A question about a recipe: Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter

I have a question about step 4 on the recipe "Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter" from monkeymom. It says:

"Place chicken feet side down on tube insert that is placed into a 9 in cake pan. This forms a stable base that will catch the drippings without leaking out."

Are there other basic pans or kitchen implements that I could use to create the same effect as the tube insert in the 9 in. cake pan? Is the idea to catch the drippings but not have the chicken sitting in the drippings while it is being roasted in the oven?

Cookbook Thief
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Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter
Recipe question for: Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter

6 Comments

deanna1001
deanna1001 September 9, 2011
You can also use a can of lemonade - pour out 1/3-1/2 and in all cases you want to punch extra holes in the top of the can with an old fashioned triangular can opener (we always called it a church key.) The lemon steam gently infuses the bird and is nice for those who prefer not to use beer.
 
Amy D.
Amy D. June 27, 2011
I have my chicken in the oven right now, sitting on the tube insert of my cake pan, inside a round casserole dish. I've spread shallots, sliced carrots, fennel and fingerling potatoes around it to roast. We make beercan chicken often on our grill, but this method lends itself more easily to roasting vegs with it. For beercan chicken, you pour out 1/3 to 1/2 of the beer, then fit the chicken over it, similar to how this chicken sits on the tube of the cake pan.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 27, 2011
I've heard of people using a half-full beer can, and pulling the skin of the chicken over the top of it, to create a beer flavored steam. (I've never tried that, though.) I've used a tube pan inside a shallow pie plate. That works well to catch the drippings. Just make sure that if it's a glass or pyrex pie plate, that you don't pour any cold liquids into it once the chicken's been in the oven for a while. (I speak from experience. Trust me on this one.) What makes the inside piece of a tube pan superior is that it includes a nice stable base that's attached. ;o)
 
sdebrango
sdebrango April 27, 2011
I forgot to say an empty soda or beer can.
 
monkeymom
monkeymom April 27, 2011
Hi there. The idea is to have the whole chicken exposed to oven heat so that the skin can get crispy. I've seen other folks use a bundt cake pan set on a cookie sheet. Probably covering the sheet with foil would be a good idea to help with clean up. The picture from the editors also has just a plain tube pan in another pan to catch the drippings. I'm interested to see other answers to see if there are any other options out there. I've seen vertical roasters for sale too. Hope that helps!
 
sdebrango
sdebrango April 27, 2011
A friend of mine uses a soda or beer can inserting into the chicken and placing in a baking pan. She also uses this same technique on the grill. I have never tried this but her chicken is great.
 
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