Whole Chicken

[budgetmom]

I'm currently making out my grocery list and my local grocery store is having a sale on whole chickens. I have never cooked with one of these before, but have heard that it can save money if you do. I was still a little hesitant about buying it because I was unsure how exactly to cut it up until my DH told me that he knew how (turns out he worked for an iviseration (sp?) plant when he was younger). If I do this I am hoping that I can use the pieces in my regular cooking. I normally pick recipes that have boneless skinless as the ingredient. I would think that it really wouldn't matter that much if I used the meat from a thigh or leg or whatever, would it? Or should I try to stick to recipes that are bone in? Also, on the average how much meat in lbs. do you think could be taken off a 3-4 lb. whole chicken?

[Squantum]

Re: Whole Chicken

budgetmom, it takes a lot longer to cook bone-in chicken than boneless skinless chicken, so your recipes would need to be adapted. Why not give roasting a chicken a try? Just make sure to remove the giblets, which come inside, 1st.

[tinapbeana]

Re: Whole Chicken

when i find whole chicken on sale, i use them to make chicken stock. simmer the whole chicken in a pot of water w/ veggies and seasoning for a couple of hours or over night (you could also crock pot it), pull out the chicken. strain the liquid and let it cool so you can skim off the fat. while the stock is cooling, you can literally pull the chicken meat right off the bone in chunks and shreds (i'm guessing of your chicken weight, about half will be actual usable meat). i freeze the meat to use when i cook later. when the stock is cool you can skim the fat off the top, package it up and freeze it too (the stock that is, not the fat! ). makes great chicken noodle soup, and you've already got the chunks of chicken to go in it!

[budgetmom]

Re: Whole Chicken

Thanks for the replies. I have cooked 2 birds in the crock and 2 in a pot on the stove. I have been using the meat in casseroles and for BBQ chicken sandwiches. I also made a big pot of chiken and dumplings the other night with the help of hillbillyhousewife.com, it was very yummy! I saved the stock from the last bird I cooked. I got quite a bit off of it. I let it cool down sitting on the stove for a bit and them moved the whole pot of stock to the fridge overnight. The next morning I skimmed off the large cake of fat. I noticed that my stock was gelatinous. Is that normal? I was thinking that my fridge might be set too cold, so I went ahead and froze the stock. If it's not supposed to be like this can someone let me know so I don't end up serving bad food to anyone.

[tinapbeana]

Re: Whole Chicken

The next morning I skimmed off the large cake of fat. I noticed that my stock was gelatinous. Is that normal? I was thinking that my fridge might be set too cold, so I went ahead and froze the stock. If it's not supposed to be like this can someone let me know so I don't end up serving bad food to anyone.

yup, normal chicken stock is in fact gelatinous (at least mine always is). weird, huh? when it heats back up it turns into a normal liquid, and if you use it for soups you can thin it a little with water if you don't want your soup to be jelly when it's in the fridge.

[simpleselu]

Re: Whole Chicken

I roast whole chickens. Slather on some butter or coconut oil and then place uncovered in a 500* oven for 30 minutes and then cover and turn the oven down to 350 for the next 30-35 minutes. Crispy skin, moist chicken. I then use the bones to make broth (add in carrots, celery, onion, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup cider vinegar or lemon juice) in the crockpot, simmered for at least 24 hours.

I love my whole chickens!

[HalMd]

Re: Whole Chicken

Thank you for posting this. Just last night on the way home from work I picked up a whole roasted chicken from the store. Just had the taste for it, and figured I could snack on it all weekend. Turns out, the family finished it last night!

I'm going to try your recipe this weekend. (How much water to make the broth?)

Hal

[simpleselu]

Re: Whole Chicken

I use about 3-4 quarts water but I would use more if my crock was bigger.

[allbadgirl]

Re: Whole Chicken

I have just started cooking the whole bird in my crock pot with whatever seasonings you like. NO WATER. They come out just wonderful. THEN...then I take what is left from the meal(carcass and scraps of meat), add some water and cook in the crock pot. Then pick all the meat and remove the bones and skin, then add the fixings for chicken soup!!!!

[budgetmom]

Re: Whole Chicken

Thanks Tina! I was wondering because the first batch I saved (per the instructions from hillbillyhousewife) while making my chicken and dumplings stayed like stock. It didn't gel up. Glad to know that it's still good.

HalMd,
I've just been filling up the pot with enough water to cover the chicken as it cooks. It ends up making lots of stock. I think I ended up with almost 2 qts. last time. I saved it because I have a recipe that calls for 7 cups of chicken broth. I figure that I'll use that instead of paying the money for the cans, and I bet it will taste better, too.

[HalMd]

Re: Whole Chicken

I tried simpleselu's instructions yesterday, and it was a hit! It's very hard to not eat the thing while you're trying to get the bones out. Simply delicious.

I did notice that the fresh whole chickens are not much cheaper than the roasted chickens at the grocery store. If time is an issue, I'll probably pick up a roasted one once in awhile.