test please delete

[BrilloPad]

I made it home in one piece - despite some muppet opening a car door on me.

[NickFitz]

I made it home in one piece - despite some muppet opening a car door on me.

Again?

Useless twonks

[NickFitz]

Roasted a chicken. Took it out of the oven, wrapped it in foil and let it rest for twenty minutes while the spuds were finishing off. Got the gravy sorted, and started in on the chicken. Carefully dissected away one of the legs...

Damn thing isn't finished cooking

So everything else that was done to perfection now gets to fester for a while as the chicken lazily deigns to absorb enough heat to de-rawify its thighs

I really must get myself a meat thermometer.

[NickFitz]

Speaking of chicken, they always say to shove a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh and see if the juices are clear, but which is the thickest part of the thigh? I didn't do chicken anatomy.

Also, what angle are you supposed to stick it in at? From underneath would be a bit tricky.

[DaveB]

Speaking of chicken, they always say to shove a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh and see if the juices are clear, but which is the thickest part of the thigh? I didn't do chicken anatomy.

Also, what angle are you supposed to stick it in at? From underneath would be a bit tricky.

30 mins per 500g weight of the bird, plus thirty minutes.

Wrap in foil and cook for all but the last 30 mins at 180. Open the foil and cook at max temp for the last 30 mins. Then rest. That way the oven is hot ready for the potatoes and the chicken will be cooked and rested by the time they are done. Works every time.

[NickFitz]

30 mins per 500g weight of the bird, plus thirty minutes.

Wrap in foil and cook for all but the last 30 mins at 180. Open the foil and cook at max temp for the last 30 mins. Then rest. That way the oven is hot ready for the potatoes and the chicken will be cooked and rested by the time they are done. Works every time.

It actually had an extra 20 minutes over and above the cooking time, as I'd shifted it a bit lower in the oven and moved the spuds nearer the top to help crisp them up. It's an old cooker, but I've been here ten years and I've got used to its rather eccentric ways, so that should have worked.

I think the problem was that it had particularly plump and firm thighs, notably where they extend underneath it near to the spine. It was cooked just fine everywhere except for right in underneath, where the thigh meat was well cooked at the surface but still bloody and nearly raw right on the inside, hard up against the skeleton. So I think it was the slightly unusual physique that caught me out. Once it was ready, the meat of the thighs still seemed very dense compared to the average chicken.

Very nice, though, once it was finally done

[mudskipper]

Chuck it in the microwave.

My cookery failure this week was buying what I thought were two steaks for me and ms#3.

They were peppered, so couldn't clearly see the meat (and I didn't have my specs).

Turns out they were "grill steaks", i.e. glorified hamburgers at steaky prices.

Still, ms#3 ate it, and he doesn't eat much, so not all bad.

[NickFitz]

Chuck it in the microwave.

The microwave broke down four or five years ago. I'd have to get around to taking it to the tip if I wanted to replace it with a working one. Ergo, no microwave

[zeitghost]

No microwave?

<Zeity swoons clear away>

I cook 50% of the veg in the microwave, specifically in general, peas & carrots.

I do the carrots sliced very thin for about 3.5 mins, then put the defrosted peas in with them for another 2 mins.

Saves washing up.

Had a lovely bonfire tonight before rain stopped play.

Got soaked to the skin but at least the rain was warmish.

[Alias]