Beer-can chicken

I've been very curious about this method of cooking a chicken for some time.  I heard about it quite some years ago.  Basically, after salt and pepper, etc ... you shove a can of beer (or half a can actually) up the chicken's bum.  Let it sit there in a roasting pan, or on the grill if you're going to barbecue it.  The steam from the evaporating beer is supposed to keep the chicken moist.

So, I finally made it last night/this morning.  I have to say the result was really good.  Of course, I've learned that the only way to cook chicken, or turkey too, for that matter ... is to stick a thermometer in it.  I used a Taylor digital one and set it to chirp when the internal meat temperature reaches 160 degrees.  I turn off the oven at that time and let it continue cooking with the residual heat.  As long as the internal temperature doesn't get pass 180, it should stay moist and not overcooked.

The end result was good, though I wonder why I bother roasting chickens when they sell whole cooked ones (very flavorful and moist too) at Costco for less than a dollar more than what I paid for just the chicken alone - RAW.

Oh well, another kitchen science experiment satisfied.

Poached egg

I've been attempting this off and on for a while now. It has never worked. I read somewhere that you're supposed to add a bit of vinegar in the water to help it "set". I've tried playing with the temperature settings ... egg always manages to separate and gets turned the water into egg drop soup-looking thing.

Watched Julie and Julia recently and started reading her blog. She tried poaching eggs too! Looks like it took her a few tries to get it just right. So ... I tried again last night. It was a last minute inspiration too. I got home really late and wanted a little something to eat without a big production. I actually thought about just going out to eat, but since my wallet wasn't particularly fat, I decided to stay home and heat up some "stuff".

In went a can of Campbell's vegetable and barley soup. Not exactly gourmet, but it's quick and easy. The can of soup's content looks so sad in the pot that I decided to add an egg ... and since an egg, why not just poach it in the liquid? Worst thing that'll happen is that I turn the soup into an egg drop veggie soup. No big deal. I turned the heat to low and very carefully slipped the egg's content into it. No simmer, no bubbles ... just let the gradual heat of the soup congeal and cook the thing.

I remember Julie talking about "gently coaxing" the egg white together to form a perfect soft egg pillow ... or something like that. I tried coaxing ... I guess I'm not exactly the coaxing type. I decided to just leave it alone.

It took longer than I would have liked. Neither Julie nor Julia said anything about needing patience ... I should have known!

Oh, anyways, the egg turned out very nicely. But unlike a traditional poached egg, it has bits and chunks of vegetables from the soup stuck to it. Too bad the phone rang just after I scooped the thing with some soup into a bowl. By the time I was able to get to it, the whole thing had cooled to room temperature. Egg's a bit over cooked, but I think it COULD have been just perfect had I devoured it when I scooped it out of the soup.

I'll have to try it again some other time. This poaching egg thing in soup's a keeper!