11-20-2001, 10:24 AM
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 | Registered User Culinary Experience: Culinary Instructor | | Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: MO
Posts: 2,522
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 Sticky Turkey Recipe
Here is the recipe for Sticky Chicken and the FAQ below discusses how to adapt it for turkey... if anyone tries it, let us know how it turns out!
From: about.com Quote:
Mimi's Sticky Chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole roasting chicken, about 3 pounds
1 cup chopped onions
Combine all spices (first 8 ingredients) in small bowl.
Rinse chicken, inside and out. Drain well.
Rub spice mixture over skin and the inside of chicken.
Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to roast, stuff cavity with onions.
Place chicken breast side down in roasting pan.
Roast uncovered at 250ºF (that's not a typo...it's really 250º!Anything over 225º is safe as long as the chicken reaches aninternal temperature of at least 155º, which this does, and more)for about 5 hours. Baste occasionally with pan juices or until panjuices start to caramelize on bottom of pan and chicken is goldenbrown.
Serves 4.
Q. Is 250 degrees a safe temperature? I always thought a higher temperature was necessary in order to kill the bacteria.
A. It isn't the oven temperature that is necessary to kill bacteria, but the temperature that the meat reaches. All of my cookbooks recommend cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit, so as long as the chicken is cooked to that temperature, it should be fine. Crockpots cook at about 250 degrees on low, so why not the oven?
I've made this recipe many, many times over the last ten years. I know lots of other people who prepare this regularly, as well. I've never known anyone to get sick. If you have any concerns, use an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thigh to make sure it reaches 180 degrees.
Q. Can I freeze Sticky Chicken? Before or after cooking?
A. I personally prefer it freshly roasted, but it freezes successfully, either before or after cooking. If you freeze it uncooked, freeze it without the onion. Defrost completely before cooking. Remember that raw meat can only be frozen once, so if you use a previously frozen chicken you cannot freeze it raw again; but you may cook and then freeze it after cooking.
Q. Can I cook Sticky Chicken in the crockpot?
A. You could do that but it wouldn't be the same dish at all. The spices on the skin sort of caramelize during the low, long roasting, making a delicious golden, crispy, chewy, sticky skin. The crockpot makes pale, rubbery skin. I do cook whole chickens in the crockpot, but mainly for the meat and broth.
Q. Can I use a whole turkey?
A. I know of several people that use the Sticky Chicken spice mixture on their turkey, but they cook the turkey in the regular manner. Stephanie recently tried this Sticky Turkey variation with a 12 pound turkey with success: "I doubled the spice mixture, rubbed it all over the turkey while it was in the roasting pan, then placed a food-safe bag (it was a garbage bag labeled food-safe) over the whole pan and turkey and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Roasted on 300... didn't have much juice for the first baste job, so I let a stick of butter melt in the roaster and then basted with that. Cooked turkey about 7 hours... it was very done. Good flavor."
My mother always cooked our Thanksgiving turkeys overnight in the oven and I plan on trying a Sticky Turkey variation soon. She would cook it in a low oven (250 - 300 degrees), tented with foil. For a 20 - 24 lb turkey it usually took about 12 hours, but she always used a meat thermometer to make sure it was cooked through. The foil was removed towards the end to allow browning. I will try this method and report the results here.
Q. Can I use chicken parts instead of a whole chicken?
A. Susan in Illinois tried that successfully. Here is her report: "The chicken turned out great!!!! I had a friend stop over while it was baking and she commented on how good the smell was. I used 10 lbs. of chicken leg quarters. Last night I put the spice rub on them and put them in the fridge until this afternoon. I used my large turkey roaster as it's not only the largest pan I have but it's the only large one that would fit in my very small wall oven. I covered the bottom of the pan with thin onion slices (it took 1 large and two small onions but probably two medium onions would be enough), and then placed the chicken pieces on top. Some of them over lapped but it didn't seem to affect them any. I didn't get any juice for about 1 1/2 hours but once I did I basted every 1/2 hour as the recipe said. It took 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cook the 10 lbs. (I wasn't watching the clock when I put it in.) Now you know that it's possible to have sticky chicken when you don't have the whole chicken!"
Q. Can I use just chicken breasts?
A. Someone tried that and it was not successful. The meat was too dry and the chicken did not produce enough liquid for basting. The result was not very flavorful and the texture was dry. Using solely chicken breasts is not recommended.
Q. Can I reduce or eliminate the salt?
A. Desiree tried the recipe variation using chicken parts (above) without any salt at all. She reported that the chicken was juicy and good, just like the prior time she had made it with the salt. She thought the thyme flavor seemed a bit overwhelming this time, though, but wasn't sure if it was due to the lack of salt or some other reason.
Q. Can I use the drippings to make gravy?
A. Yes, you can. Due to all the seasonings, the gravy will be pretty spicy, so taste it before adding any additional seasoning.
Q. Can I use the carcass and leftovers to make soup?
A. Beth Torrence tried that successfully. Here is her report: "I made the original sticky chicken, which was FABULOUS! After that, I put the carcass and leftover drippings in a ziplock bag and tossed them into the freezer until it was time to make soup. I boiled the carcass and added the drippings to the water to flavor the broth. No additional seasoning was necessary. the meat was tender and the broth was bursting with flavor. I simply added cooked noodles before serving. It was the hit of my luncheon!"
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