This week's chicken was sort of a product testing opportunity. Rather than stuffing a bird with refrigerator leftovers, a new Purdue product was given a try.
Purdue now makes oven-roasters, preseasoned and sealed in a roasting bag. The product is basically idiot proof. Put the bag in a baking dish, at 450 degrees, and let it go for 90 minutes.
The pros: it is easy to bake, easy to clean up. The flavor is pretty good. The cons: can't stuff it, the skin is not crispy, no giblets to give the cat, preservatives in the seasonings/rub.
The meal: Carrots (steamed in the microwave since there was no room for them in the oven, with cranberry juice, a dab of honey, squirt of lemon, dill, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper), baked yams (rubbed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and rubbed with kosher salt, placed in the oven with 40 minutes left on the bird).
Husband's approval rating: about 7.5 out of 10. Due to lack of crispiness, wife notes the inability to cook potatoes and veggies in same roasting pan. However, the yams rubbed with oil and salt were very very good!
Plenty of juices did result. The bird was a good size for four. The cat begged for a taste (but didn't get one until it was time to clean up).
This is a good way to make a bird when pressed for time. Having it preseasoned and in the bag probably cut off 20 minutes of prep time, with no guessing involved in so far as dinner's ETA.
