Thursday, April 11, 2013

A Whole ChickenThe Sum Of Its' Parts

Buying an entire chicken is always a home cook's as well as a chef's dream. There's so much to do with it. Of course there is the baked or roasted method. However there's also taking it apart and using the various pieces in more dishes. This strecthes your buy and allows the family to enjoy more of the bird.

Melissa Clark made this obvious in her column A Good Appetite in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. There are many advantages to buying an entire bird than just buying it in pieces.  Cutting it yourself, you can have slice it into eighths or tenths, depending on what you want it for.This helps in creating an all over moist dish  because breasts cook faster than any other part. if they are thicker pieces then they can cook up at the same temperature.

Buying an entire bird also has other benefits. The gizzards, along with the neck and bones can be simmered into a savory stock, perfect for soups and gravies.Saute the liver in rosemary infused olive oil as Ms Clark and her mother did and enjoy a kind of foie gras snack.The body can also be cut up into a tasty curry too as well as she suggests (along with a dry white Riesling or Champagne). However you can also make it into a saffrony risotto or a chicken stew with dumplings.

An  entire chicken lends itself to a variety of different recipes and ideas. Make it anyway you want, utilizing all of it. You cna make one meal out of it or several. That's up to you.

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