How do I cook a whole chicken?
Would you like to purchase a whole chicken but think, “What on earth will I do with a whole chicken?” For most of us we are accustomed to buying our chicken from the grocery store, already cut up into pieces; breast meat, thighs, legs etc. It can be very overwhelming to deal with a whole bird. I’m going to walk you through how to roast a whole chicken and how to get a few meals out of each chicken. In the next few blog posts I will share our families favorite recipes for chicken.
So you bought your chicken and brought it home, now what are the options?
- Roast the whole bird. This might sound complicated but it really isn’t. You will need a fairly big roasting pan to fit a whole chicken in. That may be something you don’t have on hand. Other than that supplies are fairly basic. I normally insert a lemon or onion in the cavity. It helps with flavor and moisture retention. Then you need your spices and herbs to rub on the outside. Pop it in the oven and let it do it’s thing. It’s really that simple! My Recipe for a Whole Roast Chicken
- Cut into pieces. This is easiest if you purchased your chicken fresh, not frozen. A frozen chicken will need to be thawed completely before cutting it up. This is definitely a learned skill that may take some practice but I’m sure you can learn it :)`I am going to share a short video here to show you how it’s done. I have cut up a fair amount of chickens and still can’t do it in a minute 🙂 so no pressure there. Take your time and it will come. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UyyLRqah3E I always cut my breast off the bone as well but that is just personal preference.
- Make broth or bone broth. Even if you have already roasted your chicken you can use the leftover bones to make broth, so don’t throw them out. What is the difference between broth and bone broth? Simmer your bones for 3 to 4 hrs for regular chicken stock. Simmer for at least 12 hrs for bone broth. The extended simmer releases more of the minerals and collagen from the bones that are so good for you. The easiest way to do this is to throw your carcass in a crockpot, cover with water and let simmer overnight and the next morning you have broth!
- Make soup. Soup is always on the menu with whole chickens around. You have your yummy nutritious broth as well as the small bits of meat from the bones. No matter how careful you are when cutting up your chicken there will be a bit of meat left on the bone. I simmer my carcass for about an hour, pull it out of the water, let it cool a bit, pick the meat off the bones, put it back in the water and let it resume cooking until my broth is done. I’ve discovered that if you wait to pick the meat off until it has cooked for 12 hrs the meat will be very mushy and not very good.
- Casseroles. If you have chosen to roast your chicken whole you will likely have leftover meat. You can get another meal out of your chicken by using up the leftovers in casseroles, soups, chicken salad etc.
When I am using a whole chicken I plan on using it for 3 meals. This will vary considerably depending on how many people you are feeding. We are a family of 8. We have the roast chicken for a meal then we often have enough leftover for use in a casserole. For the third meal I use the carcass to make broth for soup and throw in any leftover chicken. If you are feeding less people you could stretch it quite a bit farther.
If you prefer to cut your chicken up into pieces, I would encourage you to buy the amount of chickens that would fit your family size. One chicken will only give you 2 drumsticks. That means I should order 5 chickens so that I can have the 10 drumsticks my family needs for a meal. It is easiest to cut everything apart before it is frozen. Just place in ziplock bags, make sure as much air is out of it as possible, label and freeze. It should keep well in your freezer for at least 4 to 6 months.
Out of those 5 chickens I could make
- One meal of drumsticks
- One meal of thighs
- 3 or 4 meals out of the breast meat, depending how I used it.
- One meal of wings
- 5 soups from broth and leftover meat
- A casserole or two from leftover meat from the other meals
Hope this helps if you feel unsure how to use a whole chicken. More recipes will be coming! Happy cooking!