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Original poster

Right, have bought a chicken for the first time ever.... could someone please tell me how to cook it? (among other things!)

92 replies

TambaTheDragonSlayer · 30/09/2006 18:36

Its a meduim size on and it says it has no giblets inside. Never bought one bofore 0 cant stand the thought of touching raw meat but anyhow...

Have bought a lemon and some garlic to go in it. Do I put them in before cooking? Do I have to peel the lemon?

Do I put oil on it or anything?

Also how do I do roast potaotes? Boil first and then put in oven or just stick them straight in? Do I have to put oil on them?

(Have never bought oil either!)

Have also for the first time bought Sweet Potato which im going to put in the oven? Do I cook it first? Same as normal potatoes?

Going to roast an onion!!!

How long will they take to roast? How long should the chicken be in before I put every thing else in the oven? How can I tell when the chicken is cooked?

Bought veggies to cook too!! (Im assuming you just stick them in a pan for 15 mins?)

How bad does it sound that ive never cooked veggies???

Am working on it though....

OP posts:
SSSandy · 01/10/2006 10:15

I buy them in Ulrich am Zoo. The supermarket directly at the Zoo station. When I've looked for them in those little Turkish groceries, I've come back with something called Rettich bei mistake which has a strong bitter taste. I've seen it translated as radish but it isn't like the little red radishes we eat with salad. So now I always check and ask is this parsnip and not Rettich?! No idea what people use Rettich for.

southeastastra · 01/10/2006 10:16

i quite enjoy skinning chicken pieces for casseroles

moondog · 01/10/2006 10:21

Good on you Tamba-you go girl!!!

CreepyCrawlyCarmenere · 01/10/2006 10:51

I feel quite strongly about this business of being sqeamish about handling raw meat. I used to be really squeamish about raw meat. When my mum was pregnant with me she couldn't go near raw meat and for all my childhood I couldn't bear the smell of a butchers and when I started cooking I would empty the packet onto the pan without touching it.

But when I started to become interested in food and decided to go to chef college I realised that I would just have to get over this aversion and I did. I realised that as a meat eater I had a duty to respect the animal that died to be food.

It is my belief that allowing ourselves to be dissasociated with where our meat comes from means that factory farmers get away with treating animals inhumanely. Basically if you can just tip a packet of chopped meat into a pan and cook it, you can neatly bypass the fact that this was once a living thing and that in turn allows us to think that it is ok to pay a pittance for that meat.

Meat has never been cheaper than it is today, factory farmed meat is treated hoorendously and the short lives the animals lead are miserable.

Meat should exepensive, sympathetically reared and be a once or twice a week affair. Our demand for prime cuts of meat as an everyday part of our diet has led to the rest of the animal being worthless. Who here has had kidneys or liver or oxtail recently? These used to be popular and healthy regular foods because they were cheap, because people generally couldn't afford steak or chicken breast everyday. Sadly offal is not a great choice these days because generally it comes from the part of the animal that processes the toxins(antibiotics needed to prevent disease spreading because they are so close to each other) that are fed to the animal during the intensive rearing process.

Please excuse the rant, but as a meat eater it is a subject I feel strongly about. Please buy the best meat that you can afford, whether that be organic or free range or the RSPCA approved standard. If we all buy more decently reared meat we will create a demand and more animals will have a better life and taste better

Tamba, enjoy your chicken, it will be delicious, I'm sure.

Blu · 01/10/2006 10:55

Tamba - as you are not used to doing it I would start earlier / leave youself plenty of time for each task as the preparation could take you a bit longer.

You can do loads in advance: Peel the potatoes and leave them in the pan covered by cold water, prepare (cut / wash) the veg. If you have room in your fridge you can get the chicken all seasoned with the lemon etc, ready in it's tin, cover with foil and keep it in the fridge.

It will seem like a doddle and you won't have to think about it so much once you are used to it.

Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 10:58

Lots to think about there carmere

Hmm prepare in advance.... Good idea seeing as I am prone to doing stupid things like forgetting to put the oven on etc!

I panicked last night that I didnt have a roasting tin! But managed to find one shoved into the back of a cubboard - phew!

I have got mint sauce too mmmmmm

OP posts:
Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 15:06

Right....

Potatoes are peeled and in water.

Chicken has been manhandled into the roasting tin and had a lemon uncerimoniously shoved up its wotsit along with several pieces of garlic. Its also had a lemon juice and garlic and oil mix poured over it and some bacon put on top.

Its at 200c on the top shelf.

Thats as far as ive got so far....

OP posts:
meowmix · 01/10/2006 15:17

DH always roasts on high (220/230 for 20 mins) then lowers it to 180 and sticks a half glass of wine round the chicken in the bottom of the roasting tray, cooks it for the rest of the time and that makes yummy gravy (but you have to do the pots in a sep roasting dish then or they go soggy)

Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 16:08

Roast potaotes are in the oven with some sweet potatoes. They are in with the chicken and have put some more oil stuff over everything.

I have potatoes in a pan ready to boil. Going to put them on at half 4 and hopefully have them mashed and ready by 5pm

Then will do gravy and voila! hopefully....

OP posts:
mellowma · 01/10/2006 16:40

Message withdrawn

oxocube · 01/10/2006 16:50

Carmenere, that was a fantastic post. I've just called ds1 (11yrs) over to read it and he was quite moved. We don't buy organic meat at the moment (my only saving grace is that I buy free range eggs - but not free range chicken . How stupid is that?) but I do try hard to balance veggie meals, fish and meat. Am seriously thinking about only buying organic but buying less. Thank you

oxocube · 01/10/2006 16:52

And sorry Tamba! Meant to add WELL DONE YOU! Have a fantastic dinner

Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 16:52

Why wont my roast potatoes go golden?? or crispy?? There is too much oil I think. What to do???

Well remember on the veggies Mello had forgotten about them!

I am so going to take a picture of my creation for member profiles

OP posts:
southeastastralplain · 01/10/2006 16:54

they take quite a while, about an hour to go crispy and brown. take some oil out and bung them at the top?

lilibet · 01/10/2006 16:55

If there is too much oil just drain it all off and put them back in the oven on the highest temperature you can while your chicken is resting. Keep turning them and they will be gorgeous!

CreepyCrawlyCarmenere · 01/10/2006 16:58

Bang up the heat Tamba, that will crisp them.
Thanks oxo

colditz · 01/10/2006 17:08

Drain some oil off and whack the cooker up! Gas 7 or similar

Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 17:09

Chicken is out of oven and sitting on the side (thats resting right?) Roast stuff is back in on different tray on high heat.

My potatoes have been boiling for ages and are still rock hard. Veggies are on.

Will make gravy in a mug (a certian friend of yours broke the jug Lil )

OP posts:
oxocube · 01/10/2006 17:26

Tamba, rest your chicken on a plate or something similar. The resting chicken will release juices which are lovely poured back into the gravy. Don't let your spuds boil dry - top up with water from kettle if necessary. Have you any idea how many mumsnetters are rooting for you right now?

Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 18:03

smug

OP posts:
oxocube · 01/10/2006 18:09

HURRAY

Looks yummy Tamba! Well done you!!

moondog · 01/10/2006 23:06

How was it Tamba??
What a great thread,talking someone through cooking a meal.

The power of MN eh??

Original poster
TambaTheDragonSlayer · 01/10/2006 23:12

It was lovely!! (I am so sad that I actually posted a pic on here)

The chicken was nice, the roasts were gorgeous and I actually made proper mashed potatoes!! The veggies were nice too - first time ive ever said that!!

Kids even ate it all!!!

I am well impressed with myself tbh.

Thank you all!!!

(Didnt put any salt in anything either which I am terrible for normally - not the kids dinners but my own. Didnt notice there was no salt though which is good!)

OP posts:
aitch71 · 01/10/2006 23:17

well done! that's brilliant. now do you want people to talk you through making chicken stock?

misdee · 01/10/2006 23:18

i cant belive you have never cooked a roast dinner before today tho

you are not much younger than me, my mu mtaught me how to cook, we had to do veggie peeling at a very young age, and were always involved in sundays dinner preparation.

we are having roast on wedsnesday as we were at MIL today.

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