How to cook hen without drying out!?

Question

Can anyone give me any advice on what to do with a 10lb.hen? I've tried cooking one in the crock-pot,and oven...still comes out to tough to chew!

Answer 1

boil for 20 minutes, simmer for 20 minutes then pressure cook for 30 minutes.

finish off in the oven, with plenty of chicken or vegetables or even beef stock.. i'd say about 10 cubes for 3 1/2 pints.

Answer 2

boil it in water

Answer 3

A 10 lb. hen is absolutely HUGE and this tells me its probably old and tough. A younger, smaller bird would be less tough. Cook slowly and covered. Rub your bird with some olive oil or butter, salt/pepper some herbs ( thyme and sage are good) cover and put in oven at 250 - 300 degrees. Internal temp should be 180.

Answer 4

I inject them with olive oil infused with some garlic--but you can use any seasoning you want.  Injecting works wonders for keeping larger items moist and gets some great flavor in there as well.

  Also mix some butter with your favorite fresh herbs or seasonings and gently put some pats under the skin, you can rub the outside of the skin with it or olive oil.  Bake low and slow on a roasting rack and baste often.  You can stuff the cavity with fresh herbs are well as citrus fruit.

EDIT

You do mean HEN as in poultry right?

Answer 5

I've always just heated it up with a glaze; tightly wrapped in foil.  Ham is already cooked when you get it, so it certainly doesn't need to be cooked for a long time in a slow cooker:)   If you get a good quality Honey-baked Ham, just put it in the wrapper that they put around it, on a baking sheet and reheat.......

Answer 6

A 10 Lb hen is OLD and will be naturally tough. The proper name for hens of this size (back in my day anyway) is a stewing hen. And that is about the only way to cook one to make it tender.

You could take some rice vinegar and marinate it overnight to flavor it and tenderize it.

Any stewed chicken recipe that contains veggies should work for you.

Cook it at a low temperature for an extended period to 'tenderize' it. Just as you would a tough piece of beef.

LOTS of liquid is required.

I can't imagine why it would be tough after coming out of a crock pot. Unless you cooked it on high. Try it on LOW with lots of liquid and cook it for at least 10 hours. THAT'S A HUGE BIRD!

The only other suggestion I could give you is to shred it and make BBQ chicken sandwiches.