Let me add a little info about chicken that may be more info than you want. The term "free range" when it comes to meat birds is a marketing ploy with no meaning whatsoever. All that the USDA requires to call birds "free range" is that a door is shown on the plans of the chicken house, whether or not that door is ever opened and whether or not the birds ever go out and regardless of the quality of the range. Meat birds are hybrids, bred to put on weight so fast that by the time they are halfway to slaughter weight, they can hardly walk. (Slaughter weight is 6-8 weeks; they would never survive to sexual maturity as their hearts and bone structure would give out.) They're not going far from the feed trough. The ONLY way to get a real "free range" meat bird is to find a small local grower who raises what's called "pastured poultry." These birds are raised in bottomless cages on pasture; the farmer pulls the cage daily to fresh, green grass and the birds inside waddle along with it. Almost always, they are slaughtered at the farm and pick up is usually at the farm. I know about this because I raised pastured poultry for 7 years, and though my partner and I no longer do it, we are lucky enough to be able to buy pastured poultry from a couple who started up after we quit. BTW, the term "free range" for eggs does have real meaning, and free range eggs are well worth searching out. Egg birds will range far and wide, searching for the insects and other goodies that make their eggs so delicious and healthy. But for meat birds, the farmer has to bring the birds to the goodies, hence "pastured poultry."

Technically a fryer is a smaller bird in the 3-5lb range. A roaster can be quite a bit larger, 6-8lbs. Roasters are a little plumper (fattier, I think) which makes them good for long cooking in the oven. You could probably use either one in the recipe. The birds in the grocery stores are on the smaller side indicating fryers.

Hi Lope, Yes, it is safe , and very yummy. MAke sure you cook it for the 5 hours, it will be moist, but throughly cooked.

Nanny, there are a ton of variables, including size/weight of chicken, quantity, thickness of pan, oven, moisture, etc. Boneless cooks much faster, and I think a cooler oven might be better for skinless. If the point of skinless is to reduce the fat, then oil isn't a great addition. Steam might help a lot. Put a dish of water next to or beneath the chicken pan, or put the chicken on a rack in the pan and put some water (or stock or wine) in the bottom. Do you have a temperature probe? That might help with the timing--I can never make them work for me, but many people do very well with that. If not, just set your oven for the minimum amount of time you think you'll need, use your meat thermometer (or cut into one) to check the temperature, give them a few more minutes if needed, repeat. Once you know the total number of minutes for opening the door and checking, the next time, you can undershoot that a bit for your starting temperature, and eventually you'll know exactly the time and temperature you need given your birds, equipment, etc. And you'll develop an instinct for if the pieces are a bit bigger or a bit smaller and how much adjustment you need to make.