Cutting Up a Whole Chicken

I've been buying frozen whole chickens through a CSA from Slagel Family Farm, the Oak Park Farmer's Market, and the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market in an effort to eat more locally and sustainably. They are great birds, humanely raised by local farmers, one of whom uses biodiesel to power the farm's equipment.

They are, however, always sold as whole chickens. While a whole roast chicken can be tasty, a change is sometimes in order. And many recipes call for chicken parts, which are conveniently available at the grocery store in neat plastic-wrapped packages to people who aren't buying locally raised meat.

Faced with yet another whole chicken thawed and waiting in the fridge, and inspired by the previous week's episode of Top Chef, set in Washington DC, I decided it was time to experiment with cutting up, or "butchering" a chicken. I pulled out a big knife and my latest favorite iPhone App, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and found the instructions for cutting up chickens into 8 pieces.

To start with, I made sure the chicken was fully thawed and pulled out the neck and organs that had been tightly packed in the body cavity. This step was not shown in the Top Chef episode.

I cut the wings off the body, following Bittman's advice to leave a little of the breast meat on the wing. On the first wing, I missed the joint and struggled to get the knife all the way through. The second wing was easier--I'd figured out to find the joint and pull to separate it. Feeling confident, I removed the wingtips and put those in a freezer bag with the neck for stock. Next came the thighs, and cutting these off was considerably easier. Once the thighs were off, I looked for the joint between the thigh and the drumstick, cutting through it and pulling to break the connection.

Bittman's instructions said to pull the back out of the chicken, that it should come out easily, and to save the back for stock. I didn't figure out how to get it to come out easily, but I managed to use the knife to cut the backbone off the breast. The back came out in two pieces. I then cut the breast in half "lengthwise" down the center of the body. Because my husband only eats boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I pulled and cut the breast meat off the bones (which I again saved for stock).

My chicken parts weren't pretty, but I had done it.

To cook the chicken, I modified the How To Cook Everything iPhone App's instructions for stewing a whole chicken in a pot. These called for simmering the chicken in a mixture of chicken stock and vegetables and then serving the chicken and cooking liquid in separate courses with biscuits. That sounded great, but I wasn't up for biscuit making after my adventures with a butcher knife, and my kids can't sit still for a meal served in courses.

I browned the chicken parts and used a smaller quantity of stock, evaporated milk, and vegetables to cook my cut-up chicken parts. I swapped the herbs Bittman recommended for fresh rosemary and sage, which are conveniently growing in my back yard, and which I know everyone likes. To save time, I traded the biscuits for rice, which is obviously NOT a local food in Chicago. On the side, I served frozen peas so there'd be a crowd-pleasing green vegetable.

Everyone ate their chicken and rice dinner (the kids with ketchup). Very little was left over--just enough for my lunch.

Chicken Stew

1 chicken, cut into 8 parts (2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, 2 drumsticks)
1 T butter
2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1 quart vegetable or chicken stock
2-3 T. fresh sage, chopped
1 T. fresh rosemary, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
cooked rice, cooked peas and ketchup (optional) for serving

In a Dutch oven, melt the butter and brown the chicken parts. Add the onion, carrots, stock, evaporated milk, sage, and rosemary. Simmer until a meat thermometer inserted in the chicken reads 180 degrees or higher, about 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 200 degrees. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a casserole dish for serving and place them in the oven to keep them warm. Turn up the heat on the cooking liquid and bring it to a full, rolling boil. Reduce the volume of the liquid by one-quarter and adjust the flavors with salt and pepper. Pour this liquid over the chicken parts in the serving dish. To serve, place some chicken, rice, and peas in a bowl and top with liquid. Note: kids may prefer to eat the components of the meal separately, dipped in ketchup.