AIBU to cook a 1KG chicken for 5 people at Christmas?

[ChickenChristmasDinner]

Our family have voted to have chicken at Christmas this year. We normally have a 1KG chicken for 4 people. Two people have a breast and the other two have a leg each.

However, at Christmas, there will be 5 of us at the table. I was thinking that as there will be starters, sides and a pudding at the feast , then our usual 1KG chicken might stretch to 5 people?

Am I being over optimistic?

you could combine a 1kg chicken with a small ham joint roasted so they have two different kinds of meat. But yeah that with the pigs & blankets and stuffing and veg, then pudding, that'll be plenty for 5 people.

Get a brace of posh Chipolatas to serve with it and you’ll be ok.

It's simply a fact that chicken legs have more fat in them and so are juicier and tastier than a chicken breast. And my comment was made in response to someone saying that in respect of a roast chicken everyone prefers the breast. I strongly doubt that is true and am adding in my vote for team leg. Nothing to do with me cooking a roast chicken incorrectly.

That's a very small chicken op.

I haven't read the whole thread.
But last year to avoid being stuck in the kitchen for ages, I cooked a tray of chicken breasts, legs and thighs as separate pieces. There was plenty for Christmas day and along with the Christmas eve ham plenty to have cold the next day.

Doesn't negate my statement that if someone has dry chicken breast, they're cooking it wrong.

Simply inflate the tasty morsel with a bicycle pump before cooking, OP, you'll be fine.

Surely you’ll want some left overs though !? Always better to have too much rather than not enough imo

I'd much rather have a 🐔 leg. I'm the same with turkey, I don't understand people who buy turkey crowns.

We had cockerel one Christmas, it was halfway between a chicken and a turkey in size and taste. Im wondering if that's what people are calling a canon.

Two chipolatas?

Since it’s pre-cooked, the weight is not equivalent to an uncooked chicken. It would serve 5, but personally, I would not choose a pre-cooked one. Freshly roasted is so much nicer.

Yes I have been thinking exactly this.

It cannot be half the size of the 2kg one in my freezer or it literally would be the size of a quail. I guess the OP could have made it clear in their first post that it was 1kg cooked weight as people may not read the whole thread.

So yes, to conclude @ChickenChristmasDinner it may well be that one pre-cooked chicken will serve five. As I said, not my choice to reheat a cooked chicken but then neither is, I dunno, bread sauce. Other people like it tho so happy days.

Capons are neutered cockerels. Its no longer legal in the UK but just like foie gras, its legal to import.

Right, I am mid way through my experiment (really hope OP is still reading!) and have just cooked a 1.45 roast in the bag chicken. Looks lush, BUT there is no way it would feed 5 unless you have the appetites of sparrows (would possibly feed my family, as dad has dementia and barely eats anything, dexH and DM are usually on weird punishing diets etc etc).

Tonight, it will feed me and the cat and, abracadabra, be mostly gone by morning!

OP, if you decide to go with your pre-cooked one, I reckon you definitely need two.

It did dawn on me when I was thinking about you earlier, that maybe you don't have an oven/can't afford to put it on? If so, I am sorry we have all been twats..... And maybe a neighbour would let you use some oven space in theirs? I 100% would, if I had oven space (which I suppose I wouldn't at Christmas).

I still remain worried that the one you get won't be freshly cooked enough, and you will get bochelism or something (or it just won't be nice). Are you planning to buy it on Xmas Eve? .

Er, "a brace" is 2.

@tragichero the OP says they cook it in the oven for an hour so I think they are OK there. Also this is not a cheap option tbh since it is already prepped I guess. So I don't think money is the issue – this is just what the OP likes which is fine of course.

I would still buy two tho. Unless you all hate cold chicken and don't want to risk there being any.

That’s not enough. I’ve ordered a 4kg rooster to serve three. Plenty leftover for sandwiches, chicken and ham pie and soup.

Dear god, get the biggest chicken you can find! It’s Christmas, not a Wednesday night tea. What about cold cuts, leftovers, or just being able to offer a bit more for those who want it? Are you a distant relative of Scrooge?

I bought a chicken today and for the first time noted its weight. OP your pleasantly nuts bless you.

Nowhere near enough, better to have too much food than not enough
Nothing worse than going out for a meal and going home hungry

I’ve just cooked a 2.2kg chicken for 5 of us today - with just enough left to do a ramen tommorrow for H

at Xmas I order a3.8kg chicken as we don’t like turkey-

1kg is minute!

I’d get a bigger one and then if you’re all full ( because of sides like kilted sausages) then you have leftovers for sandwiches or whatever .

This would not be on the table in my house, but to be fair, I just looked at the link, and it says

Made using 120g of chicken per 100g of roast chicken. Moisture is lost during cooking

So it's equivalent to an uncooked chicken that weighs considerably more.

Well, I love turkey and think gravy is best made from meat juices (I also love breast meat, even - or perhaps especially -when it's strictly speaking too dry... as a child I didn't like the dark meat at all)

but OP's family apparently consider this a treat, so for their Christmas dinner it's a great idea

I would get two, OP. One of the good bits about Christmas dinner is being able to have a bit more meat than usual, and having a bit extra while you clear up as well 😋

I suggest you get them fairly soon and freeze them, bearing in mind (a) the fowl problems someone mentioned upthread and (b) the tendencies of supermarkets to drop items from their normal range without warning because Christmas