Comments on: Be Pennywise, Use a Whole Chicken

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:31:30 +0000

If you let the juice cool and it “gels”, you can be guaranteed that there’s gelatin in it – very healthy! (See my post on health benefits on bone broth here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/26/food-for-thought-health-and-nutrition-of-traditional-homemade-chicken-brothstock/. Mine usually does, so there are certainly nutrients in there. I don’t know if you’d sub it for stock, but you could add it with stock. The flavor from the veggies would be missing and a soup, for example, might taste a little bland. I would definitely save the juices and add them to the broth or use them as a base for gravy or cream-of soups. See the comments at the stock/broth post for lots of ideas to use the “leftovers” from chicken carcasses: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/30/monday-mission-how-to-make-your-own-homemade-chicken-stockbroth/

Hope that helps!! Katie

By: Sarah W

Sarah W — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:13:30 +0000

Do you know if the juice from the cooked meat actually has much nutrients in it? Or is it mostly meat-flavored water? Can the juice separated from the fat be used as a substitute for stock then?

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:16:06 +0000

That’s what I did with the fat from the top of my beef broth — putting it in the fridge and not knowing what to do with it. I found out later that I could do french fries in it – it’s called tallow – and they were awesome! I don’t know if you can do fries in chicken fat, but you could certainly use it as the base fat for a cream-of soup or a sub for cream-of-chicken soup in a can (for a casserole or something). Tammy’s Recipes has a tasty recipe for cream-of-chicken soup base that I used in a turkey pot pie (http://tammysrecipes.com/homemade_cream_chicken_soup) – delish. Last time I roasted a chicken (also with Tammy’s recipe http://tammysrecipes.com/oven_roasted_chicken!), the juices had enough moisture that what was at the bottom of my covered casserole dish actually congealed. There was so much gelatin, I did a happy dance! I just doled it out into my jars with my stock to add gelatin. Fabulous.

I pretty much throw everything in the stock pot – skins, organs, drippings (unless I use it for gravy or cream-of soup). I figure at least the nutrients get cooked out of them and into the broth, even if I end up throwing something away. I tend to smash the organs between my fingers into mush and mix it in with my shredded chicken, which I freeze in 2 c. portions for recipes. (Don’t tell the husband!) However – it’s not recommended to use organ meat of factory-farmed animals like you’d normally find in the grocery store, so use your discretion unless you have an organic chicken there.

Most of the skin ends up thrown away, because I’m not quite brave enough to just cut that up into the chicken, too. Passionate Homemaking has a recipe for “cracklin’s”, (which I think she accidentally called “chitlins” if you do a search), which is basically just frying up the skins until they’re crispy and then eating them like chips!

As far as grease all over everything, I try to use as few dishes as possible, so I would pick the chicken right in the roasting dish/pan, if possible, so I don’t have too many tools/plates covered in grease. Soaking the roasting pan in hot water with baking soda helps to loosen the grime.

I hope I covered everything! Thank you for the questions, actually, you just added a wealth of information to this post from which others can benefit! Katie

By: Sarah W

Sarah W — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:59:49 +0000

So I roasted a couple chickens today, stripped the carcasses and put them in a pot for stock… (I’ve made it several times now.) I have a few questions for you though… what do you do with the organs that come packed inside the chicken? Do you use/save them in other recipes or just throw them in the stock? (I definitely put the necks in there, wouldn’t know what else to do with them.) Do you also put the skin and fatty bits in the stock pot (if it’s not getting eaten, of course) Do you do anything special with the juices and fat drippings in the roasting pan, other than gravy? (I still have left over gravy from the last two times I made chicken.) Also, how do you handle the residual grease on the cutting board, in the pan etc? I am trying to be a good steward – not put fat in the drain, not waste too much paper and plastic etc… but wondered if you had any ideas that were more clever than mine! I used some PT to wipe off the excess residual fat (so paper in the garbage ), and then soaked the roasting pan and cutting board in hot soapy water. I poured the juices and fat into a jar and put them in the fridge, but not sure what to do with them now!

TIA!

By: Cara

Cara — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:51:58 +0000

I just posted about this too. I've been doing it for over a month now, once a week, and it's just become part of the week. I was telling hubby last how much money we would have spent on organic chicken sandwich meat and organic chicken stock, and that a little work and a whole chicken is so much more economical! Cara’s last blog post..My crockpot chicken

By: lo

lo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:57:35 +0000

Amen to that! I love it when I can get multiple meals out of one bird (or other piece of meat). And if I can't use up my homemade stock right away, it goes right in the freezer where I can keep it until another day. lo’s last blog post..Semi-Homemade Wisconsin Beer Ketchup

By: Pennywise Platter Thursday 7/8

Pennywise Platter Thursday 7/8 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:40:32 +0000

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