Sunday Suppers: Whole Damn Chickens
I’ll apologize right at the start: I didn’t plan ahead, so there won’t be any pictures for this post. Instead, I’ll try to make up for it with multiple recipes.
Longtime readers will remember that whole damn chickens are a friend of mine. Not only are they one of the cheapest “cuts” of meat available, they’re decently sized for most family meals, and pretty flexible when it comes to applications.
Roasting is obvious (it says “roaster” right on the label for most 6-8lbs. birds) and one of my favourite applications is broiling (see the previous post, Angry Birds — I use a broiler because I live in an apartment, grilling would be even better) but there’s more than one way to cook these critters.
Many folks, when they hear about chicken cooked in a crock pot, assume that we’ll be boiling the ever-living snot out of it, to make soup. Boiled chicken is dry, and bad, however (despite the wet cooking method) (counter-intuitive, I know, but proteins can overcook no matter where the heat is coming from).
Here’s an alternate:
In the bottom of a large crock pot, layer 1-1½ pound of potatoes (I like reds or golds – small, waxy types, left whole or cut into rough chunks) along with carrots and celery. I like to use 8-12oz of baby cut carrots, and a stalk of celery, finely diced. To that I’ll add onions (a quarter onion, minced) and garlic (4 cloves, minced, but then: I love garlic). And then we add the bird:
The biggest bird that comfortably fits in my crock pot is 5 pounds — and I usually look for one that size. Remove the giblets (if there are any), rinse in cold water, and then dry with paper towels. Rub the chicken with salt, pepper, and dried herbs (if desired; I use a pre-packed ‘Italian’ herb mix) and then lay your chicken on top of the veg in the crock. And that’s pretty much it.
Don’t add any additional liquid. There’s enough in the taters, carrots, and chicken. You can doubt me, but you have to try this: basically, we’re using the slow cooker like a counter-top oven. It’s not going to get hot enough to brown the skin (if that matters to you, you likely have a broiler to address the problem) but it’s plenty to cook the chicken and then some. All the lovely fat and flavour of that chicken is going to drip down into your potatoes while it cooks (along with the salt and herbs).
[note here: I use a meat thermometer to determine when the bird is done: your target is 165° to 170°F]
This is actually enough to begin making a stock: if you cook a bird this way for at least four hours, and then transfer the crock to your fridge without eating anything (I’ve actually done this) then you’ll notice the juices/gravy produced will gel: we’ve already extracted enough collagen from the bird — on the counter top, in just 4 hours — to make a damn fine jus for our dinner.
Oh, we’re not done.
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Our first meal includes those very fine, slow cooked potatoes and carrots, along with some of the broth and some choice cuts of chicken — maybe the breast fillets, or the thighs, pick your favourite.
After dinner — don’t throw away those bones! I usually pick the bird clean (clean-ish – those bits of meat make the eventual soup better) before the first dinner and immediately start cooking a stock: put the bones & carcass back into the slow cooker, add liquid (some boxed chicken stock or plain water, or a mix of both) and set that sucker to low-and-slow.
You can do this the next day — or overnight. Just know that the 2nd recipe will take time. 8+ hours to get a stock from bones.
Time is all it takes, though: at this point, you’ve added enough alliums and salt to make the dish — it practically makes itself. You’ve a stock you can add vegetables or noodles to, to make a very fine soup.
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The third recipe (at least for the purposes of this post) is going to be a chicken salad.
Reserve one pound of chicken from the first dish: now, this is likely just the leftovers — your methods may vary, though. Even before the chicken hits the table, I like to set a bit aside.
Since the chicken wasn’t roasted (or boiled), our ‘leftovers’ are fairly moist. Roughly dice one pound of cooked chicken, add one 15oz can of diced tomatoes (well and thoroughly drained) with 10oz of chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and drained, with 1 tbsp or more of a spicy mustard and 2-3 tbsps of mayonnaise. (to taste: a drier mix actually works a little better – this isn’t tuna salad)
The additions of spinach and tomato add some vitamins and fiber; they’re also ‘larder’ supplies (canned and frozen) so readily to hand —
And, if I may be forgiven a bit of pride: also a damn fine combination of flavors
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So, Meal one: slow cooker “roast” chicken with potatoes and carrots
Meal two: Chicken soup
Meal three: Chicken salad – for wraps, pitas, or sandwiches
plus an optional Meal four: a chicken pot pie or chicken stew (from the Chicken soup leftovers)
Considering whole chickens sell for as little as 79¢ a pound: it is worthwhile to experiment a bit.
