Dressing outside the bird revisted

[KenK]

Many moons ago we discussed making poultry dressing without stuffing a
bird. Most agreed it was not as good that way. Someone suggested making it
with chicken parts.

Yesterday I tried it baked with chicken thighs. Ate it fresh-baked
yesterday and will try it reheated this evening. I'll pass along the
preparation info here if anyone is interested in trying it. Let me know.
--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

[Tara]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:29 +0000, KenK wrote:


> Many moons ago we discussed making poultry dressing without stuffing a
> bird. Most agreed it was not as good that way. Someone suggested making
> it with chicken parts.
>
> Yesterday I tried it baked with chicken thighs. Ate it fresh-baked
> yesterday and will try it reheated this evening. I'll pass along the
> preparation info here if anyone is interested in trying it. Let me know.

I'd be glad to hear how you prepared the chicken and dressing. We never
stuff our chickens or turkeys. I have never had a stuffed bird.

Tara

[KenK]

Tara <jarv...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in
news:VoqdnZsBKIy5UAbM...@giganews.com:

I like the stuffing better than the bird!

I put the dressing (use your favorite recipe - see later) in a greased
casserole dish. Bread the chicken parts - I used four thighs. Put on top
of dressing. Cover. Bake at 375 for 20 min. Uncover. Bake another 20
min. Turn over chicken. Bake a third 20 minutes (total 1 hour).

This is a work in progress. It is not that bad but has two problems. The
dressing is too browned where it lies against the casserole dish. The
chicken is not browned enough. I fear doing this uncovered for 30
minutes a side will dry out the dressing more than it already is. Any
suggestions from better cooks?

Tara, since you likely don't have a dressing recipe you could try mine:

About 6 oz water
Bullion cude disolved in the water
1 egg
3 - 4 oz margarine or butter

Mix thoroughly

8 slices dry bread

Mix in a bit at a time.

[Nunya Bidnits]

"KenK" <inv...@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:XnsA1C867A61A...@130.133.4.11...

> Tara <jarv...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in
> news:VoqdnZsBKIy5UAbM...@giganews.com:
>
>> On Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:29 +0000, KenK wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Many moons ago we discussed making poultry dressing without stuffing
>>> a bird. Most agreed it was not as good that way. Someone suggested
>>> making it with chicken parts.
>>>
>>> Yesterday I tried it baked with chicken thighs. Ate it fresh-baked
>>> yesterday and will try it reheated this evening. I'll pass along the
>>> preparation info here if anyone is interested in trying it. Let me
>>> know.
>>
>> I'd be glad to hear how you prepared the chicken and dressing. We
>> never stuff our chickens or turkeys. I have never had a stuffed bird.
>>
>> Tara
>>
>
> I like the stuffing better than the bird!
>
> I put the dressing (use your favorite recipe - see later) in a greased
> casserole dish. Bread the chicken parts - I used four thighs. Put on top
> of dressing. Cover. Bake at 375 for 20 min. Uncover. Bake another 20
> min. Turn over chicken. Bake a third 20 minutes (total 1 hour).
>
> This is a work in progress. It is not that bad but has two problems. The
> dressing is too browned where it lies against the casserole dish. The
> chicken is not browned enough. I fear doing this uncovered for 30
> minutes a side will dry out the dressing more than it already is. Any
> suggestions from better cooks?

Why are you breading the chicken? Don't do that.

[KenK]

"Nunya Bidnits" <nunyab...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote in
news:knivof$i49$1...@dont-email.me:

Why not?

Perhaps I used the wrong term. I rinse the chicken part in tap water and
shake in a bag with bread crumbs. Then sprinkle on salt, pepper & garlic
powder. No egg, milk, etc. so I probably should use another term.
'Coated with bread crumbs and seasoned'?

[Gary]

KenK wrote:

>
> Tara wrote:
> > I'd be glad to hear how you prepared the chicken and dressing. We
> > never stuff our chickens or turkeys. I have never had a stuffed bird.
> >

> I like the stuffing better than the bird!

LOL! And that's pretty true for me. I can cook a stuffed turkey and
wouldn't mind tossing the turkey after getting the stuffing out. It's the
best part, imo.

G.

[merryb]

On May 22, 10:54 am, KenK <inva...@invalid.com> wrote:
> "Nunya Bidnits" <nunyabidn...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote innews:knivof$i49$1...@dont-email.me:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > "KenK" <inva...@invalid.com> wrote in message
> >news:XnsA1C867A61A...@130.133.4.11...
> >> Tara <jarvi...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in

I think unbreaded or uncoated would let the chicken "drip" more of
it's juices onto the stuffing.

[Helpful person]

When one used to buy chickens the neck would come with the chicken.
It included the skin. We used to carefully remove the skin in one
piece, stuff it, sew it up and bake in the oven. Excellent. One of
the few times when the good old days really were good.

http://www.richardfisher.com

[Gary]

Helpful person wrote:
>
> When one used to buy chickens the neck would come with the chicken.
> It included the skin. We used to carefully remove the skin in one
> piece, stuff it, sew it up and bake in the oven. Excellent. One of
> the few times when the good old days really were good.

huh. That sounds quite tasty to me! :)

G.

[Nunya Bidnits]

Because generally you don't get a nice result putting breaded chicken in an
oven in a moist environment, at least not what you would normally expect
from breaded chicken. And in my lexicon, breaded means a wet coating
followed by a dry coating. But even a flour coating may have issues in that
method.

>
> Perhaps I used the wrong term. I rinse the chicken part in tap water
> and shake in a bag with bread crumbs. Then sprinkle on salt, pepper &
> garlic powder. No egg, milk, etc. so I probably should use another
> term. 'Coated with bread crumbs and seasoned'?

Ahh, ok, that makes more sense, but again I'd try it just well seasoned and
oiled and see what you get. The chicken will brown much better with just
oil. Water isn't helping. Fat is the best way to get the crumbs to brown
without burning. So maybe spritz it with some spray oil to hold the bread
crumbs instead of water. Not guaranteeing that will work but it should help.

My method for stuffing is to roast the bird separately and get some necks,
wings, and/or backs, and bake that on top of the stuffing, uncoated. The
result is virtually the same as stuffed in the bird, but less greasy and
without having to overcook the bird to get to the necessary 165F in the
dressing. You can also make some concentrated stock with poultry parts and
use that to moisten the dressing.

MartyB

[KenK]

"Nunya Bidnits" <nunyab...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote in

news:knjl28$a0h$1...@dont-email.me:

>> Perhaps I used the wrong term. I rinse the chicken part in tap water
>> and shake in a bag with bread crumbs. Then sprinkle on salt, pepper &
>> garlic powder. No egg, milk, etc. so I probably should use another
>> term. 'Coated with bread crumbs and seasoned'?
>
> Ahh, ok, that makes more sense, but again I'd try it just well
> seasoned and oiled and see what you get. The chicken will brown much
> better with just oil. Water isn't helping. Fat is the best way to get
> the crumbs to brown without burning. So maybe spritz it with some
> spray oil to hold the bread crumbs instead of water. Not guaranteeing
> that will work but it should help.
>
>

Thanks much! I'll try that when I make my next attempt.

Any ideas of the too-browned dressing where it lies against the casserole
sides? It's not a show-stopper but I'd prefer something more of the
texture of bird stuffing. Probably not possible.

TIA

[Nunya Bidnits]

Those crispy corners in casserole are the first thing I try to scoop up!

[sf]

Add more liquid to the mixture, bake it higher in the oven to brown
your chicken more and keep the bottom from browning so much. That
said, I'm still not loving what you're doing to your chicken. Why
can't you just bake/roast it naked with some seasonings?

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

[KenK]

sf <s...@geemail.com> wrote in
news:f1jvp89gsc6lj61ki...@4ax.com:

Because I love dressing but a whole chicken for one person is more
trouble than it's worth - IMHO. I've tried dressing alone in a casserole
but much prefer dressing cooked in a bird. I'm trying to split the
difference.

[sf]

By "naked", I was talking about not putting bread crumbs on your
chicken. That coating is soaking up precious chicken drippings and is
completely unnecessary anyway. Season the chicken parts, but don't
add anything else. Place it on top of your dressing and bake in the
top third of your oven.

[KenK]

sf <s...@geemail.com> wrote in news:dht1q8tktprf5s8rfd4nbrs4tt6oqsjciu@
4ax.com:

> By "naked", I was talking about not putting bread crumbs on your
> chicken. That coating is soaking up precious chicken drippings and is
> completely unnecessary anyway. Season the chicken parts, but don't
> add anything else. Place it on top of your dressing and bake in the
> top third of your oven.
>

I had hoped the "dressing" would cover the "naked" chicken. Evidently I
erred.

<g>

[Michael OConnor]

> I think unbreaded or uncoated would let the chicken "drip" more of
> it's juices onto the stuffing.

I agree. I would sprinkle some salt and pepper and old bay or maybe a
little Montreal chicken seasoning on the chicken, maybe a little
drizzle of lemon or lime juice before applying the seasonings, and
that would be it for the chicken prep.