How to make to stretch your chicken dollars in the most delicious way possible
Prudent Carnivore:
Chicken, Inside and Out
By Shannon Hayes
Shannon Hayes is the host of grassfedcooking.com and the author of The Farmer and the Grill, The Grassfed Gourmet, and forthcoming Radical Homemakers (April 2010). Hayes holds a Ph.D. in sustainable agriculture and community development from Cornell University and works with her family on Sap Bush Hollow Farm in Upstate New York. The following piece is excerpted from her fourth book, Long Way On a Little: And Earth-Lovers Handbook for Enjoying Meat, Pinching Pennies and Living Deliciously.
Often, one of the first forays customers make into the world of farm-direct meat buying is pastured poultry. From the viewpoint of a farmer, nothing could be simpler (or cheaper) to bring home to the kitchen. During the morning rush at our farmers’ market, I tend to grab the plump birds, bag them up, total the purchase and send my customers happily on their way, scarcely taking the time to even look up. It is only when my husband thoughtfully pokes me in the ribs that I lift my head and notice the occasional truly new customer, whose eyebrows are raised in a state of innocent confusion and trepidation as they take possession of their dinner. If you’ve never purchased a pasture-raised chicken directly from a farmer before, there is definitely some sense of mystery to it. Even veteran farm-direct shoppers can always learn a few things about what they are buying, including how to get the most for their money.
First of all, there is no such thing as a grassfed chicken. Chickens are omnivores, which means that, although they eat a lot of it, they cannot subsist on grass alone; they need some protein in their diet. In the old days, when folks had chickens running around their backyards, they were often raised on household food waste, such as scraps of bread, vegetables, fruit, egg shells and, yes, even meat. Like the backyard pig, chickens were a critical part of a family ecosystem, converting food waste into more food for the future. Today, however, since most people do not keep their little flock behind their house or apartment building, it is up to farmers to produce them for many people. Our household scraps would never suffice. Also, while the chickens see nothing wrong with it, many people frown on the idea of feeding animal by-products, even leftover dinner scraps, to other animals that will be processed for meat. Although a good farmer will keep their chickens out on well-managed pastures rich in insect life, there will not be enough bugs around to satisfy the hunger of an entire flock. That’s where the grain comes in. Pasture-raised broilers require grain supplementation in order to grow well. Thus, we do not call them “grassfed.” Instead, they are referred to as “pastured” (not, as many mistakenly say, “pasteurized,” which is a heating process to sterilize conventionally-produced milk).
Some people refer to these chickens as free-range. While chickens that are raised out on pasture may be properly considered free-range, it is important to note that free-range chickens are not necessarily pastured. My first experience visiting a free-range chicken farm is something I hope never to repeat. The birds were tightly crammed into a barn, with an open door covered over by a fence panel. The place reeked of ammonia from the excrement. Free-range, according to the producer, implied only that they were not in cages and that they had access to open air. It meant nothing about ample room to roam, constant access to fresh air and lush clean pasture, all which are essential elements in responsible pasture-raised chicken production. Thus, before you buy, it is always best to ask if the birds are kept outdoors and how often they are moved to fresh pasture. Better yet, if you get a chance, go see the birds for yourself. The access to green grass and the ability to roam about freely and without stressful crowding will directly impact the flavor of your bird.
The next thing to know about your pastured poultry: It ain’t cheap. Pastured poultry has the lowest price per pound of all the meats we sell on the farm. It is even cheaper than our hamburger. Nonetheless, it is also the most expensive to produce. That is because moving chickens to fresh pasture is far more labor intensive than opening a gate and allowing a herd of sheep or cattle to run to the next field. Chickens require constant access to shelter, so when they are moved, the shelter must also move. They don’t move as a unit like sheep or cows, and many often require individual handling to get them to a new place. Their grain, especially since a lot of corn is being diverted to ethanol production, is very expensive. Processing the birds is also labor intensive. We sell pastured chickens at our farmers’ market for $4.95 per pound, and even then, our return to labor is only minimum wage. Farmers are reluctant to charge more, because culturally, we have grown accustomed to thinking of chicken as “the cheap meat.” In fact, prior to World War II and our nation’s push for cheap grain, as food historians John and Karen Hess point out, chicken was actually expensive. Unscrupulous food purveyors were known to substitute veal in Chicken à la King. Hopefully, there will come a day when farmers can once again charge the real cost for growing chicken. Until then, most of us farmers are afraid that consumers will get so angry with the price that we will lose business. Thus, we keep the price artificially low in efforts to keep our customers.
From the consumers’ perspective, $20 for a four-pound bird still seems like a bundle. But it’s a bargain. Honestly. I promise. The chicken that appears on your table for dinner is only the first meal you will get for that $20. One whole pastured chicken is actually the base for three meals.
For the first meal, roast or grill the bird. I’ve provided a recipe for doing both, below. The breasts alone off a pastured bird are often enough meat for four servings, especially if it is made even richer by serving it up with gravy or a pan sauce, and it is accompanied by other foods. When meat is truly nutrient-dense and full-flavored, we do not need to consume volumes of it in order to sustain ourselves. When you take the chicken out of the oven or off the grill, gently slide your knife down along the breastbone and “wishbone” to remove each breast. Then, slice each breast half just as you would your Thanksgiving turkey, crosswise into several thin strips. Fan the strips out on four different plates, drizzle generously with the gravy, and you will be surprised at how generous the portions truly are. And how flavorful. Of course, if you prefer dark meat, then feast on the legs and thighs, and save the breast meat for your second meal.
For the second meal, pull off all the remaining meat. There will be some morsels still resting on the breast bone, and lots of meat in the thighs and legs. Be sure to pull off any bits along the rib cage, then flip the bird over and run your fingers down the back until you find the two tenderloin pieces, also referred to as the “oysters.” Let none of the meat go to waste. Once you’ve pulled off all this meat, use it for a chicken salad, casserole, chicken à la king, in a cream sauce with crepes, or even in croquettes. The possibilities are endless. Since we are in the height of summer as I write this, I’ve provided an Asian style chicken salad recipe below, which makes use of summer’s vegetable bounty.
For the final feast, now that the bones have been picked clean, it is time to make soup. Some people- tragically, I think- boil a chicken carcass with all the leftover meat on it, then pull the remaining pieces off and add it back into the stock to make chicken soup. Once boiled, those bits of meat have little nutrition left to offer. And they’re pretty chewy and flavorless. Thus, it is best to pull the meat off before you boil the carcass and use it for the second meal, above, or add it back only after the bones have been boiled separately to make the stock.
In order to make chicken stock, place all the picked-clean bones in an 8 quart stock pot. Add in an onion, chopped in half, a carrot or two, broken in half, a few stalks of celery broken in half if you happen to have them, and any other vegetables and herbs sitting around on your counter or in your fridge that you may not get around to using. Most vegetables are fair game – an oversized zucchini that your neighbor ambushed you with that is getting corky, some cabbage stumps, tomatoes, leftover lima beans, broccoli stalks. The only thing I would leave out is lettuce.
All these vegetables aren’t essential, but they add to the flavor and nutritional quality of your stock, and they help you to extract value from foods that might otherwise have gone to waste. Also, if you have any gravy or pan sauce left over from your first dinner, toss that in, too. While you’re at it, if you happen to have a pork chop bone that was also left over from a feast, toss that in, along with any steak bones or leftover lamb bones. Once you add these other meat bones, I suppose what you are cooking is technically no longer “chicken stock,” and we should start calling it just plain ol’ “broth.” Either way, any extra bones you add contribute a lot of flavor and minerals. Put another way, phase three of your chicken project is a great opportunity to clean your fridge and countertops.
Once you’ve added all the bones and vegetables, pour in about a quarter cup of wine (red or white) or vinegar. Set the pot on top of the stove, then fill it with water. Allow the broth to rest for about 30 minutes before turning on the flame to medium-high. This allows the acid from the vinegar or wine to pull the minerals out of the bones and into the stock liquid.
Cover the pot, turn the flame onto medium, and allow the stock to approach a boil. As it does, white foam will accumulate on the surface; skim this off and discard or compost it. Once the broth comes to a boil, turn the flame down very low, leave the lid on, and allow the stock to simmer as long as possible. Twelve hours would be the minimum, but more is better. Twenty-four or thirty-six hours is terrific. Check it periodically to be sure that the liquid covers all the bones. Add more water occasionally if necessary. If you have to go out and you are afraid to leave your burner on, simply turn it off and resume simmering the stock once you are home again later in the day. Alternatively, add the ingredients to a large crock pot, and let the crock pot do all the work.
Once your broth has simmered for enough time, pour it through a colander and strain out all the bones and vegetable remnants. Keep the liquid and discard the rest. Pour the broth back into a pot, put it on the stove, and begin boiling it down until you have no more than 2 quarts remaining. The more you reduce the broth, the more intensified the flavor will be. Once you are down to two quarts, you have an incredibly delicious and healthful soup base, rich in minerals, electrolytes, and proteinaceous gelatin. Pour it into storage containers and keep it in your refrigerator for up to a week, or freezer for up to a year.
When it is soup time, use it in your favorite recipe, or just improvise, perhaps trying this method for vegetable soup:
Pour one or two quarts of stock (depending on how much soup you want) back into a pot. Bring it to a boil. Since we are in the summer months, make use of your garden surplus. Dice up some tomatoes, thinly slice and quarter some zucchini and/or summer squash, mince up some onion and carrot. Add them all to the simmering soup pot. If you like noodles, add some of those, too. I like to add a few tablespoons of pesto if I’ve got some on hand, and/or some pre-cooked cannellini beans. A pot of soup needn’t be made from a stringently-followed recipe. It is best if it accommodates what you have on hand. The flavors will forever change and evolve with the seasons, making the same dish taste new and different each time. Once the vegetables and pasta (if it was added) are sufficiently tender (usually after 15 minutes or so in the simmering soup pot), a light supper is ready. If you’d like to make the soup more rich, grate in some parmesan cheese, or lay some soft creamy brie, port salut, or whatever your locally-produced equivalent might be, on top. Enjoy, knowing you’ve made the most of your chicken!
Parsley Roasted – Or Grilled – Chicken
This is a simple way to prepare your whole chicken, for Meal 1 of a 3-Meal bird. Roasting indoors in the oven is easy, but if weather permits, roasting it outside on the grill will infuse the meat and bones with a light smokiness. This adds a fantastic, uniquely summer flavor dimension to a chicken salad for Meal 2, as well as to the broth that you will make with the bones for Meal 3.
¼ cup melted butter
½ cup fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large clove of garlic
1 chicken, approximately four pounds
Mix together the butter, parsley, salt and pepper. Brush it over the surface of the bird, front and back. Lay the bird, breast-side-up, in a cast iron skillet or another oven or grill-proof roasting pan that will also work on your stovetop. Place the clove of garlic into the bird cavity.
To oven roast: Allow the seasoned bird to come to room temperature, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast roughly 1 ½ hours, until the legs are loose, or until the juices run clear if you make a cut in the joint between the thigh and the main body. A meat thermometer inserted into the thigh should read between 160 and 165 degrees. Remove the bird to a cutting board for carving, taking care to save all juices for use in the gravy.
To grill: Build your fire on one side of the grill. Put the lid down and allow the cooking chamber to come up to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breast-side-up in a cast iron skillet and set it on the cool side of the grate, opposite the flame. Cover the grill and allow the bird to roast 1 ½-2 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 160-165 degrees. Remove the bird to a cutting board for carving, taking care to save any juices for making the gravy.
For the Gravy: Pour any juices from the bird cavity or from the bottom of the pan into a heat-proof jar or measuring cup. Set the pan on the stovetop and the turn the heat up to medium. Place the butter in the pan. Once the butter has melted and then bubbled and foamed, whisk in 2 rounded tablespoons of flour. Continue to stir 1 minute longer, until the flour paste has lightly browned. Slowly pour in all the reserved chicken juices and continue to whisk, taking care to remove any lumps. Bring the gravy to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow it to cook down and thicken, adding extra water until it reaches your preferred consistency and volume. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Asian-Style Chicken Salad
This recipe is taken from my second cookbook, The Farmer and the Grill (available for purchase from grassfedcooking.com). By the way, my young daughters love this dish.
2 cups leftover chicken, diced
2 cups green or red cabbage, coarsely shredded
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup salted peanuts or cashews
Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Toss all the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Pour the vinaigrette on top, then stir well to coat. Serve immediately, or chill 1 hour before eating.
Sesame-Ginger Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons tamari
½ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
½ cup chives or green onions, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine all the above ingredients in a glass bowl. Whisk well until the dressing emulsifies.