicken is bound to dry out fast. You can slow the process by using a smaller pan just big enough to hold the pieces, and seal the pan with a lid if it has one or with tightly-crimped foil. This will cause the chicken to steam rather than bake. Uncover for the last 30 minutes or so to allow the chicken to brown. Sprinkling it with lots of paprika will also enhance the color, because the paprika will brown even if the chicken doesn't.

If you want really juicy chicken, don't bake it--cook it on top of the stove or in a crockpot. Baking by definition dries things out unless you smother them in fat and baste frequently.

zaq

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 8:46 pm

Oh, and I agree: heating up a whole big oven for two chicken quarters is an environmental and budgetary sin. In plain English, it's a huge waste of fuel and therefore money. Either buy a few trays of chicken, cook them all and freeze most; prepare a number of baked dishes like chicken, kugel, and chopped root veggies and put the whole meal in the oven together; or cook the two pieces of chicken in a small pot on the stove and use the oven to stash dirty dishes on Shabbos.

little neshamala

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 9:19 pm

Thank you all so much for your replies. Im actually at the point now where im making 4 chicken bottoms in a 9x13 pan, but still getting dry chicken...I dont understand how some recipes say 200, others 350, others 450...and the opinions about covering vs uncovering, skin vs skinned...why is it so complicated? I just want to make good chicken! Siiigh....

PAMOM

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 9:33 pm

Do you want crispy skin? Then cook it uncovered for at least the last third, basting a couple of times with the drippings in the dish. 450 is going to dry it out. Do you put anything underneath it (sliced onions? Mushrooms?) to add liquid and flavor? Are you cooking it in a conventional oven with the heat source underneath? Having the heat source on top will dry it out.

little neshamala

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 9:55 pm

PAMOM wrote:

Regular heat source underneath. I do want crisped skin...have been trying so many different methods. Is it important to put something underneath for liquid? Im trying to get that moist chicken with crispy skin...
Im having a hard time figuring out what temp and how long. Too long makes it dry, too quick leaves it rubbery....
What temp do u advise, and for how long, covered and uncovered? Skin on...
Thank you!

zaq

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 9:56 pm

450 is mad crazy high for chicken. Even turkeys aren't usually baked at more than 425 unless they're vultures. 350 is normal. 200 is way too low unless you want to give your guests food poisoning, as the food stays too long at just the right temperature to let harmful bacteria multiply. 200 is what you set the oven at to dehydrate sliced apples, not cook chicken.

Covering chicken prevents browning; if you want a browned surface, you uncover towards the end of the cooking. Covering also traps moisture and theoretically prevents drying out. IME covering just means the juices stay in the pan and can be added to the broth for soup, but the juices are still escaping from the chicken whether I cover or not.

Remove the skin if you have any concerns about the fat content; the skin is a veritable oil well and not a healthy thing to eat. Skinned chicken will dry out faster, since the skin holds in the juices to some extent and the fat from the skin keeps the flesh oily. If you don't mind eating the skin and sat fat be hanged, leave it on, or, take it off just before eating. The flesh will be what most people consider unattractively pale, but hey, what's that compared to your health? A reasonable compromise would be to bake with skin on, then remove the skin at the end, sprinkle with seasonings including paprika and black pepper, and bake another 5-10 minutes.

amother

Blonde

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 10:58 pm

Just chiming in with our favorite chicken recipe that calls for high heat:

Spread out cut up chicken in baking dish. Sprinkle salt on top. Bake at 450 for about 40-45 minutes. It's amazing - juicy and the skin is crispy. Just beware that if the chicken is wet it may smoke like crazy in the oven. Make sure it's dry when it goes in.

Anon because I tell everyone this recipe

Laiya

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 11:14 pm

[quote="zaq"]Yes and no. In the microwave, more mass means longer cooking time. In a regular oven, in theory it takes as long to cook two chicken wings as it does to cook three dozen. In reality, it takes somewhat longer to cook more mass because it all has to reach cooking temperature before it actually starts to cook, and it takes more time for that to happen if you have a crowded pan or if you have pans on two or three shelves instead of one. It's not usually a huge difference unless you really crowd the oven and the heat can't circulate well.

FTR, recipes often lie. Why? because people don't want to hear that they need to cook their chicken for three hours. So they lie and tell you to cook for half that. Really. I am not making this up. I read it in a "Kitchen-Confidential" type article by a noted chef. The article happened to have been about caramelizing onions, which recipes say takes 10-20 minutes. Bushwah! The chef admitted it takes an hour to an hour and a half at the very least. This I can attest to from personal experience, and was I ever tickled to read that article! How could it be that things always take me twice as long to cook as the instructions say? Now I know and so do you.
[snipped]
quote]

An hour to an hour and a half to caramelize onions?? So if I think I've been caramelizing onions in about 15 minutes, are they not truly caramelized?

How would one know? (Also, just curious--do you leave the cover on when caramelizing onions? Maybe that's why it would take longer?)

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 07 2015, 11:29 pm

I like 375 for crisp skin and moist chicken. Depending on sauce/glaze/spices, I bake uncovered for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours (1 chicken cut into 8ths or 4 chicken bottoms thighs and legs separated).

(1 hour for honey chicken which darkens quickly or cornflake crumbed skinless chicken, 1 hour and 15 minutes for duck sauce chicken, 1 hour and 30 minutes for spiced chicken...)

amother

Tangerine

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 12:04 am

amother wrote:

Is this aussie chicken?

etky

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 12:45 am

Adding to what others have written -I find that if I roast chicken parts using the turbo setting with the fan then the chicken tends to dry out unless it is covered, even at 350. The fan has a drying effect aside from the heat.
That is why I prefer conventional heat for most of my cut up chicken recipes. Using the conventional oven at 350 I do not generally cover the chicken (I actually prefer the texture of uncovered chicken) and it comes out soft and juicy nonetheless.
I use the turbo mainly for roasting rotisserie type whole chickens. They get nice and crispy on the outside and stay juicy, yet firm, on the inside and the cooking time is relatively short.
BTW I have heard of methods that call for roasting the chicken at very high heat or at very low heats but then time is the crucial factor that has to be watched carefully. The high heat method calls for very brief cooking while the slow roasting method calls for several hours of baking time. Both methods purport to produce really juicy chicken (I haven't tried either) .

Iymnok

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 8:36 am

I usually do 3-4 bottom quarters at 350 for an hour uncovered. Stick in a toothpick or knife to the thickest part. Clear juices= cooked, pink=rare or not cooked enough, no juice =over cooked and dry.

Leahh

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 9:39 am

Covered will keep it moist.
Also, you can sprinkle (not pour on a lot) water on top of the chicken either before or in middle of baking. The excess liquid will get absorbed by the chicken and keep it moist.

Dolly Welsh

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 1:47 pm

Tinfoil.

Rubber Ducky

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 2:16 pm

Regarding cooking chicken at high heat: I roast cut-up chicken at 450° F in a gas convection oven — it comes out tender and juicy, and with crispy skin. The chicken should fill the pan. Preheat the oven and roast for a little less than an hour.

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