Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
keep it moist while roasting.

I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity of
a fresh chicken.

I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast meat
and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.

I've done this with the last two birds I have roasted to see what would
happen. What I have found is that this eliminates the need to start them
breast down then having to flip them over to finish them breast side up
half way thru the cook to keep from ending up with dry breast meat.

The breast meat is turning out much moister, and most of that fat is
cooking out to the point where there is virtually nothing left of it by
the time the bird is done. :-)

This really works!

These birds are up on a rack over a drip tray in the toaster oven so
they are not soaking in their own drippings.

I'm considering trying it with the next turkey I roast. I have about 5
lbs. of chicken fat in the freezer that I'd planned on rendering, but
have never gotten around to it...

I got the idea from posts I'd seen (and tried) that involved mixing
herbs with butter and doing the same thing. Sliding those pats of herbed
butter between the skin and the breast meat.

I've not yet tried adding fresh herbs to this combo. I've just treated
the outside with dried herbs, spices and granulated garlic like I always
have.
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
"We're all adults here, except for those of us who aren't." --Blake Murphy

On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:00:21 -0500, Omelet >
wrote:

>Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
>keep it moist while roasting.
>
>I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
>for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity of
>a fresh chicken.
>
>I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast meat
>and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
>folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.

<snip>

If one doesn't have a very fatty chicken, mightn't caul fat do as
well? I haven't made a pate in ages, which I wrap in caul fat, so the
idea of caul fat seems to have fallen off my radar. I may give this a
go the next time I roast a chicken just to see if I notice a
difference.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

"If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines


To reply, remove "spambot" and replace it with "cox"

In article >,
Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:

> On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:00:21 -0500, Omelet >
> wrote:
>
> >Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
> >keep it moist while roasting.
> >
> >I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
> >for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity of
> >a fresh chicken.
> >
> >I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast meat
> >and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
> >folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.
>
> <snip>
>
> If one doesn't have a very fatty chicken, mightn't caul fat do as
> well? I haven't made a pate in ages, which I wrap in caul fat, so the
> idea of caul fat seems to have fallen off my radar. I may give this a
> go the next time I roast a chicken just to see if I notice a
> difference.
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

If you have access to it, might not hurt to try it.
Like I said later in the post, some people use butter or herbed butter
and do the same thing with it.

I'll eventually get around to rendering all that chicken fat in the
freezer. I'm thinking about mixing fresh herbs with some of it and
using it similarly.
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. --Alex Levine

I hadn't thought of adding fat, but I always loosen the skin with my
fingers and spoon marinade under the skin as well as on the outside of
a bird. I usually use garlic powder, onion powder, basil, parsley
balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little sugar. Then we do it on
the Kamado for about an hour, not in a pan. Bird skin is crispy, and
the meat flavorful.
I will ask DH, who is a breast man, if they are dry and need barding.
I have barded venison roasts and they were great and moist.
Nan in DE

"Omelet" > wrote in message
news
> Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
> keep it moist while roasting.
>
> I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
> for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity of
> a fresh chicken.
>
> I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast meat
> and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
> folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.
>
> I've done this with the last two birds I have roasted to see what would
> happen. What I have found is that this eliminates the need to start them
> breast down then having to flip them over to finish them breast side up
> half way thru the cook to keep from ending up with dry breast meat.
>
> The breast meat is turning out much moister, and most of that fat is
> cooking out to the point where there is virtually nothing left of it by
> the time the bird is done. :-)
>
> This really works!


Of course it works, By the same token almost all recipes for roasting meat
call for the meat to be placed in a roasting pan FAT side up. The reason is
simple. The fat melts and coats the meat. This coating of fat reduces the
evaporation of liquid. In addition the roasting process (heat on the
outside) drives the natural juices inward to a point of saturation. The
reason for resting a chunk of meat after it's cooked is to allow the juices
driven to the center time to redistribute, preventing a "gush" when the
chunk of meat is first cut.

The above is why I buy untrimmed tri-tip and near the end of the cooking
process I slice off the fat & re-char the fat side for flavor.

Dimitri

In article
>,
Nan > wrote:

> I hadn't thought of adding fat, but I always loosen the skin with my
> fingers and spoon marinade under the skin as well as on the outside of
> a bird. I usually use garlic powder, onion powder, basil, parsley
> balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little sugar. Then we do it on
> the Kamado for about an hour, not in a pan. Bird skin is crispy, and
> the meat flavorful.
> I will ask DH, who is a breast man, if they are dry and need barding.
> I have barded venison roasts and they were great and moist.
> Nan in DE

I'd not tried it yet with venison. I'm still learning about barding. :-)
This simple thing worked well and was quick. I have gone thru the
trouble of putting slices of herbed butter under chicken skin when I
wanted to take extra time on a weekend.

Now that I have that convection toaster oven, a quick and simple herb
coated (or lemon treated) roast chicken is becoming a more frequent menu
item. Inexpensive and easy, and lasts at least 3 days for the two of us.


I like your mix. A little oregano and it'd be Italian!
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
*Only Irish *coffee provides in a single glass all four *essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar *and fat. --Alex Levine

In article >,
"Dimitri" > wrote:

> "Omelet" > wrote in message
> news
> > Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
> > keep it moist while roasting.
> >
> > I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
> > for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity of
> > a fresh chicken.
> >
> > I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast meat
> > and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
> > folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.
> >
> > I've done this with the last two birds I have roasted to see what would
> > happen. What I have found is that this eliminates the need to start them
> > breast down then having to flip them over to finish them breast side up
> > half way thru the cook to keep from ending up with dry breast meat.
> >
> > The breast meat is turning out much moister, and most of that fat is
> > cooking out to the point where there is virtually nothing left of it by
> > the time the bird is done. :-)
> >
> > This really works!
>
>
> Of course it works, By the same token almost all recipes for roasting meat
> call for the meat to be placed in a roasting pan FAT side up. The reason is
> simple. The fat melts and coats the meat. This coating of fat reduces the
> evaporation of liquid. In addition the roasting process (heat on the
> outside) drives the natural juices inward to a point of saturation. The
> reason for resting a chunk of meat after it's cooked is to allow the juices
> driven to the center time to redistribute, preventing a "gush" when the
> chunk of meat is first cut.
>
> The above is why I buy untrimmed tri-tip and near the end of the cooking
> process I slice off the fat & re-char the fat side for flavor.
>
> Dimitri

<shrugs> I only posted it because it was a quick and simple thing, and
made use of what most people treat as a waste product dear. ;-) How
many people here toss those two hunks of fat into the trash?

FWIW, I always cook beef and pork roasts fat side up and rarely trim
them until AFTER they are cooked. Most of that fat ends up in the drip
pan, or on the bottom of the BBQ pit if I'm roasting out there...

Fat basting has never been shown to cook INTO the meat and make it
fattier. It just keeps it moist during the cook so it does not dry out.
You can toss the fat out when the meat is done.
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
*Only Irish *coffee provides in a single glass all four *essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar *and fat. --Alex Levine

"Omelet" > wrote in message
news
> In article >,
> "Dimitri" > wrote:
>
>> "Omelet" > wrote in message
>> news
>> > Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
>> > keep it moist while roasting.
>> >
>> > I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
>> > for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity
>> > of
>> > a fresh chicken.
>> >
>> > I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast
>> > meat
>> > and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
>> > folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.
>> >
>> > I've done this with the last two birds I have roasted to see what would
>> > happen. What I have found is that this eliminates the need to start
>> > them
>> > breast down then having to flip them over to finish them breast side up
>> > half way thru the cook to keep from ending up with dry breast meat.
>> >
>> > The breast meat is turning out much moister, and most of that fat is
>> > cooking out to the point where there is virtually nothing left of it by
>> > the time the bird is done. :-)
>> >
>> > This really works!
>>
>>
>> Of course it works, By the same token almost all recipes for roasting
>> meat
>> call for the meat to be placed in a roasting pan FAT side up. The reason
>> is
>> simple. The fat melts and coats the meat. This coating of fat reduces
>> the
>> evaporation of liquid. In addition the roasting process (heat on the
>> outside) drives the natural juices inward to a point of saturation. The
>> reason for resting a chunk of meat after it's cooked is to allow the
>> juices
>> driven to the center time to redistribute, preventing a "gush" when the
>> chunk of meat is first cut.
>>
>> The above is why I buy untrimmed tri-tip and near the end of the cooking
>> process I slice off the fat & re-char the fat side for flavor.
>>
>> Dimitri
>
> <shrugs> I only posted it because it was a quick and simple thing, and
> made use of what most people treat as a waste product dear. ;-) How
> many people here toss those two hunks of fat into the trash?

This was no shot at you in any way shape or form. I'ts good information'

Dimitri

In article >,
"Dimitri" > wrote:

> "Omelet" > wrote in message
> news
> > In article >,
> > "Dimitri" > wrote:
> >
> >> "Omelet" > wrote in message
> >> news > >> > Barding is wrapping lean meat in strips of fat (most commonly bacon) to
> >> > keep it moist while roasting.
> >> >
> >> > I've finally come up with a use (other than rendering to make shmaltz)
> >> > for those two large chunks of fat present just inside the body cavity
> >> > of
> >> > a fresh chicken.
> >> >
> >> > I've been pulling them out, then loosening the skin over the breast
> >> > meat
> >> > and sliding those chunks of fat between the skin and the meat, then
> >> > folding the skin back down over the front to hold them in place.
> >> >
> >> > I've done this with the last two birds I have roasted to see what would
> >> > happen. What I have found is that this eliminates the need to start
> >> > them
> >> > breast down then having to flip them over to finish them breast side up
> >> > half way thru the cook to keep from ending up with dry breast meat.
> >> >
> >> > The breast meat is turning out much moister, and most of that fat is
> >> > cooking out to the point where there is virtually nothing left of it by
> >> > the time the bird is done. :-)
> >> >
> >> > This really works!
> >>
> >>
> >> Of course it works, By the same token almost all recipes for roasting
> >> meat
> >> call for the meat to be placed in a roasting pan FAT side up. The reason
> >> is
> >> simple. The fat melts and coats the meat. This coating of fat reduces
> >> the
> >> evaporation of liquid. In addition the roasting process (heat on the
> >> outside) drives the natural juices inward to a point of saturation. The
> >> reason for resting a chunk of meat after it's cooked is to allow the
> >> juices
> >> driven to the center time to redistribute, preventing a "gush" when the
> >> chunk of meat is first cut.
> >>
> >> The above is why I buy untrimmed tri-tip and near the end of the cooking
> >> process I slice off the fat & re-char the fat side for flavor.
> >>
> >> Dimitri
> >
> > <shrugs> I only posted it because it was a quick and simple thing, and
> > made use of what most people treat as a waste product dear. ;-) How
> > many people here toss those two hunks of fat into the trash?
>
> This was no shot at you in any way shape or form. I'ts good information'
>
> Dimitri

Thanks. :-) The agreement is appreciated...
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
*Only Irish *coffee provides in a single glass all four *essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar *and fat. --Alex Levine