But What Do You DO With A Whole Chicken? (Week Three)
Hello, Folks!
First of all, you’ll notice that I’m including two separate PDF’s this week. That’s because the second PDF is not for the faint of heart, the subject being chicken feet! Chicken feet for you, Chicken feet for your kids, Chicken feet for your pets: Yep, they’re ghastly. Open at your own risk…
Thanks go to my friend Jeannie Wood for giving me this week’s main recipe a couple years back…thanks, Jeannie! (No feet required.) I don’t tend to use air fryers much myself; mine isn’t sized for a family of 7. 😊 However, if you choose a chicken that fits the fryer, this is a simple, delicious method, reminiscent of the rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, only much better for you, since you’re using…ahem…Collins Cluckery pasture-raised chicken.
Finally, if you have pets, make sure you check out the tips under Heart and Liver…(and Feet)!
(Click the link here for the recipes mentioned below.)
(This is the second link…not for the faint of heart!)
Air Fryer Roast Chicken: https://www.cookitrealgood.com/air-fryer-whole-chicken/
I’m just sending a link for this one, since it’s not my recipe. Jeannie adds sage to hers, while my family enjoys it with smoked paprika.
Stovetop Stock: This week’s method of stock-making is really just the classic: cover the bones with water and simmer away. I do have a couple tips, though, that will help you end up with a really nice product.
Heart and Liver (…and Feet)!: Keep on collecting hearts and livers in your freezer: we’re just a couple weeks from our final recipe. But here’s another idea… dogs and cats love ‘em!
Heart and liver: Just feed as is, raw or cooked. We have two barn cats, and they love those occasional treats.
Feet: Chicken feet contain collagen, glucosamine, and chondroitin, which are beneficial not only to your joints, but also to your pet’s joints. Eating dehydrated chicken feet cleans pets’ teeth, too. If you have a dehydrator, process them between 125 and 150 degrees F for 1-3 days, until there is no flex in the foot and they are dry and hard and snap when you bend them. Snip the nails off before dehydration, as they will be sharp after they’re dry. Simply store in a dry area.
Bones: This ideas is for the true Waste Not, Want Not folks. If you cook your chicken bones long enough during stock-making, they will soften sufficiently to be easily crushed and given to pets. I supplement our barn cats’ diet in this way.
Chicken Fat: Keep collecting and freezing fatty bits for rendering in a couple weeks. Chicken fat is really nice for cooking.
Finally, a “call to action!” Please let me know if there is anything you wish that I would offer, either a farm product or a service, or anything that I could do differently to help fill a need you have. Cut up chicken instead of whole? Thanksgiving Turkeys? Dehydrated chicken feet for Rover? 😉 I’ll take it into consideration for this year or in the future, as I am able.
Until next week,
Your local chicken lady,
Jennifer Collins
The Collins Cluckery