The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 716

Step2:GoinfromtheBottom
Lift up the flap of skin at the bottom of the breasts,
insertoneortwofingers,andslowlyworkyourway
upward, separating the skin as you go and being
carefulnottotearit.
Step3:MeetintheMiddle
Usethefingersofyourotherhandtogointhrough
theneckend,separatingtheskinthere.Yourfingers
shouldbeabletomeetinthemiddleoncealltheskin
has been separated. Rub salt and pepper into the
breastmeat.Yourbirdisnowreadytoroast.

BASTINGANDTRUSSING:
TWOMETHODSTHATDON’T
MAKEFORJUICIERMEAT

I

’ve seen it suggested that barding chicken by

draping it with slices of a fatty meat, like bacon, or
basting it by spooning melted butter or pan juices
overthetopasitcooks,willhelpitstaymoist.There
aretwotheoriesbehindthis.Thefirstisthatsomeof
the fat will be absorbed into the breast meat.
Poppycock.Asourexperimentshaveshownus,that
breast meat is shrinking and actively forcing juices
out—it certainly ain’t absorbing anything! The


second theory applies only to barding, and it’s that

the layer of fat will provide insulation to help the
meat cook more gently and prevent it from drying
out. This much is true, but here’s the problem: as
much as I love most things more when they’re
wrappedinbacon(yes,dear,I’mtalkingaboutyou),
baconmakesmildchickenandturkeytastelike,well,
bacon.AndifIwantedbacon,I’dcookbacon.(Then
again, if you are the type wholikes that flavor in
your turkey or chicken, go for it!) It also precludes
thepossibilityofcrispskin.
In fact, not only does basting the breast with hot
pan juicesincrease the rate at which it cooks,
exacerbating the dryness, but the moisture in the
juices or melted butter also keeps the skin from
crisping properly. A far better solution is to brush
your bird occasionally with room-temperature oil
(orrenderedduckorchickenfat,ifyouwanttoget
fancy)asitcooks.Thiswillhelpyouachievedeeper,
moreevenbrowning,butitwon’taffectmoistnessin
anyway.
Trussing—the act of tying up the bird’s legs
before cooking—is also an oft-recommended but
totally pointless exercise. In fact, it has theopposite
effect of what you want for a bird, effectively
shielding the inner thighs and thereby making the
slowest-to-cook part cook even more slowly.
Chickensandturkeysshouldalwaysbeleftasnature
intendedthem:withtheirlegswideopen,toallowfor
maximumheatingviaconvection.