Can I roast a chicken without a roasting pan?

[Judegirl]

I have a large glass baking dish....a couple of casserole dishes. I'd rather not use the crockpot for it. Can I plop it in a baking dish?

And if anyone has any other advice, I'm all ears...(eyes.) I've never cooked a bird of any sort before.

Thanks!
Jude

[jocelyndale]

We usually use a pyrex casserole dish. You can also use an oven-safe skillet. If you don't want the chicken to sit in its juices, you can crumple foil into a v-shape to improvise a roasting rack.

[Judegirl]

Thanks, Jocelyn. One follow-up, though - why wouldn't I (or why would I?) want the chicken to sit in its own juices? Will it be mushy (or something else?) if it does?

Thank you!
Jude

[jocelyndale]

It doesn't get mushy, but the skin on bottom doesn't crisp and it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan, which can be a pain to clean. It's also easier to get to the drippings if the chicken is slightly elevated. I don't care either way.

We usually brine the chicken overnight. My husband then rinses it and massages it with butter and garlic. He sticks whatever we have handy into the cavity (lemons, oranges, apples,cinnamon, celery, onions, carrots--whatever). Then he roasts it. I have no idea what time/temp he uses--I didn't start eating flesh til recently and I let him do the roasting (he's good at it).

We don't normally put chicken on a rack, but we do put turkey on a rack.

[Judegirl]

Wow, thanks!

If you don't have the patience for two more questions, I certainly understand...but in case you don't mind teaching a mini-course in chicken-roasting (or if someone else wants to jump in...) :

1 - What does "brine" mean? Soak in salt water?

2 - Does a roasting pan have an elevated rack? If so, is that what makes it a roasting pan? And in that case, couldn't I just set a steel cooling-type rack inside my baking dish for the same effect?

Thank you so much.

Jude

[Ellp]

To Brine means to soak in a water/salt/sugar and spice (optional) solution. It makes the meat more juicy and flavourful when cooked.

I don't know exactly what a roasting pan means, other than a pan that can be put in the oven...... Yes, you can use a cooling rack inside a regular pan for roasting. I've done this for rather large beef/turkey roasts.

Hint: if you do this, rub some cooking oil on the rack first before you put the meat on to roast. It makes cleaning the rack easier.

[ani'smommy]

We roast chicken in glass all the time. I always surround the chicken with sweet potatos, onions, carrots, peas, or other veggies I happen to have laying around.

[jocelyndale]

My brine is about 1/3cup kosher salt to eight cups water, plus ginger (minced or crystallized), garlic, black peppercorns, and a couple juniper berries. I've added other stuff, including lemon peel, other spices, and fresh herbs. I don't usually add sugar, because my husband can't have much sugar. I let it soak overnight (or at least eight hours), then rinse and prep/roast.

If your rack is oven-safe, that's fine. A storebought roasting pan often has high sides to contain spattering. It also has a rack and a lid. The fat of the skin will smoke and spatter. It's kinda messy at times. Needless to say, our oven is kinda messy.

[enkmom]

I have an 8x8 stoneware pan I roast chicken in all the time. My round cake rack just fits inside. I stuff my chicken with a lemon, put olive oil or butter on the skin, and season with lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper and a little paprika for color. It is very simple.

[WC_hapamama]

If you use a glass baking dish and don't have a rack, just use stalks of celery or chopped veggies (onion, carrot, celery) to keep the chicken up off the bottom.