I recently decided (after some price comparison and recipe research) to only buy whole chickens, instead of breasts/tenders/legs/etc. The price per pound is cheaper than if you buy pre-cut, and you can make a lot out of a whole chicken. I am going to plan to mostly buy only organic chickens, but this week I bought two regular ones at Coscto for about $8.00...and made a ton of stuff from them.
First, I made two roast chickens (on separate nights). Bobby and I both love crunchy skin, and he likes all the dark meat (I prefer breast) so it's a good match. I do a pretty basic treatment to the bird pre-roasting: I stuff it with lemons and some fresh herbs (we've had thyme and basil), then I rub the outside with fresh ground pepper and my gourmet sea salt ("It tastes like the ocean!!" - Bobby), and either spray it with olive oil or put butter under the skin. Then I roast it about an hour at 400 degrees.
So, two dinners (and two lunches - Bobby took some left-overs to work with him). Then, I take the bones and everything left over (after picking any remaining meat off) and make stock. I use my crock-pot. I put all the chicken pieces in and then I pour water over it before adding vegetables (chopped onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and whatever fresh herbs I have). Then it's an hour on high, and 6-16 hours on low - the cookbook gave me a wide range. Also, a note about the vegetables I add: when I am chopping anything up for dinner, I will put the scraps in a zip-loc and freeze it. This includes the ends of carrots and celery, a half an onion, bits of green onion and leeks, etc. I will also make it a point to chop up an extra onion or carrot during dinner prep and throw it in the bag. Then, when I am making the stock, I just add some already prepared veggies.
Each chicken made five quarts of stock. I used that stock to make two different pots of chicken and rice soup, one for a friend recovering from surgery and one for us. I used left-over shredded chicken. I also used the left-over chicken in quesadillas and tonight in nachos.
So, two chickens: 10 quarts of stock = two batches of chicken and rice soup, four dinners, and two lunches. Pretty good deal and super tasty!
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4 comments:
Mmm... I love homemade stock (and everything else in this entry)! You just can't replicate the results unless you put in the effort!
I also like whole roast chickens and wholeheartedly agree how versatile they can be! One thing I learned from Giada was to stuff the cavity with garlic cloves and chopped citrus - it lends nice aromas and juiciness (I did it for a GOC party once). And if your whole chickens come with giblets, you can use them to make dirty rice.
My mom bought me a crock-pot a couple months ago and it's so convenient and awesome to use. I want to use it to braise some oxtail once my exams are over.
Kristin,
I am, once again, impressed by your cooking skills.
When Rosie starts eating "big girl" food, she's going to have so much fun! Love!
jess, i know!
stephen, i love everything about your comment.
Sounds great! Another thing I do sometimes with whole chickens is boil the whole chicken to make the stock, take the chicken out and let it cool, while adding chopped vegetables to the pot to make some homemade chicken soup. Once the chicken cools enough, pull about a quarter of it off and add it to the soup. You then have 3/4 of a chicken to use in other dishes, such as chicken enchiladas or fajitas. Pick apart the chicken and store the meat in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. The bones have already been boiled, so I usually don't cook them again.
Glad to hear you are eating well!
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