Roasting skinless birds?

[onthespot]

Skinned birds are good in the crock pot too... I just did a couple cockerels. BBQ sauce, and a whole onion chunked up and sprinkled on top. Slice up a bell pepper too if you like that. Couple hours in the crock, pull the meat, add a little more sauce, stuff a big crusty dinner roll with it, then stuff your face with the rolll. Yummmmm....

 

[HickoryGuy]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Roasting whole probably isn't the best idea, but I've got 25 birds... so potentially 25 different experiments.

 

[Kelsey2017]

Some of the ones I plucked I have to admit didn't turn out to beautiful; but so what if there are still some little feathers? I just roasted our last one from last year tonight and I realize why it was not used up right away- it was rather fuzzy looking. But after an hour an a half in the oven you couldn't really tell and we didn't eat the skin anyway, just basically used it to keep the meat from drying out. Granted they were not big feathers mostly just little hairy looking things but it will bother you less and less once your are used to home grown.

 

[Meat Hunter]

All our chicken that goes on the grill is skinless and never ever is it dry. Why? I brine it. A brine work on the premise of osmosis, where the salt in the solution tries to equalize with the water that is in the meat. As this equalization process takes place, it carries along with it, any other flavors that one adds to the brine.

Here are a few but it is really up to you as far as what you might like with ingredients. You can make up your own special brine, but remember, good salt (Kosher works great) is the key to a good brine.
These recipes below are tired, true and proven. Use of a food grade bucket is ideal or you can use one of the big giant zip lock bags. Do NOT use stainless or aluminum as they can neg impact on the taste.
All recipes should be boiled for a few minutes then allowed to cool down BEFORE adding poultry. You can use very hot water as well, but the hotter the better. It allows the flavors to leach out. I like to make my brine a day or 2 before we cook out and keep it on hand.

For a 5# (approx) chicken, soak in this mixture overnight (10-12) hours in the fridge. Remember, NEVER let poultry sit out. Always keep it cold.


1 gal water
1 cup kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 cup Zatarains liquid crab boil
2 tbs black pepper
1/2 tbs rosemary
1/2 tbs thyme
1/8 cup molasses
1/8 cup white wine, not cooking
1/8 cup worcestershire


1 Gallon Water
1 C Kosher Salt
2/3 C sugar
1 T Garlic Powder
1 T Onion Powder
2 t Gr. Black Pepper
1 T paprika
2 t chili powder
4 bay leaves


1 ½ Gal Water
½ C Salt - Kosher
½ C Dark Brown Sugar
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Cajun Spice (Louisiana Cajun Seasoning)
2 tsp Celery Seed

 

[halo]

Thanks for those, I cant wait to try them.

 

[BoomChickaRocka]

Quote:
Almost everyday during my childhood my Dad made chicken on the Grill. These birds came from my Grandfathers farm, he didnt beleive in plucking them and therefore the chickens we received were always skinned. It was always almost identical to chicken with the skin on it. just as tender and juicy as chicken with the skin on it. I feel like this person isnt speaking from experience. As for roasting, i would make sure it is in a covered pan if there is no skin, and provide a source of moisture inside the chicken ( a few slices of apple) and outside, a bowl of water inside the oven so the moisture isnt being sucked out of the chicken.

 

[saddina]

I'll second brining if you want to go with a dry heat method, such as grilling or even roasting (just rub it with oil first). But you're overlooking some other great dishes, like chicken tacos, tamales and stir fries. Skin is needed for none of them, pretty much any recipie that starts with "cut up a LB of chicken" doesn't matter if it has skin or not.

 

[booker81]

Remember a lot of the chicken in store (especially boneless/skinless cuts) are in their sodium solution. To mimic the ability to cook without drying out, definately brine. It's a good way to up the moisture if you're cooking dry.

Cooking "wet" allows you to cook straight up without brine.

Since frying doesn't introduce liquid in, I'd personally brine a skinless bird before frying.

Of course, I LOVE chicken skin, it's my chicken bacon. I pluck them all, unless they are those free bantam silkie crosses I got in the winter to eat - those were skinned and made a heap of stock and shredded meat for me

 

[halo]

I just fixed my first home grown bird today, skinned, in the crock pot. Turned out really really good. The breast and legs/thighs were enormous; I wasnt sure if it would be okay or not. Turned out delish. I pulled the meat off the bones and made bbq chicken in the crock pot for sandwiches. The broth was darker than it would be with store bought. Even without the skin, there was plenty of broth. Turned out really good, Im planning on growing some more this fall.