CHICKEN: A PRIMER

(I wrote this up for a friend of mine, and then had a hard time emailing it for some reason, so I am posting it here-I'm not trying to be the next food network star or anything!) 

Chicken is a staple around here.  Its cheap, its easy and its extremely versatile.  If you can get the hang of it (Easy to do), then the fam will think you’re amazing when in actuality it’s extremely easy and requires so little effort.

BUYING

I buy roasting or frying chickens.  They are way cheaper than buying chicken breasts, thighs or wings.  It’s usually around $6 (maybe less where you live since it’s a bigger area).  I’ve noticed that sometimes the “frying” chickens are a bit cheaper, but there’s no difference as far as I can tell. 

A lot of times these are marked down for quick sale because I think people don’t buy whole chickens very often.  When I see them marked down, I buy a bunch and stick them in the freezer.  De-thawing takes a bit of planning- and this is where I usually mess up.  I’ll plan to make a chicken on Monday and then forget to get it out of the freezer…it takes a day or two to thaw out in the fridge.  

GETTING IT READY

Once its thawed there’s a bunch of different ways to prepare it.  The simplest way is to just stick it in a pot and cook it.  I usually stick it in the oven at like 3:30-4 and its done around 5:30-6.  I like to cook it at 325-350.  You can do higher if you have less time.  You’ll get the hang of seeing how long it takes at various temps the more you do it.

I use a dutch oven- easily one of my favorite kitchen things.  If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend it . They are kind of expensive- but it will last forever.  Plus they come in fun colors to match your personality:  I have a red one!

You could also use a roasting pan like you’d use for thanksgiving.  Whatever works! I saw someone on Pintrest using a bunt cake pan and a glass casserole dish and thought that was clever.

It’s a good idea to put a wire rack in the bottom of the pan/pot so the bottom of your chicken is not greasy and soggy.

SALT IS KEY.  The only thing a chicken really needs is salt.  Salt is a flavor enhancer so if you do nothing else- salt it.  Just rub the salt all over that naked bird.  (Pepper is useful too, but Sully has like super spidey senses with pepper and won’t eat anything with it, so for now I skip it or use it very sparingly so he doesn’t notice.)

***SUPER STEATHLY NINJA JEN MOVE***

Fancy salt is your friend.  At our grocery store (SMITHS) you can buy little containers of fancy salt where you buy bulk olives.  Its cheap and it goes a long way.  When I don’t have time for much else, I use this stuff and Mike thinks I’m some genius of the kitchen

OTHER SIMPLE FLAVOR ENHANCERS

Onions

Garlic

Celery (Celery is a major good chef secret it adds amazing flavor to everything)

Carrots

NOTES ABOUT VEGETABLES

Simple time limited thing to do: Throw them in the pot and cook them with the chicken

Fancier, more time thing to do:  Chop them up, salt them and sauté them in oil or butter before you throw them in the pot.  This just unlocks more of the flavor.

The super luscious awesome thing to do (which is actually ridiculously easy when you get the hang of it): 

BRINE THAT BIRD!!

A bit on brining-  Look up a basic brine recipe.  There are about 10 million variations out there- they are fun to play with but just focus on the simple basic idea of it and you’ll never go back to not brining!

Brining is just a salt bath.  Remember, salt is a flavor enhancer; so soaking the bird in salt water is going to give that bird a TON of flavor (and it will be crazy moist).

You can add other stuff to the brine to add more flavor….celery, onions, carrots, herbs etc.  You can use vegetable scraps too… (more on that later on).  Citrus is also awesome in chicken-orange or lemon slices or peels etc. 

This was last turkey day's brine- a bit fancier than a regular week's chicken brine.  But it was good!

You want your bird to soak in the fridge for at least a day---advance planning, I know BUT if you are defrosting a frozen chicken- guess what??? BRINE THAT BIRD while it thaws… boom!

I have this big container that I use to brine my bird, but a big bowl covered tightly works fine too.

When its done brining-  RINSE it and then dry it off with paper towels.  This will wash off the excess salt.  You won’t need any other seasonings.

OIL/BUTTER/BACON

Chicken dries out so some sort of fat is a good idea to keep it moist while it cooks.  The easiest thing to do is to just drizzle oil over the top of the bird or lay some bacon over it like a blanket.  If you use butter the best thing to do is to put the pats of butter under the bird’s skin.  A half a stick of butter is probably about right? 

Don't be afraid to get close and personal with your bird!

OK- That’s the basic chicken tutorial—but here is why I REALLY love making chicken!!

So I make a chicken, usually early in the week.  We eat chicken for dinner with something simple as a side.  Veggies, salad, whatever. 

I then put the chicken, still in the pot- in the fridge.  Then over the course of the next week we usually have at least one more chicken centric dinner—TACOs, CHICKEN ALFREDO, whatever, the possibilities are endless right?  Sometimes I make chicken salad for sandwiches for lunch… whatever works!

To do this, you’ll have to get your hands dirty.  I basically just get the bird out of the pot and onto a big cutting board, then I cut off all the meat I can, then I use my hands to get all of the bits off the bones….Sounds gross, but its actually pretty therapeutic!

I’m going to tear that bird apart!

THEN… oh yes, there’s more!! I throw the bones and the gross inedible parts of the bird into a big soup pot.  To this, I add vegetable scraps and a little salt (you’ll add more as you go so take it easy on the salt in the beginning) I cover that with water and simmer it on the stove for a while and bam!  You’ve got homemade stock- that will REALLY make people love your cooking!!!  (if I don’t have time that week to make stock,  I just throw everything in a bag and freeze it for later).

You’ll know it’s done by its color and flavor- add salt if you need it, a little at a time!).  I can’t really explain what you’re looking for, but it will smell and look good. The longer you simmer it, the richer the flavor becomes.  When you’re done with it, just strain and discard the vegetables and chicken bones. 

VEGETABLE SCRAPS?? (Remember you can use these in the brine too!)

Vegetable scraps I keep in a bag in the freezer until I need-- Peels, butt ends of carrots, Onions that are getting gross and can’t be used etc…. pretty much anything (except beans and stuff like broccoli- that’s no good for this)

Now, you can use that stock for a ton of stuff—the base for soups, sauces etc.  You can cook pasta or rice in it for massive flavor.  You can also freeze it. I’ve heard of people freezing it in ice cube trays so they can use just a little bit over time.  Really whatever works again!!!

I let it cool in the fridge- a layer of fat with form on the top of it overnight.  I usually scoop that off and throw it out- unless I’m making a rich soup (fat is bad, but its also flavor so sometimes its good to keep some of it)

Chicken is like jazz music—learn the basics and then you’re free to come up with a million variations on the theme!

GOOD LUCK!! Let me know how it turns out!! And if the first one isn’t great, TRY AGAIN!!!!