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Farm Kitchen:  Cooking with chicken  |
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FarmChickSerena
Farm Chick
45 Posts
Serena
WA
USA
45 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 23 2004 : 11:48:41 AM
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My husband had been trying to get me to switch the mass-produced chicken breasts I cooked with to organic chicken for years. I resisted because the big bags of frozen chicken breasts were so convenient. Finally, after my husband read a book, "Fast Food Nation", and being repulsed by the excerpts he read to me, I decided to make the change.
I buy our chickens whole. I roast a chicken for dinner and then completely remove all of the leftover meat. I immediately freeze the leftover meat, which I've found eliminates the "gamey" leftover chicken taste that I don't like. I separately freeze the pan drippings for soup, and occasionally boil the carcass for broth. Whenever I need a little bit of chicken for a recipe, (like Chicken Caesar Salad, enchiladas, pizza, soup, etc.) all I have to do is grab some from the freezer, and it's already cooked!  If I had known how easy it would be, I wouldn't have ever resisted making the change! |
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sourjayne
worker bee
67 Posts
sarah
seattle
washington
67 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2004 : 1:07:10 PM
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I am in the exact same boat as you were in, Serena! I don't know how to cook chicken that doesn't come pre-packaged as frozen, skinless chicken breasts. I imagine it's similar to cooking a Thanksgiving turkey, but probably easier, right? Do you use a recipe I could look at?
I've been wanting to switch to organic chicken for a while. Thanks for giving me the motivation I've been needing.
Sarah (sourjayne)
No artificial sweeteners added. |
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FarmChickSerena
Farm Chick
45 Posts
Serena
WA
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2004 : 4:02:28 PM
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Roasting a chicken is so easy! After I rinse it off, I place it in a large baking pan and lightly drizzle it with olive oil. I sprinkle spices all over it that sound good that day. (Sometimes paprika, sage, salt, oregano, pepper, no matter what, it comes out de-lish!) A good roasting temperature is 375 degrees. (Although I have roasted at different temps depending on whether I'm baking pies or cookies and the chicken has always come out just fine.) For a 2 1/2 - 3 lb chicken, it should take about 1 hr, 20 minutes. 3 1/2 - 4 lbs: 1.5 hrs - 1 hr 40 minutes, 4 1/2 - 5 lbs: about 2 hrs. If I remember, I will spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken a couple of times while it's cooking. (That makes it juicier) The easiest way I can tell if it's done is to gently tilt the pan so that the juices run out of the cavity. If the juice is bloody, it's not ready. As soon as there is no blood, it should be done.
I'm so glad this is a motivator for you. I'm thrilled with the change! It made me so sick each time I went to the grocery store and looked at the HUGE boneless, skinless chicken breast section. Now I feel so good when I serve up dinner, knowing that my family is getting a wholesome, non-hormone, humane, and healthy meal!
Serena |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Apr 08 2004 : 11:53:06 AM
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Last sunday I processed a whole chicken, skin and all, by boiling it whole in a large stockpot. I removed the giblet bag first, though I don;t know if it would be necessary to do so. This was with a relatively small bird, but I still got lots of meat from it. I simmered it on low for about 3 hours. I put in enough water to just cover the meat. After three hours, I turned it off and pulled the chicken out with scoopers and forks. The chicken had basically cooked apart. The meat fell right off the bones, and the skin cooked away from the meat. All I had to do was separate it, which didn't take long. I came up with probably a quart of chicken broth, and a couple of containers of meat(enough for several meals). And this was from a small chicken. I will probably process all my chicken in this manner in the future.
Julie |
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FarmChickSerena
Farm Chick
45 Posts
Serena
WA
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - Apr 08 2004 : 12:30:12 PM
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| Yippee!! That's great! It's so nice to have the chicken for future meals. |
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sourjayne
worker bee
67 Posts
sarah
seattle
washington
67 Posts |
Posted - Apr 08 2004 : 4:56:46 PM
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Guess what: I cooked the chicken the other night, according to Serena's instructions... It was wonderful! So much for leftover chicken -- we ate all but one little wing! Thanks for the tip, Serena. I'll have to try the boiling method, too. I have to get a stock pot. What size would you recommend?
Sarah (sourjayne)
No artificial sweeteners added. |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2004 : 07:27:41 AM
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I'm really not sure about the pot size. It wasn't huge huge, it was just big. CLears it up doesn't it!!?
Julie |
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n/a
deleted
12 Posts
Tracy
12 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2004 : 10:30:13 AM
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This is a wonderful topic! Thanks, Serena, for posting it. I've been concerned with the hormones in chicken so we've been staying away from eating it. Now, I can't wait to try this with the organic chicken! Just reading about it has me drooling.
Tracy
Nobody should have to share their water with a duck! DH |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2004 : 08:05:25 AM
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I do my whole chickens in the crock pot alot too. I drizzle with a little olive oil and herbs and my crock pot is big enough for two chickens at once (oval shape) It is nice to not heat up the kitchen or have to really watch it closely...same results...yum!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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Julie
MaryJane's Farmgirl
60 Posts
Julie
Moscow
ID
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2004 : 12:10:34 PM
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Roasted whole chicken is comfort food to me. I stuff the bird with 2 springs of thyme,1 whole lemon (use fork to put holes in it),1 whole blub of garlic cut in half.Rub the bird with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Put in roasting pan on a bed of celery,carrots,onion,potatoes and parsnips that have been sprinkled with olive oil, salt,pepper, and rosemary. This is my version of a one dish meal. If you have leftover chicken, I make chicken salad with walnuts, green grapes, and celery and serve over a bed of lettuce the next day.
Enjoy,
Julie
AKA Farmkitchen Chick
Food Styl'in & Fancy Free |
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HiDez Gal
True Blue Farmgirl
122 Posts
Roberta
Joshua Tree,
CA
USA
122 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2004 : 8:48:22 PM
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| At our house roast, whole chicken is pretty much a mainstay. Since we are a family of two we often have leftovers which i use to make a chicken pie of boned and cut up leftover chicken in a creamy gravy with whatever vegetables i am in the mood to add to the pie, this is enclosed in a top and bottom crust. We generally wind up with another meal or two out of the chicken this way. Gee, i was going to type out the recipe for my chicken pie but i realized that i have been making this for over 30 years and don't really use a recipe. If anyone is interested i can try to sketch it out |
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Cowgurl
Farmgirl in Training
34 Posts
Robin
middle Tennessee
34 Posts |
Posted - May 16 2004 : 1:12:02 PM
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HiDez, I would LOVE to know how to make your chicken pie. That's one of my favorite comfort foods but I've never actually made it myself.
Robin |
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Danae
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
Bay Area
California
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2005 : 2:43:44 PM
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This is a wonderful topic to have to talk about. I make alot of chicken recipes do to a few family members that do not eat red meat. I make things from chicken enchiladas to homemade chicken pot pie soup.
Of course i seem to notice that i don't always write my recipes down because sometimes i just make things on a whim. If you are looking for a particular recipe i might have one, just ask.
I also used to make chicken pot pie turnovers, but i lost my crust recipe for it when i moved, if any one has a good crust recipe let me know. thanks.
-Danae |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Jul 12 2005 : 06:26:24 AM
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I just made chicken stock for the first time last night. I've made chicken soup before by boiling a whole chicken, but this is a new experiment on my part in resourcefulness, and it turned out great.
My mom always bought leg quarters when I was growing up. Most of us prefer dark meat, and the leg quarters are cheaper anyway. So when she was preparing the thighs, she always used to cut off the backbones and throw them away. Consequently, when I grew up and started to cook chicken, I also threw away the backbones. (Funny, huh? It's like the old joke about the young woman who throws out the end of the potroast)
Anyway, I started thinking about it, and I decided that I should be saving these chicken backs to make broth. A few months ago, I started saving chicken backs, and, when I bought a package of whole cut-up chicken, the necks, too. (I keep kosher, so the whole chicken packs come with the neck) I also had some other random bones, pieces of ribcage off of breasts, a couple of wings, etc.
Last night I boiled it all with an onion and 2 bay leaves for about 2 hours. The entire apartment smelled like heaven, and my husband said he could smell it when he walked into the building. (We live in a third floor walkup apartment, and he smelled it from two floors down).
Last night, I picked the meat off of the bones and put it in a bag in the freezer, and this morning, I skimmed most of the fat off of the soup. I'm going to strain the broth today and put it in tupperwares in the freezer. I haven't decided whether I'm going to use the meat for soup or make chicken salad out of it. |
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Farm Kitchen: Cooking with chicken |
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Cooking with chicken
