Whole Chicken
Goldenbast
Posts: 227 Member
What can you do with a whole chicken? What CAN’T you do with it! Seriously though, I know that some people look at that whole naked bird and kind of just wonder what to do with it besides roasting it whole. Well, there is certainly nothing wrong with that and is actually a very tasty use, not to mention it general gives some leftovers for other dinners or lunches, but there is so much more that can be done with a whole chicken.
Chicken comes in all sorts of cuts packaged in various ways and bone in and out. Besides the whole chicken I would say boneless chicken breasts are the next most versatile chicken you can get. But if you learn how to cut up a whole chicken, then you can have all sorts of great pieces for a myriad of meals!
Here is a good video that shows you how to properly cut up a whole chicken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUvnsQgvCQ
It is easier than it looks, though it does take a few tries to get some nice cuts. But when you do this, with one chicken you end up with two breasts, two drumsticks, two wings, two thighs and two chicken breast tenders. You can then get out a cookie sheet, line it with wax paper and place the chicken parts on it then freeze them. Once they are rock solid you can put the chicken pieces into separate freezer bags. It really doesn’t take much time at all once you get the hang of it and just taking that time to cut up a couple chickens will net you several meal starters for a fraction of the price of buying them separately. (keep in mind sometimes things like drumsticks go on deep sale…for example as I write this drumsticks and thighs are on sale for $.68/lb.)
And guess what? Think you will have to throw away the carcass that is left over? Think again! Now you can dive into the world of homemade stock and broth. Trust me, once you go there bouillon cubes are salty death cubes and canned broth is just yuck. There is nothing that beats the aroma of simmering homemade chicken broth. This stuff is so good that when I make it, I usually put a few jars of it in the fridge because the kids like to drink it straight! On the plus side you also save a ton of money by making a big batch of broth and then freezing it for later use!
You may be thinking that you will have to buy extra vegetables to make this broth, well you don’t! A nifty little trick is to get out a gallon freezer bag and every time you chop up fresh vegetables for other meals, you throw the end bits and throw away pieces in this bag instead. Bell pepper ends, carrot ends, onion ends, celery tops, even potato peels can all go in this bag. You then just press out the air and stick it back in your freezer. Pretty soon you will have a bag full of great broth starter and you paid nothing extra and were able to use up every bit of the vegetables!
All you have to do is get out a big pot, or a crockpot and put the chicken carcass inside (this can be frozen for later use as well), dump in your vegetable stock bag (this is good for making vegetable broth without the chicken as well), fill it up with water and add your preferred spices either fresh or dried! Simmer the concoction for a few hours and then remove all the chicken and veggies. You then can take the liquid and put it in the fridge overnight so that the fat can solidify on the top like a thick film, then you simply skim it off and you have a nearly fat free broth that doesn’t taste fat free!
By combining cutting up a whole chicken with making homemade broth you use up every bit of the chicken and other parts of vegetables you normally would throw away. Not only is this super healthy and tastes divine, but you save a lot of money for just a little bit of extra work!
TIP! Use ice cube trays to freeze your finished broth; just pop the little frozen cubes into a gallon freezer bag for future use! Two cubes roughly equal about a 1/4 cup, but you should see how many cubes a cup fills to make sure, then jot that info down on the bag.
Chicken comes in all sorts of cuts packaged in various ways and bone in and out. Besides the whole chicken I would say boneless chicken breasts are the next most versatile chicken you can get. But if you learn how to cut up a whole chicken, then you can have all sorts of great pieces for a myriad of meals!
Here is a good video that shows you how to properly cut up a whole chicken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUvnsQgvCQIt is easier than it looks, though it does take a few tries to get some nice cuts. But when you do this, with one chicken you end up with two breasts, two drumsticks, two wings, two thighs and two chicken breast tenders. You can then get out a cookie sheet, line it with wax paper and place the chicken parts on it then freeze them. Once they are rock solid you can put the chicken pieces into separate freezer bags. It really doesn’t take much time at all once you get the hang of it and just taking that time to cut up a couple chickens will net you several meal starters for a fraction of the price of buying them separately. (keep in mind sometimes things like drumsticks go on deep sale…for example as I write this drumsticks and thighs are on sale for $.68/lb.)
And guess what? Think you will have to throw away the carcass that is left over? Think again! Now you can dive into the world of homemade stock and broth. Trust me, once you go there bouillon cubes are salty death cubes and canned broth is just yuck. There is nothing that beats the aroma of simmering homemade chicken broth. This stuff is so good that when I make it, I usually put a few jars of it in the fridge because the kids like to drink it straight! On the plus side you also save a ton of money by making a big batch of broth and then freezing it for later use!
You may be thinking that you will have to buy extra vegetables to make this broth, well you don’t! A nifty little trick is to get out a gallon freezer bag and every time you chop up fresh vegetables for other meals, you throw the end bits and throw away pieces in this bag instead. Bell pepper ends, carrot ends, onion ends, celery tops, even potato peels can all go in this bag. You then just press out the air and stick it back in your freezer. Pretty soon you will have a bag full of great broth starter and you paid nothing extra and were able to use up every bit of the vegetables!
All you have to do is get out a big pot, or a crockpot and put the chicken carcass inside (this can be frozen for later use as well), dump in your vegetable stock bag (this is good for making vegetable broth without the chicken as well), fill it up with water and add your preferred spices either fresh or dried! Simmer the concoction for a few hours and then remove all the chicken and veggies. You then can take the liquid and put it in the fridge overnight so that the fat can solidify on the top like a thick film, then you simply skim it off and you have a nearly fat free broth that doesn’t taste fat free!
By combining cutting up a whole chicken with making homemade broth you use up every bit of the chicken and other parts of vegetables you normally would throw away. Not only is this super healthy and tastes divine, but you save a lot of money for just a little bit of extra work!
TIP! Use ice cube trays to freeze your finished broth; just pop the little frozen cubes into a gallon freezer bag for future use! Two cubes roughly equal about a 1/4 cup, but you should see how many cubes a cup fills to make sure, then jot that info down on the bag.
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Another good thing to do with a whole chicken if you need some shredded chicken meat for whatever meals is to place the whole bird in a crockpot lightly oiled with olive oil. You can sprinkle whatever spices you like and add just a bit of water to the bottom, then cook it on low all day and you can literally pick the meat right off the bones (and throw the bones into your carcass bag for chicken broth). One good sized chicken netted me half a gallon freezer bag (bulging) of shredded chicken which even not on sale cost around $4-5 ($.98/lb), and when chicken is on sale that bag cost me about $2.76-$3.45 ($.65/lb).0
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I do my broth this way! This is the tastiest broth ever! One time I had cut up some jalapenos, so the seeds and cut ends went into the freezer bag. Well, I sort of forgot I had those in there and I couldn't figure out what was giving my broth that little zing that it had! Haha. It was really tasty though and a it's a little different every time depending on the veg scraps. I have even used the carcass from a rotisserie chicken before, which isn't the most economical meat, but hey, at least I got lovely broth out of it too.
I do the ice cube tray trick too, but it is usually when I happen to use a partial can of broth or don't need a whole container of my homemade broth, then I use the ice cube tray trick so I don't waste what is leftover. I do this with tomato paste too, freeze into ice cubes and keep in freezer bag. The cubes of tomato paste or chicken broth are also great when sauteing veggies etc, instead of using extra oil or plain water, I use these for extra flavor without all the fat and cals.
Loving your tips so far!0 -
There are lots of things you can freeze in ice cube trays...should make a post about it. Also, you can get rotisserie taste in your carcass if you spray it a little with a cooking spray, sprinkle some herbs on it and roast it in the oven...I did this and you should have seen the look on my kids faces when they asked what was for dinner and I jokingly told them to look in the oven...:laugh: but seriously, this roasts the carcass with some added flavor and adds just that little bit more to the broth.0
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There are lots of things you can freeze in ice cube trays...should make a post about it. Also, you can get rotisserie taste in your carcass if you spray it a little with a cooking spray, sprinkle some herbs on it and roast it in the oven...I did this and you should have seen the look on my kids faces when they asked what was for dinner and I jokingly told them to look in the oven...:laugh: but seriously, this roasts the carcass with some added flavor and adds just that little bit more to the broth.
OMG, I have to do this to my kids! That is right up my alley, hehe. Thanks for the tip!0 -
Along the whole chicken lines, I read once that to get the best price per pound, you should look for a bird that is at least 5# since the carcasses are all about the same size, this way there is more meat to bone ratio. Not sure if that makes sense, but it is what I read.0
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That does make sense. I have noticed two types of birds in Walmart, the "whole" chicken and the "roasting" chicken. The roasters are usually bigger, but are priced a bit more.0
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You may be thinking that you will have to buy extra vegetables to make this broth, well you don’t! A nifty little trick is to get out a gallon freezer bag and every time you chop up fresh vegetables for other meals, you throw the end bits and throw away pieces in this bag instead. Bell pepper ends, carrot ends, onion ends, celery tops, even potato peels can all go in this bag. You then just press out the air and stick it back in your freezer. Pretty soon you will have a bag full of great broth starter and you paid nothing extra and were able to use up every bit of the vegetables!
This is great! Tasty chicken stock coming up!0
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