I know you are wondering how that baked hen turned out. I am so confused.

I had such high hopes.

When I found that really huge hen, with the uber-cute packaging, the one that weighed a ton, I just knew I found a winner.

Turns out I was wrong.

It was disgusting.

Sent shivers down my spine, actually.

What went wrong?  I did all my good moves, my regular moves.  Maybe that?s it.  I should have done something different.  Approached it differently.  I treated it like I did all my other chickens.  Bake.  350 degrees.   Olive Oil rub with simple seasonings.  Salt.  Pepper. Garlic Powder.  Just a touch.  Inserted digital timer into it?s colossal thick breast.  Waited for 165 degrees.  Continued to cook until it was 170 degrees.  It?s what I do.  Keep it safe.

Something just didn?t look right. 

Baked 20 minutes longer.

The juices ran red.  The skin was thick, rubbery, a sickly pale tone.  And then I sliced.  Tough, rubbery, not dry, not wet.  Just odd. 

More shivers down my spine.

There was no saving this one.  $8, down the drain.

So that begs me to ask:  What did I do wrong?  Should a hen be treated differently than a chicken?  Should it be slow cooked, boiled, grilled, roasted, or ignored?

I am bound and determined to find out.  To search out the answer.

First place to search? You.  Do you have any suggestions?

Second place to search?  The company who makes the hens.  Sigh.  Besides the cute packaging, I was already falling in love with their philosophy.  ?Do unto others as they would do unto you.?  That is their motto, right?  They will want to help, right?

That?s it.  I am going to ask them for advice, too.

More to come...