How to Cook a Whole Chicken Skinless ?

[yuubou]

I'm not a great cook, so I'm coming here for suggestions.

I've begun buying whole 3lb chickens because it is cheap and I've learned how easy it is to cut everything up.

 

I didn't buy organic though, so I am thinking I should remove the skin before cooking them.  Any one have any tips/ experience?

 

The way I cooked it before with the skin was to cut up the chicken into parts, rub it with EVOO, S&P and a couple spices, nestle them in a cast iron pan, and cook in preheated oven at 450F for about 30 minutes.

 

Since it is skinless should I add extra oil?  Or cover with tin foil?  Or cook at a different temperature?

[AmyS]

Others may have a different take on this, but I don't take off the skin of non-organic chickens until they are cooked.

[SpinSpin]

I would cook with the skin on and discard when done--the skin will help keep the chicken from drying out. 

[Physibeth]

Yup, cook with the skin on and then remove.

[Chris74]

the answer to all cooking questions is crockpot.

[yuubou]

Thanks for the advice!

 

Haha Chris, true.  My Crockpot was busy with a fragrant pot of broth

 

I'll try to do that next time.  Last night I tried it without the skin & covered with tinfoil.  I added some chicken broth, so it kind of steamed cooked, so it was good for what I was making. 

 

I used the leftover broth/oil combo to cook onions & chicken liver to make pate, and then added that leftover liquid to the broth going in the crockpot, so I was worried pesticides etc. would leach out of the skin.

[missmary]

This is a really hard question! I think you are right, removing skin of a conventional chicken would be best (keeping the skin keeps it moist, but that really means you are eating more of the fat). My first thought was to wrap the bird with pastured pork procuitto, which would keep it moist and provide good fats..but then I wondered if the cost of pastured procuitto would offset the savings from buying a conventional bird. Maybe you could cut into pieces and cook in a coconut milk curry sauce for moisture and fat? OR cut into pieces and brine (the Well Fed has a great chicken brine recipe) for moisture?

[SpinSpin]

YES! plunking a whole chicken in the crock pot with nothing but a bit of salt and letting it go for 6 hours (for a 5 pound bird) is IDEAL! No crispy skin, but if you are discarding it anyway, no big deal. Love chicken this way--moist, flavorful and a bit of broth to boot. Just take the chicken, put in the crock pot, add salt and let go. No added broth! Yum! Do make sure you use a whole bird, not parts! My MIL tried this with parts --she didn't listen to me about a whole bird thought that 5 pound whole bird = 5 pounds of chicken parts and it was very dry. 

[ctriefus]

Eating roast chicken without the lovely crispy skin just makes me sad.  So I eat it.  If its going in the crockpot or soup or stew, I pull the skin off beforehand.  Very easy to do if the chicken is in pieces.

[Suzy1]

Nom Nom Paleo has a great recipe on her app for slow cooker chicken. Easy, easy, easy!! There may be the addition of wine which you delete however the best thing is the gravy that you whip up with all the goodies left over, eg onion, garlic etc with your stick blender.

To die for and you would never go back to packet gravy again.

She recommends never cooking chicken in the slow cooker for more than 6 hours.

Good luck with it:)

[Guest]

I buy whole chickens or thighs - with or without bones and skins.  I plop them into a dry crockpot with mirepoix, salt and pepper and let them go on low for 6 to 8 hours.  At the end, I put the juice and the veggies into my blender and make gravy.  If my bird was pastured, I debone and throw the bones back into the crockpot with some salt, cover in water and leave for about twelve more hours to make bone broth.

 

The moist chicken that comes out is great for salads, soups, and just about any other cooked chicken application (like a chicken dinner with the gravy).  Today, I pulled some from the freezer and turned it into a frittata with tomato, green chile, a packet of baby food (carrot, apple squash), and spinach.  Served with avocado.

 

(I just remembered that you were asking about non-organic.  I do this with boneless skinless thighs.  For breasts, I might add some broth, but the thighs do fine.  Also, I'm still learning about organ meats.  Are you using non-organic chicken livers?  Are they safer than skins?)