Want Evenly Cooked Wings For Your Roast Chicken? Make Sure To Tuck Them
Everyone has their favorite piece of chicken. Some go for the legs; some won't eat anything but the breasts. However, for those who enjoy the wings, it's a whole other story. You tend to get lucky with pieces like breasts and thighs — they stand a much better chance of being cooked evenly. However, when it comes to the wings, there's a certain technique that needs to be employed in order for them to come out just right.
If you've ever attempted to cook them evenly, you'll know just how hard this can be. Well, once you know the trick, it's actually very simple. To evenly cook your wings for a roast chicken, all you need to do is to tuck them. Evenly cooked chicken wings will give you the tender, juicy, and flavorful qualities everyone desires in their chicken. You may even find some folks wanting to switch over and take one of your wings.
Tucking in your chicken wings
To evenly tuck your wings, there are a couple of methods you can go with. You can either do a simple tuck underneath the body or use some string and tie them. Tucking the wings underneath the chicken's body will keep them in place, yet there's still a chance hot air will get into the cavity and dry out certain parts of the bird. The better method involving string is called a truss. Once you have some twine, you'll not only tie the wings against the body but also tie the legs together and help close the opening of the chicken.
Now, the wings, along with the rest of the chicken, will cook evenly. This will happen to both the outside and inside of the chicken. You'll also notice the skin is crispier while the meat is juicier. You'll even be able to taste more of the seasoning that you spent so much time on. Out of all the basic cooking methods you need to know, you'll be happy you perfected this one.
You can tuck in wings on other birds, too
If you love the way your chicken tastes after you've tucked in its wings, you may find yourself wondering what other types of birds you can do this with. Well, you can do this with just about any bird, such as turkey, hens, ducks, and geese. There are different little variations for each bird; however, it's the same general principle. You will still have the best results with the truss method by tying their wings against their bodies.
After you create the truss on your bird, place bread and vegetables underneath it, then hoist it up on a wire rack. This will help to keep the skin crispy and keep the bird from sitting in fat while cooking — be sure to discard the bread when the bird is cooked. Now, you'll be able to let everyone enjoy their chicken or any other kind of poultry when it's time for a good meal.