 
A Guide To Using Convection Ovens
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By Elke Probkevitz
Published on Thursday, October 22, 2009 -
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Convection ovens, a tool once only used in professional kitchens, continue to gain popularity with home cooks. The allure of these ovens is hard to ignore: faster cooking times, more evenly cooked food, and improved energy efficiency. However, for anyone new to cooking with convection ovens, there are adjustments that need to be made to time or temperature, and sometimes both, to get the results you’re after. If you’re trying to figure out how to cook correctly with your convection oven, here is some helpful advice.
A conventional oven uses radiant heat that emanates from the top and/or bottom surfaces. The result is usually an oven with hot and cold spots. What makes a convection oven stand apart is the internal fan that circulates hot air, creating an evenly heated environment for the food. The most obvious advantage is that all your meat, produce, and baked goods will cook faster and brown more evenly.
In order to get the correct results when using convection instead of conventional ovens, you must either lower the oven’s temperature by about 25 degrees or shorten the cooking time by roughly a quarter. For cookies, reduce the cooking time by 10 to 15 percent, for large roasts reduce by up to 30 percent. Carefully monitor your first few attempts at cooking in a convection oven and you will quickly get a sense of how your convection oven cooks and what further adjustments should be made.
If the air cannot circulate over and around the food, your convection oven will be ineffective. Use shallow roasting pans and rimless cookie sheets when possible because the lower sides allow hot air to flow more freely. Try to keep a two-inch clearance on all sides. Variables such as initial oven temperature, quantity of the food, desired level of doneness, and oven model will all affect cooking time.
When roasting meat and poultry in a convection oven, fat is rendered quickly, sealing in precious juices and leaving a crispy, uniformly brown skin without constant shifting and basting. With fruits and vegetables, the natural sugars start to caramelize more quickly, leaving centers that are creamy and moist, concentrated flavors, and edges that are crisp and golden.
During baking, butter or margarine releases steam almost immediately, making the dough rise more. That means your baked goods will all be flakier, lighter, and higher. For cookies, take advantage of all available shelf space by baking with several trays at once. The fan disperses heat throughout so you won’t have to rotate them as often.
No matter which cooking method you are using, with a little adjustment to the temperature or cooking time, you’ll enjoy those home-cooked dishes in no time.
Chicken Lollipops
Ingredients:
12 chicken drumettes or drumsticks, with skin on
1+ tsp. kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
3 slices sandwich sourdough bread, crusts trimmed, torn into pieces, or 11⁄2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 scallions, green and white part, chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter substitute, melted
1/3 cup honey mustard
Hot sauce, optional
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450°F or a convection oven to 425°F.
Stand drumettes or drumsticks on their wide end and, holding the narrow bone at the top, use a paring knife to push and scrape the skin and meat downward to expose the bone and make a plump “lollipop” of chicken at the bottom. Season generously with salt and pepper and set aside.
Pulse the bread in a food processor to make coarse bread crumbs, (or place dry breadcrumbs in food processor). Add the garlic, parsley, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, and continue to pulse until finely chopped but not a paste. Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl and toss with melted butter substitute.
Brush each drumette or drumstick with some honey mustard. Then press and roll each one in the bread crumbs to coat. Arrange the drumettes (standing up if you can) on a rack set over a baking sheet. Roast until chicken is cooked and the bread crumbs are golden brown and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve drumettes hot or at room temperature with hot sauce, if desired.
Eating quality, delicious meals is easy when all the work is done for you. Hire a personal chef to prepare your dinners, Shabbos meals, or small parties. For more information, contact Take Home Chef personal chef services by calling 516-596-8865, writing to elke@TakeHomeChef.net, or visiting www.TakeHomeChef.net. ♦
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