“The first rule to remember if you plan on raising chickens for meat is never to name a bird you intend to eat! Either you won’t be able to “do it” when the time comes, or that beautiful roast chicken will sit on the table while you and the kids sit around with tears in your eyes.”
–RICK AND GAIL LUTTMAN IN CHICKENS IN YOUR BACKYARD, 1976
8
Using Your Chicken Meat
How to Store Your Meat
Birds can be frozen whole or cut up into halves or quarters. If you plan on storing them for longer than one or two months, and you don’t have the ability to cryo-vac the meat, freezing them whole will reduce the amount of freezer burn (less surface area within the container). Prior to freezing, be sure that the birds are dry so that no water remains inside the body cavity. Storing the birds in freezer bags works well; double-wrapping in freezer paper will further reduce the potential for freezer burn.
After you have butchered and cleaned your chicken meat, it is important to age it. The texture of a freshly killed chicken will be tougher than if you wait to eat it at least until the next day; the muscle needs to soften and bacteria will actually mellow the meat. The bird should be stored at less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit at all times during aging. The best way to do this is to chill it in ice-cold water (less than 40 degrees) for at least 6 hours (I prefer to chill and soak the birds for 12 to 18 hours).
After aging, the birds should be thoroughly dried. At this point, they can be kept for up to four days in the refrigerator, or frozen and stored for 6 to 12 months (I have eaten chickens that have been in the freezer for up to two years, but the meat loses quality and flavor). Remember that freezing does not kill bacteria, so the birds should be impeccably clean before storing in the freezer. A whole chicken will store longer than a cut-up one (13 months versus 9 months).
FREEZING
Everyone has a favorite storage technique for packaging up chicken for the freezer. Cryo-vac machines do the best job of removing as much air from the package, thereby reducing potential for freezer burn and bacterial growth, but plastic bags designed for freezer storage work fine, providing as much air as possible has been forced out. One disadvantage is that the plastic can easily be punctured if the packages are jostled about in the freezer too much.
Double-wrapping the birds with freezer paper is tedious, but there is less chance of freezer burn or puncture of the package as it is jostled in the freezer. Some home preservers advocate first wrapping the chickens with foil or plastic wrap and then finishing them in freezer paper. If you are planning on selling the chickens, a clear wrap is better than freezer paper; consumers like to see what they’re purchasing.
Cooked chicken can be frozen, but it will only keep for three to six months before it loses quality and flavor. Broth and stock is easily stored in reused containers such as yogurt or cottage cheese tubs. While the quality will degrade within three months, it will store for up to six months in the freezer.
If you are relying on your freezer to store the family’s meat for the year, and you live in an area prone to power outages, you should have a backup plan. Having a generator on hand is probably more economical than searching for a source of dry ice during a raging storm (besides, you can use it to run the incubator you’ve set with eggs to replace the laying hens).
Chickens raised for their meat are part of Sunrise Farm’s operation in Hartford, Vermont.
At the very least, check your freezer at least every two days. There is not much more depressing than opening a freezer full of spoiled meat that you have patiently and carefully raised and stored away. In case you have had a loss of power, don’t panic. A freezer full of food will keep fine for up to two days, provided it is well stocked and you keep the lid closed. Even chicken that has begun to thaw is safe to refreeze, as long as ice crystals remain in the meat. In fact, the USDA maintains that thawed chicken that has been kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder for up to two days can safely be refrozen. Even chicken that has completely thawed for longer can be cooked and refrozen. Any meat with an off flavor or color should be composted.
Thawing your meat for use can be accomplished slowly in the refrigerator the day before, on the counter at a temperature no higher than about 70 degrees in about 10 hours, or in a brine (page 188) or cool water bath in about 2 hours. Of course, you can always use a microwave to thaw the meat within minutes.
If refrigeration is an issue, canning the meat is an option. Unfortunately, meat is a low-acid food and may contain harmful bacteria, which can cause botulism. At 240 degrees Fahrenheit, these bacteria are killed, but only a pressure canner can safely achieve this temperature within the canning jar.
Chicken meat for canning can be prepared by raw- or hotpacking. Deboning at least the breast and thighs before you can them is more practical; it saves space, and the end product is easier to use. For step-by-step canning procedures, Stocking Up (see Recommended Reading) is invaluable.
Although the risk of spoilage is higher, curing and smoking poultry meat is also possible. Home-raised and -processed birds are excellent to use because they are fresher than any that could be bought in the store. Unfortunately, the only safe way to guard against potentially dangerous bacterial contamination of the meat is to use a commercial cure that contains nitrates (see Appendix Four). Washington State Cooperative Extension (see Appendix Three) has an excellent website with information on curing and smoking poultry, and there are numerous other sites with similar recipes and instructions, including those that cure and smoke without using nitrates.
Cutting Up a Whole Chicken
Our farm offers a CSA (community-supported agriculture) arrangement where people purchase “shares” before the growing season begins, paying us to purchase seeds, potting soil, chicks, grain, or what-have-you. In turn, the members receive the farm offerings at a discounted value. As part of the offering, whole organic chickens are included. One member, a neophyte to the CSA idea but interested in doing her part to support local agriculture, was perplexed. Would the chicken still have feathers on it? It suddenly occurred to me that in our world of bagged chicken wings, boneless breasts, and packages of skinless thighs, unless the chicken is to be roasted whole, much of America no longer knows how to deal with a whole chicken (and no, the chicken does not still have its feathers).
The good thing about raising and butchering your own chicken meat is all the leftover goodies. Chicken bones are great to use for making chicken stock, as are necks, gizzards, hearts, and livers, and cutting up the bird is really not difficult. Even the trimmed fat can be rendered and saved for cooking.
To break down a whole chicken, you’ll need sharp poultry shears or a good knife, such as a Santuko, or another sharp, heavy knife. You’ll also need a sturdy cutting board, preferably one designated for meat cutting, some patience, and a little confidence that with practice, you will be able to do this easily.
1. Place the whole chicken on its back, and cut through the skin joining the leg to the body. Bend the leg backward, until you feel the leg joint pop free. Then flip the bird over and, from the midline, slice down, starting at the attached end of the leg and cutting toward the tail, freeing the “oyster” (the small pocket of meat on the back), and through the separated joint to cut off the leg (the cut will look like a backwards “C”). Repeat this process on the other side.
2. Divide the leg into two pieces at the thigh by bending the leg backwards and slicing through the meat and between the joint.
3. Cut the wing from the body in the same manner used to free the legs. Trim the tip off the wing at the first joint (you can reserve this small piece of meat for stock). The wing can also be trimmed in two, as the leg was, to make buffalo-style wings.
4. Free the back from the breast by standing the bird upright and slicing or cutting through the skin from the back to front, close to the ribs. Then bend the back and cut through to where the neck was. Use the back in stock for soup.
5. To split the breast, poultry shears work best, cutting along the midline. A sharp knife can also be used, but first lay the breast skin-side up, and with the palm of your hand press firmly down onto the cutting board until you hear the breast crack (this technique is also used to butterfly poultry). Use the knife to divide the breast in two by slicing through the cartilage as close to the midline as possible.
Submerging poultry in a solution of salt, sugar, and spices for a period of time infuses the meat with exotic flavors and plumps its flesh, making it juicy. It is also an easy way to thaw frozen birds gently, rather than leaving them on the counter or the refrigerator to dry out while they thaw. Remember to reduce the amount of salt used in the final recipe if you brine your bird, or the end product will prove too salty.
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 sprigs fresh sage or 1 tablespoon dried
2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 1 tablespoon dried
¾ cup sugar
3 whole bay leaves
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried
1 gallon warm water plus more to cover bird
YIELD: Makes enough brine for a 4 to 6-pound chicken
In a large, non-reactive pot, dissolve the salt and sugar in the warm water. Add the remaining ingredients, and stir the mixture well. Submerge the chicken, frozen or thawed, in the liquid, cover, and place in the refrigerator or a cool place (less than 40ºF) for 2 to 8 hours.
NOTE: Additional ingredients such as dill, thyme, lemons, juniper berries, allspice, fennel, star anise, and whole cardamom can be added to the brine, or it can be as simple as a salt-and-sugar mixture.
Chicken Stock
The definitions between stocks, broths, and soups are often muddied. Alan Davidson, in his tome The Penguin Companion to Food (2002), distinguishes between the three using these simple guidelines: a stock generally implies liquid in which meat or vegetables have been cooked and will be used to create further dishes. Broths can be consumed as is, or used to create soups, which are generally regarded as finished dishes. Whether I have removed the meat from the chicken’s carcass, or cooked it whole on the grill or in the oven, the remains always wind up in a pot to be made into stock for later use as broths or soups.
Stock from a Cooked, Whole Chicken
6 quarts water
carcass and leftover pieces, such as wings and legs, from roasted or grilled chicken
2 carrots, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into 3-inch chunks
2 shallots, unpeeled
2 large celery stalks, leaves included
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup dry red wine
½ pound kale, mustard greens, spinach, chard, or other leafy greens
1 large (6 to 8-ounce) sweet onion, unpeeled, stuck with 2 whole cloves
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
½ cup fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
YIELD: Makes about 4 cups stock
TIME REQUIRED: 3 hours
Submerge the chicken carcass and remaining ingredients in water and wine. Bring to a simmer, and skim off any foam from cooking surface. Don’t let mixture boil.
After the liquid has reduced by about one-third (about 2 hours), remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve. Stock can be used immediately or frozen for up to three months (it will safely freeze for longer, but the quality of the stock will quickly deteriorate after three months).
NOTE: Other vegetables can be added to make the stock, such as turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, and parsnips. All of these tend to sweeten the stock a bit. Salt has been omitted here, but can be added to taste after the stock is finished.
Stock Using Uncooked Chicken
Here, the chicken can be cooked whole or with the meat removed. A stock using whole old hens or roosters has a much stronger chicken flavor than one made using the uncooked carcass left from deboning the whole bird.
Proceed as for making stock from a cooked chicken. The liquid will need about 1 to 2 additional hours to cook down, and after straining it should cool and be skimmed of excess fat before using or freezing.
Appetizers
Chicken Livers with Ramps, Raisins, and Rhubarb
Ramps or wild leeks are native to the east as far south as Georgia and west to some parts of Illinois. Their blankets of green leaves in rich forested areas are one of the harbingers of spring and a welcome addition to onions and garlic that have been stored for several months in the earth cellar. If ramps are unavailable, substitute leeks, mild onions, or shallots. This recipe is adapted from my friend Scott Woolsey’s, who is manager for Killdeer Farm Stand in Norwich, Vermont.
1 ½ cups rhubarb, chopped
¼ cup honey
¼ cup ramps, roots trimmed, leaves and bulbs chopped
2 cups dry white wine
fresh thyme and sage, minced, about 1 tablespoon total
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces chicken livers, trimmed and cut in half
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
YIELD: Serves 8
TIME REQUIRED: 20 minutes
Toss the chopped rhubarb, raisins, and honey in a bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the ramps and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the chicken livers and sauté for 2 minutes on each side; remove and let cool. Add the wine to the pan and reduce by half.
Add rhubarb mixture to pan and simmer until the rhubarb is soft.
Return the livers to the pan. Add salt, pepper, and herbs and cook for 2 minutes, until livers are cooked through.
Serve on toast garnished with chive or violet flowers.
In the New York Times Cookbook, this appetizer is described as being almost as popular as pizza pie in metropolitan America. While liver in general has fallen out of favor, I encourage you to try your fresh home-grown chicken livers. This dish is a great way to experience them for the first time.
½ pound chicken livers, trimmed
9 slices bacon, cut in half
½ cup tamari
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 can water chestnuts
9 ramps, leaves on, sliced in half (substitute green onions)
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
YIELD: Serves 6
TIME REQUIRED: 30 minutes
Slice the chicken livers into thirds and fold each piece over a water chestnut.
Wrap a strip of bacon and a ramp around the stuffed liver and pin it with a toothpick.
Mix the remaining ingredients and marinate the livers for 1 to 3 hours in the refrigerator, turning occasionally.
Remove the livers from the marinade, and broil in an oven, turning frequently, until the bacon is thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes.
Chicken Sides and Mains
Mean Rooster Stew (Coq au Vin)
I have just completed a frantic telephone call with a French chef at a top restaurant in a Vermont resort town. He can’t procure the necessary ingredients for his signature dish, Coq au Vin. In his native France, it calls for a rooster, preferably two or three years of age complete with its blood, feet, comb, and wattles. Our governing laws in the United States prohibit the sale of many ingredients such as blood and certain animal parts under the premise that such foods carry a higher risk of disease and illness potential if consumed by humans. My own American reaction to this chef’s request is a hardy “Yuck.”
In fact, many European chefs will tell you that they never use a young chicken or stewing hen in this dish, as the flavor turns out bland, and the fat from plump meat birds or hens gives the dish an off flavor. Here’s my own recipe for Coq au Vin, toned down for home cooks, but still a great way to do away with unwanted roosters.
FIRST:
1 chicken, brined, preferably a rooster, then cut up as for frying
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, cut into slices
3 cups red wine such as Burgundy, Beaujolais, or Chianti
1 carrot, diced
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Combine the ingredients in a non-reactive container and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
SECOND:
¼ pound bacon, cut into rectangles ¼ inch across and 1 inch long
½ teaspoon kosher salt (omit salt if the chicken has been brined)
strained marinade
½ tablespoon tomato paste
¼ teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
Remove the chicken from the marinade and set aside. Strain the liquid and reserve; discard the remaining solids.
Dry the chicken pieces and lightly coat with flour. Shake excess flour from the chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Return the bacon to the pan, add the chicken, and brown the pieces on all sides.
Add the marinade to the pan with the chicken and bacon. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook slowly for 45 minutes to an hour, until the chicken is tender and juices run clear when pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish and reduce the liquid in the pan to about half the original volume. Adjust the seasoning, and remove the bay leaves.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the mushrooms and onions.
THIRD:
½ pound mushrooms, sliced in half
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt
12 to 15 small white onions, such as cipollini
pinch of sugar
Heat the butter in a skillet until foamy. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. Set aside.
Add the onions, sugar, and salt to the melted butter. Add enough liquid to just cover the onions, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to simmering. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the onions are tender.
ASSEMBLING THE DISH:
Return the chicken, mushrooms, and onions to the reduced wine sauce and heat thoroughly. Adjust the seasoning one final time, and serve the dish with buttered noodles such as Spaetzle or Egg Noodles (page 176).
Garlic Chicken Soup
This is a transitional soup that uses the last of your winter’s larder intermingled with spring’s first offerings. Be sure and take advantage of fresh offerings, such as stinging nettles, wild ramps, dandelion greens, or tender chive shoots.
1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into pieces, preferably brined
1 cup sliced white or yellow onion
1 ½ cups rice
½ cup chopped parsley
2 cups violet leaves
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 cups water
¼ cup chopped lovage leaves
1 ½ cups sliced carrots
3 cups dandelion leaves, spinach, or Swiss chard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
TIME REQUIRED: 40 minutes
Put the chicken pieces in a soup pot with the water, onion, and lovage and simmer the broth for at least 2 hours, or until the meat is readily picked off the bone.
Debone the meat and chop it coarsely. Strain the stock and return the meat to the broth.
Add the rice and carrots, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more water.
While the soup simmers, wash and coarsely chop the greens and violet leaves. Just before the carrots and rice are tender, add the chopped vegetables, all but 2 tablespoons of parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in bowls garnished with the remaining parsley and grated cheese.
Beer Can Chicken
The first time I ever heard of such a thing, my reaction was, “Why on earth go through the trouble of stuffing a beer can into a chicken?” The answer is simple: First, it’s a great conversation starter at a barbecue; second, it’s a great way to use up the cheap beer that someone left the last time you threw a party; and lastly, the chicken tastes great! The beer acts as an internal steamer, filling the bird’s cavity with fragrant steam, all the while allowing the outside to cook slowly, as it soaks up the smoky tones of the grill.
2 whole 2 to 3-pound chickens (that have been previously brined)
4 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
2 inexpensive cans of beer, such as Miller or Budweiser
¼ cup whole basil leaves
YIELD: Serves 4
TIME REQUIRED: 1 hour
I like using a gas grill instead of a charcoal-fired one. The temperature of the flame is more easily regulated, and you don’t run the danger of running out of heat halfway through if you haven’t used enough charcoal. You can parboil the whole birds for about 20 minutes before placing them on the grill. While the meat will not take on as much flavor, there is less chance that the birds will not be completely cooked.
If the birds have been brined, slather them with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with black pepper. Unbrined birds should also be sprinkled lightly with kosher salt.
Open the beer and pour out about one-third of the can. Take a can opener and make three holes around the top of the lid, so more steam can escape during cooking.
Standing the chicken on end, legs pointing down, seat the can inside the cavity. The bird should be stable enough to stand upright.
Stuff the neck opening with the basil leaves.
Place the birds on the grill. If the lid to the grill does not shut, wrap the edges with aluminum foil to create a tent.
Cook for 40 to 55 minutes, until the chickens take on a golden color and a leg can be easily bent back, away from the beer can.
Broiled Chinese Black Fowl in Dark Soy Sauce
I have already determined that I don’t have the fortitude to do in my cute, fuzzy Silkies, also known as Chinese Black Fowl. However, the roosters can be obnoxious, so if you find yourself with too many, and no one is in need of another pet rooster, here’s an option from my sister in West Virginia.
2 tablespoons canola oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 whole 2 to 2 ½-pound chickens, head and feet discarded, cleaned and rinsed
1-inch-thick piece unpeeled fresh or frozen galangal, smashed
½ cup wolfberries, or ¼ cup finely diced dried apricots
3 cups dark soy sauce
1 star anise pod
2 cinnamon sticks
1 large Spanish onion, diced
¼ cup Chinese bean paste
1-inch-thick piece of unpeeled ginger, cut into 4 pieces
2 Thai bird chiles
¼ cup diced jujubes (also known as hong zao or red dates) or 1/8 cup regular dried brown dates, diced
1 cup cola (like Pepsi or Coke)
2 cardamom pods
1 clove
YIELD: Serves 4
NOTE: Bean paste, chickens, galangal, chiles, wolfberries, jujubes, and dark soy sauce can be bought in Chinese food stores.
Place a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and bean paste, and sauté until the onion is tender.
Add the chickens, ginger, galangal, chiles, wolfberries (or apricots), jujubes or dates, soy sauce, and cola. Stir, and add star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and just enough water to cover the chickens. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove the chickens, cut into serving pieces, and serve with broth ladled over the chicken and steamed rice.
If you want a thicker sauce, remove the chickens. Cook the broth over high heat until it becomes syrupy and glossy, about 20 minutes. If too salty, add a little water. Cut the chickens into serving portions, add to the sauce, heat through, and serve.
Chicken Sausage
For whatever reason, be it health-related or the fact that Americans now eat more chicken than any other type of meat, chicken sausage is all the rage. Supplies for sausage making are easily found on the Web, and grinding and stuffing attachments for your home food processor or blender can be inexpensively purchased. Making sausage out of tough laying hen or rooster meat is an alternative to stock and soup. The following recipe is adapted from Perry and Reavis’s Home Sausage Making (2003). The sausage can be stuffed into casings and pan-fried, or it can be made into patties (you may need to add a beaten egg to bind the meat together into patties). The sausage can be used within three days or frozen for up to two months.
hog or sheep sausage casings (see Appendix Four)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage, ground
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 pounds cubed raw chicken meat with skin, preferably from old laying hens or mean roosters
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, ground
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano, ground
If you are using casings, prepare them for use. Snip off about a 4-foot section and run cold water over it to rinse off the salt that it was packed in. Then hold the opening of the casing under the faucet nozzle (I actually slide it up over the nozzle) and run water through the casing. Soak the casing in a fresh bowl of cold water with a little vinegar added (about 1 tablespoon for each cup of water) and leave it there until it is ready to be used.
To make the sausage, cut up the meat, fat, and skin into 1-inch cubes and put it in the freezer for about 40 minutes to chill. This makes grinding the meat easier.
Measure out all of the seasonings into a separate bowl, and set them aside. If you are using an attachment to your mixer or a food processor, grind the meat first, then mix in the spices by hand afterwards and mix well. If you are using an electric grinder, mix the meat and spices together well, then grind the meat. I usually like to grind the meat coarsely once, then put a finer grinding wheel on as the meat fills the casing.
After the casings are filled, prick the entire length of it with a pin to make air pockets. Then twist the casings off into 2- or 3-inch lengths. Cut the links with a knife and use them immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer. Cook the sausage to an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Jillian Noble, 9, of Dracut, Massachusetts, waits her turn with her Modern Game chicken during the Junior Showmanship Competition at the Northeastern Poultry Congress’s annual Poultry Show at the Eastern States Exposition Center in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Noble has been showing chickens for four years.
