So I bought a whole chicken. Perhaps an act of culinary hubris. But I had just had a conversation with my vegetarian friend about "responsible meat-consumption" and really buying whole chicken is the only sorta-kinda-maybe affordable option for happy animal meat.
When I got home I mildly regretted it. A little bit because it was slightly more expensive than my usual super cheap bulk-bought chicken thighs and who knows what "free-range" on the package really means, but mostly because I've never actually cooked a whole bird before. So I asked Alton Brown.
Apparently, feeding my family is a gruesome business.
I cut out the poor fowl's spine.
Ripped out her keel bone, and splayed her open.
Then to add insult to injury I loosened the skin and put in a mix of orange zest (because I didn't have lemons), garlic, and cracked pepper.
I then placed the chicken under a red-hot broiler until its skin turned mahogany, flipped her over and roasted her innards (about half-hour total).
The end result was beautiful, juicy, and tasty.... and the breasts were underdone. So I put those in the microwave to finish cooking--just keepin it real.
The leftovers made a rocking addition to salad.
Bottom-line, one, it's a little persnickety and while delicious not fantastically so. Two, it's like four times the amount of meat per person than I'm used to eating--maybe defeating the purpose of happy meat...
But, now I can try my hand at making chicken stock, and it really was much than normal chicken breast which is usually dry and gross (maybe that's just me).
What's the most ambitious meal you've ever served? Most labor-intensive?
And how did it turn out?
Since I hate cooking meat, I hardly ever do it. I have never cooked a whole chicken and never plan on doing so. I can barely handle defrosting frozen chicken breasts.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever cooked anything that was really "ambitious." I've found that the crazier the recipe, the lower the satisfaction. Even if it ends up yummy, I'm too annoyed to enjoy it.
The most exhausting meal I've ever done was breakfast for Peter's first Father's Day (Rachel was in utero). I tried to do too much. I made the works: eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausage, french toast, hash browns and a fruit tray with fruit dip. It was way way too much. I had to cook everything in a single pan, so things were cold before it was all done. Peter ate like two bites before declaring that he didn't ever eat breakfast so it was making him feel queasy. I'm never making an elaborate Father's Day breakfast ever again. Although, I have discovered the "cooking the bacon in the oven" trick. It's magical.