Chicken Help Requested!

[thefourthvine]

Dear meat-cooking faction of my friends list,

I would like to make some chicken. I want it to be a mix of white and dark meat, something that I can easily convert into small pieces, and fairly tender (not dry, not very chewy). It does not need much of a sauce, because most of it will go into the freezer for Earthling Chicken Salad. (Chicken pieces + diced fresh tomatoes + olive oil + choice of flavoring.) Ideally, it should keep all the fat it came with.

What do I need to buy? (Keep in mind that I am buying this for Tiny Alice Waters, and thus should probably go for higher-quality chicken, if there is a variation in quality amongst chickens; also, for reasons of personal moral qualms, I am willing to pay more for more humanely-treated chicken, if that exists.) Where should I buy it? What do I need to do? How can I make chicken happen?

Please keep in mind that although I am a good home cook, I have never made meat. I was a vegetarian long before I learned to cook, so meat has always been a total blind spot in my kitchen vision, if that makes sense. If there is a ritual anointing that anyone would know to do? I don't know it. If there's some safe-handling thing that is so insanely obvious that no one ever mentions it? I won't do it unless you tell me to do it. You know those exercises you had to do in school where you had to pretend the teacher was an alien (generally not much of a feat of imagination, there) and explain to her how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Please pretend I am an alien, because I am. I have never visited Planet Meat before. I need a very thorough travel guide.

I have a crockpot, and if a crockpot can produce this kind of food, I would prefer to use it, since mine has three crocks and one can just become the Meat Crock. But if there is an easy, non-crockpot method for producing chicken, I would also enjoy hearing about it. (Please nothing that requires setting fires. I would prefer to emerge from this with all my parts basically intact.)

I would really appreciate your help. (And Tiny Alice Waters would, too.)

<3,
TFV

Comments

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

To agree with everyone, but give it a different name. Mark Bittman, the author of How to Cook Everything (http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/) (which also has a vegetarian version) does this AWESOME recipe called (quite fittingly) Chicken in a Pot (http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/a-light-winter-dish/?pagemode=print) scroll down a bit for the recipe. I just had this for the first time a few months ago and it was utter bliss.

[zillah975]

(I love that book. My sister gave it to me for Christmas one year and it's the reason I can cook at all.)

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

Given your level of non-expertise, I recommend *not* getting a whole chicken. In my considerable experience, they require extra (rather disgusting if you're not used to it) cleaning that you don't want to do.

Do not get boneless-skinless chicken breasts, they're not fatty enough for Earthingly-age humans. Go to whatever local grocery is more upscale. You want to get the pricey, free-range-type chicken, a package of breasts (white meat) and a package of some combo of thighs and/or legs. However, if they have boneless-skinless dark meat (thighs or legs), those pieces will be fatty enough for Earthling nutrition, and probably a good deal cheaper than white meat. There's a lot of fat in thigh meat in particular.

Even free-range-type chicken should be treated like toxic waste. I am not kidding. Cook the chicken within 48 hours MAX of getting it home. Take it out of its package and rinse it in the sink under cold water. Pat it dry with paper towels.

For your purposes, you may well be quite successful just poaching the chicken in the microwave. Put your chicken pieces in a microwave-safe bowl at least twice as large as the chicken, put in water to just cover, add a bay leaf and a sprinkle of thyme. Do not add salt, it will toughen the meat. Cover the bowl. Nuke for 10 minutes on high, poke it to see if it's done, nuke in 3 minute increments until the dark meat is non-pink all the way through. Post a picture to your LJ if in doubt.

When it's cooked, let it cool and then strip the meat off the bones (if any) and chop it into Earthling-bits. I strain the broth and freeze it (and leftover bones) to incorporate into homemade stock, but that's a whole 'nother production and more of a commitment to the carnivorous lifestyle.

This one!

[sunspot67.livejournal.com]

As a parent of toddlers with feeding/growth issues myself, I heartily second this advice and recipe! This will be simple, quick, and should be earthling-friendly. One addition, you may want to not only wash with hot soapy water but also treat surfaces and utensils that come in contact with raw chicken with a 1:10 bleach/water (new slash pairing?) solution (after washing). Overkill perhaps, but it doesn't take long, and why take chances, especially with small people around?

And definitely get the most organic, free range, everything-hinky-free chicken you can buy. It will be better for the earthling, and you won't go through all this then have him not able to tolerate it.

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

Ok: I'm going to suggest cheating.

Do you have a Trader Joes? Or a whole foods? Both sell chicken, cooked in pre packaged containers. Pick the unflavored kind, and dice it up.

Option: Rotisserie chicken. Most grocery stores sell it. It's got all the skin and fat, is often made essentially spice free, and it comes to you cooked! No raw chicken issues.

Let it cool, take it apart- the meat will basically fall right off. Cut meat and skin up. Feed earthling. Peruvian Charcoal chicken is the same general thing, only even tastier.

But for feeding a child? The standard grocery stuff should be fine.

You may also find fully cooked chicken breasts/other parts either in the deli section or frozen- I just got a big bag of frozen grilled teriayki chicken thighs from Trader Joes. There are several kinds that are made organic and almost especially for children- check the local organic type store.

Chicken isn't the easiest thing to cook well. And if it is going to wind up being chopped up for salad? Than it almost doesn't matter how you get it. I would avoid all the issues of raw chicken entirely, and just purchase it previously cooked.

ETA: IF you have to deal with raw? Buy some of the nice single serving packets of the boneless skinless thighs. Fatty enough, flavorfull enough. and least gross.

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

I think she's got the best idea of all! *points up*

Does not lighting fires mean no putting stuff in the oven?

Another easy chicken idea is my best friend in the world, the Roasting Bags. They live around the Saran wrap/plastic containers aisle in my grocery store. Take a whole chicken. Pull out the giblets and neck and anything else not nailed down. Prepare the bag as per directions -- it's got to have that teaspoon of flour or for some reason the bag can burst. I have no idea what the scientific basis is for this. Don't forget to snip a couple v. tiny holes in the top of the bag.

Leave it in the oven as timed according to the Roasting Bag directions. It doesn't hurt anything if it's overcooked 15-20 minutes; it won't get dried out or tough.

Take it out, open the bag, and let it cool enough to touch, then just tear it apart at will. Be prepared for a lot of chicken grease. As in, wear something old for this process. :)

[daydreamer.livejournal.com]

The other day I tried to explain to someone that I wasn't very good at making pasta, and she looked at me like I was insane. But I've never really *liked* pasta, so I didn't learn how to make it. This means I make it even less, so I have to read the box very very carefully each time instead of just boiling some water and throwing in a handful of pasta until it seems done, which I believe was my mom's recipe.

In summary, I don't have any chicken advice beyond what others have said, but I sympathize.

[fools-game.livejournal.com]

I can help with chicken, as I worked in a chicken shop for many years.

Safety first: Raw chicken has a high contamination risk; never have it out of the refrigerator for more that fifteen or twenty minutes, and be sure to cook it thoroughly. And all utensils and chopping boards need to be washed immediately in very hot water and preferably not used for other foods, especially raw food. Always use a sharp knife, because that reduces accidents, and store in sealed containers, NOT over or near any food that will be eaten raw. NEVER defrost and then re-freeze. Cooking and re-freezing is okay.

Breast meat is leaner, drier and less flavoursome; thigh meat is fattier, darker and tastier. Breast is inexplicably more popular, though you should be able to find both as fillets, and if your butcher or poulterer is nice, they will cut or tenderise them on request to reduce the work you have to do at home.

If you are baking the chicken (or crockpotting) it needs to be covered, either by its own skin, or by a marinade or crumb, or by foil, otherwise it gets very, very dry. Bake slowly, but fry quickly, in small batches. Chicken is finished cooking when, if cut with a knife, the juice runs clear. Breast should be quite white, thigh sort of greyish, but there should be no pink.

Hope that is helpful.

[pocketmouse]

To get the most nutrients out of the chicken, as well as flavor, you really want to get boned chicken, as opposed to the pre-cut boneless stuff that most grocery stores have. You just have to weigh that against the ick of having to do the deboning, etc.

Hello, hi, hello; lurker here

[technathene.livejournal.com]

Adding to/reinforcing the first suggestion:

For a lot of the casseroles I make, I simmer a whole chicken in water (just enough to cover it) with a cut up onion, two cut up carrots, and all the celery leaves I've collected and frozen from random celery use--any aromatic vegetable bits can also be used--leeks, scallions, etc. For spices, a bay leaf or two plus some sage is fine, and a little salt, though a bouquet garni would not go amiss, if you have cheesecloth or are obsessively French. Since I do not have a crock-pot, I make it on the stove, but as long as you can get it to simmer, it will work.

Cook it for several hours (2-3) until it's falling off the bone when you prod it with a wooden spoon, or when you attempt to lift the chicken out of the pot it falls apart--this makes it easier to pull apart, more tender, and you can be absolutely sure it is totally cooked. You can also use a cut-up whole chicken (you can buy them both ways). The next part may not be acceptable, since it is not very divorced from the essential act of eating meat: you pull the meat off the bones by hand, which takes some practice to do quickly, but it's clear by touch what is meat and what is fat/other tissue (not slimy vs. slimy). I usually let the pieces cool in a baking pan for 15 minutes or so, so that I don't burn my fingers. I usually tear the meat in strips instead of cutting it, since I find that there's more surface area and ability to absorb/hold sauce that way. Though you could certainly use a knife if you want more distance.

Since the fat renders out of the skin and the meat cooks in it, it should keep a lot of its fat--whatever chicken pieces you decide to use, make sure they are skin-on. If you do it this way, you have also magically made fantastic, fatty, delicious and salt-controlled broth, which can be canned, frozen or used immediately. For particularly good broth, use bone-in chicken and throw all the non-meat bits back in the broth and simmer them for another several hours--this gets all the good stuff out of the bones, though some sources want you to do arcane things with baking the bones first. The carrots are usually delicious, but the celery bits and onions are typically a lost cause. I usually take the broth and freeze it or use it immediately in the casserole-of-the-hour's sauce.

If you do use a whole chicken, make sure you take out the gizzard bag from the empty cavity before cooking it. Whole Foods (or any grocery store in a fancy part of town, really, but Whole Foods does their research better, I've heard) will have organic chickens, and possibly organic, free range, bug-and-grass seed fed chickens. If you were in Atlanta, I could give you one of mine from the backyard, but Whole Foods will do, I think.

[concinnity.livejournal.com]

Most of my farmer's markets sell dead animal bits, although they are somewhat hidden behind all the delicious fruits and vegetables. Based on what you've said, I bet yours does, too. Those dead animals have probably been more humanely raised and slaughtered than the ones at the supermarket, which in my experience means they taste better, too.

You can ask the farmer about whether and how often they move the chicken pens around (ideally, you want a pastured and free-roaming chicken. Depending on where your chickens lived, they have enormous acreage, or enormous acreage upon which they are shuttled from location to location), if they're organic or transitioning or whatever. Oh, and your farmer can probably tell you what parts are better for what you want.

Alternatively, you could also check www.eatwild.com to see if there is a farmer near you, or a farmer that ships to your location. As I understand it, many of the farmers will send you meat on dry ice or something. Anyway, apparently it is still delicious when it reaches you.

The only thing I know about cooking chicken is that they are tastier with butter and/or olive oil.

I'm impressed/shocked that you're doing this! Good luck!

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

I want to second this, as as I have commented earlier I can at some times approach Earthling-level gastronomic pickiness. I promise you that low-grade commercial chicken will taste different - it's spongier, paler, much less developed, and much less chickeny. The difference is about the same as uninspired 24-hour-diner scrambled eggs versus good farmer's market eggs.

Now, I have not cooked many chickens independently, but I have been an accessory to a lot of chicken-cooking, and I vote with everyone who says to remove the giblets, add oil & spices or broth, and roast or crock-pot the entire chicken to the point of food safety and then pick the meat off. I am not a huge fan of dismembering whole raw chickens, partially from a sanitation standpoint (the mess incurred is far less if you cook it first because the raw chicken touches fewer things) and partially because raw chicken meat is gelatinous and tough and unpleasant, while cooked chicken meat handles like food. The only reasons I can think of to dismember the raw chicken is if you want to sautee or fry pieces separately, and it doesn't seem like you do - you just want a whole mass of cooked chicken to do things with.

Oh, in response to your question on the last thread - I was going to recommend the Polentia Provencale from TJ's, but I just got a bag that had really substandard peas, I think they're going through some troubles with their pea suppliers. But the polenta chunks, pea-less, might still work - they're effing delicious. And the whole thing's in heavy creme fraiche, so yay full-fat.

[stasia]

I like to use boneless thigh meat, because it's flavorful, easy and moist. One thing I will do is chop the thighs into chunks before I cook them, but I'll pan fry or saute them and I'm not sure that will be what Mini-Alice-Waters wants. Thigh meat is the fattiest of the chicken bits, so I think it's a good place to start.

Why are you interested in including white meat? I'm curious - I'm not aware of any difference in the nutritional content of the meat...

I'd avoid the rotisserie chicken; while it's easy, tasty and delicious for non-Alice-Waters, it tends to be salty and I'm assuming sodium is something for the Earthling to pay attention to. Or, well, for the Earthling's adults to pay attention to.

(However, now that I'm thinking about rotisserie chicken, I'm hungry and wish I'd thought of that for MY dinner. Mmmmm...)

Mostly I wanted to say that the Earthling is lucky to have you two as parents; it's so wonderful to see him thriving and happy.

Stasia

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

I read this as "Deer meat-cooking faction of my friends list," and wondered if you'd, like, gone through all the other meats trying to find one the Earthling will eat. Of COURSE he only likes the grass-fed creature you shot yourself.

And then you started talking about chicken? Maybe I am just too tired for lj.

[droolfangrrl.livejournal.com]

Whole chicken roasted

http://www.ehow.com/how_6603_roast-chicken.html

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Roasting-Chicken/Detail.aspx (this one has instructions on how to brine the chicken first)

[villeinage.livejournal.com]

Yay for so many good recipes!

BUT, I caution you, for your Tiny Alice Waters purposes: freezing and thawing the cooked meat for chicken salads results in *ahem* foul-tasting stuff.

[kudra2324.livejournal.com]

safety tip: use a plastic cutting board, not a wooden one, for the chicken. plastic is much safer for chopping any raw meat on, as the juice of the meat doesn't sink into it as it does with wood.

personally, i'd avoid rotisserie chicken, as i've always found it to have a "store-prepared" taste that i cannot precisely articulate but that i cannot imagine tiny alice waters liking.

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

For a good mix of dark and white meat, lots of flavour, and delicious fatty bits, you need thigh meat. It bakes in the oven nicely, fries up well when cut into chunks, and is absolutely tender if you slow cook it. If you want to pair it with tomato and olive oil, I recommend frying it in olive oil with salt, garlic and rosemary. Do make sure to remove any tendons, though.

[rike-tikki-tavi.livejournal.com]

Here, have two recipes for juicy, tender chicken. Poached chicken breast (http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/the-easiest-always-moist-poached-chicken) and whole poached chicken (http://www.justhungry.com/2006/07/weekend_project_1.html).

I've only done the whole chicken, which sounds more like what you are looking for anyway, but it's incredibly tasty and pretty easy and so far I haven't had a recipe of hers, that I didn't like.

[ladyblahblah.livejournal.com]

I've recently become addicted to yogurt-marinated chicken. It's super-easy (just requires a bit of planning ahead) and incredibly yummy. The marinade keeps it from drying out and adds really nice flavor.

I use a modified version of this recipe (http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/summer/r/yogchicken.htm). For Earthling-friendly cooking you'll want to make it full-fat yogurt, obviously, and I second the idea above re: buying skin-on chicken instead of skinless. (If you do have a butcher or a friendly meat counter at a Whole Foods/whatnot, they'll usually be able to fillet it for you so that you don't have to worry about chicken bones and a tender Earthling esophagus.) I'm not the biggest fan of cilantro or cumin, so I use paprika and dry mustard instead. The genius of this recipe is really its adaptability--you can use it as a base and just tinker with the seasonings until you find what you like best. ^_^

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

my mom gets organic/non-hormone chicken from the local Henry's. So I'm sure any good sized health market near you would have good fresh chicken you can pick up. Also, a large one that has a hot food section might even have cooked chicken, saving you the hassle. Our local Wholefoods does.

I prefer boneless breasts and cook them with olive oil and some spices in the oven. Someone above also mentioned this method. It's easy, and doesn't really require much prep.

I've had others do crockpot chicken thighs and legs, and they come out good. Though this method will require more handling as you'll need to pull the meat apart after it's cooked from the skin and bones. Will this bother you? If it does, go for boneless thighs or breasts.

[delurker.livejournal.com]

I'm still learning how to cook meat as well, so no advice on the actual cooking side of things, but I will say:

- You can buy free-range chickens, although not reliably. I would extend the effort, though, because a) they have a better quality of life, and b) they tend to have higher levels of omega-3, which will be good for the earthling's brain. I haven't noticed much of a taste difference but some people have claimed it has a stronger taste than non-free range chicken.

- I would definitely go to a butcher's rather than the supermarket. Not only are butchers meat specialists, but they can sell you smaller portions than you can usually buy in supermarkets, so you could buy a mix of chicken parts.

- Chicken safety: it's important! But don't get stressed out by all these comments and conclude that chicken is like a semi-poisonous food just waiting to kill you. A little care is all that's needed.

Chicken care advice for aliens:
- Remember to keep your chicken separate from other foods and wash all utensils/containers/boards in hot soapy water before using them again and you'll be fine. Common mistake: cutting chicken and then cutting tomato using the unwashed knife on the unwashed board. Not the best idea! Also don't cut up the cooked chicken with the same unwashed knife you used to cut the raw chicken with.
- You should also keep in mind that you shouldn't keep chicken in the fridge too long (1-2 days only).
- This is why freezing is awesome! But remember that you can't refreeze. Once it is defrosted it's time to cook it.
- When defrosting chicken do it either in the fridge (on a plate so it doesn't drip on other food--can be a good idea to put it on a lower shelf if you're particularly worried) or defrost in the microwave. (Defrosting in the fridge will take a day or so.)

- Chicken is a great meat! Versatile, absorbs other tasty flavours well, easy to eat. Good luck!

ETA: also I would totally go for a boneless piece of meat. Ask for one you can just cut up as it's so much easier that way if it's the first time you've cooked it. Also chicken changes colour when cooked, from pink to white.

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

Word of caution re microwave defrosting - this can be a bit finicky, as if you do it too quickly the outside of the chicken starts to cook. (Tiny Alice Waters will not like microwave cooked chicken, although you can cook it that way. I do not recommend it.) Fridge defrosting is easier, but microwave is fine if you keep and eye on it and don't do it too fast.

You can also defrost it by leaving it under *running* (not still) water in your sink (*cool* water, not hot!) but that is very water wasteful. It is faster than the fridge and easier (but not faster) than the microwave.

Mum suggests you look for tenderloin (not sure if it's called that in the US) which is offcut from chicken breast and is tasty and fatty. If the Earthling likes stir fries, you can add it separately to his before you serve it.

You can leave raw chicken in the freezer for around 3 months. I think fresh cooked chicken tastes better than cooked, frozen then defrosted chicken, but see how you go.

Re the hygiene - chicken can be dangerous, but I have done some hygienically questionable things and been ok, so while I advocate care you probably have some wriggle room. (Of course, food poisoning is unpleasant, potentially dangerous and best avoided; I'm just saying that cooking chicken is not as dangerous as bomb disposal, for example.)

Chicken comes in three different rearing types: standard (unlabled) chicken, barn raised, and free range (or free range organic).
I think you will want to avoid standard chickens; they are grown in very small cages and it is unpleasant. Barn raised chickens have room to move around but are kept permanently indoors. Free range chickens can wander outside.

[rosaleendhu.livejournal.com]

If you're using the slow cooker, you can just dump a whole chicken right in.

Being a non-skilled, rather clueless chef at times, I have dumped a whole, frozen chicken straight in to the slow cooker. I added about two cups of water just to make sure it didn't burn. An hour or so later, I went back with tongs to get the giblets out of the middle. (You really should do that first, but the chicken didn't suffer for my fail.) I think it cooked a total of 8 hours, at which point it was falling apart for me.

Personally, I like adding some onion and garlic into the water for extra flavor, as well as a little salt and pepper, but that's all optional. If the Earthling approves of these flavors, I do recommend them. If not, hey, it's his tastebuds.

All the safety stuff is well covered by other people. If you are planning to wash your crockpot with soap and hot water after cooking, there's no hygenic reason to make one meat only. I think if you keep proper kosher, it's a concern? I dunno.

Also, I seem to recall a very orthodox friend mentioning something about humane slaughter for keeping kosher? You might want to see if there's a Jewish market/butcher in your area, but I don't know enough to say that's definitely a way to go.

[penknife.livejournal.com]

If you buy a whole chicken cut up (it will say on the package, whole chicken, cut up), you can just rinse the pieces off, stack them in the slow cooker, add about half a cup of water or broth, and let it cook on low until the chicken tears easily with a fork and isn't pink at all (white meat should be white, dark meat should be brown). Let it cool, chop it up. Or poach the chicken, as people have suggested. You can throw in onion, a bay leaf, some sage, salt and pepper.

I will also tell you how to roast a chicken, which is slightly more complicated but is tasty and smells amazing while it's cooking:

Buy a whole chicken. Take the giblet bag out (and, probably, throw it away, since I don't think you have a use for chicken organs.) Rinse the chicken off, pat it dry inside and out with paper towels (or a clean dishtowel that you won't use for anything else until it's washed), and put it in a roasting pan -- any metal or glass pan should work, as long as it has sides and the chicken fits without hanging over the sides.

Tuck the wing tips under the chicken, to keep them from burning. Tie the ends of the legs together with string or cotton thread. That's optional, but it will help keep the chicken juicy. Rub the chicken all over with olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When it's ready, put the pan with the chicken in the oven. Immediately turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Let it cook for an hour to an hour and a half.

Optional, but good for crisping the skin and keeping the chicken juicy: every twenty minutes or so take a basting brush (cheap if you don't have one, they look like little paintbrushes, such as you would paint your house with), dip it in the oil/fat that collects at the bottom of the roasting pan, and "paint" that over the surface of the chicken, especially over the breast. Be careful not to burn yourself or drip chicken fat on the bottom of the oven, where it will smoke -- you may want to take the pan out of the oven to do this.

When the chicken is done, the legs should move easily and the juices should run clear if you stab it in the thigh, or use a meat thermometer. Take it out, let it cool in the pan, and when it's cool enough to handle, cut or tear the chicken off the bone.

The juices in the pan will congeal as they cool -- this is not a sign that something has gone horribly wrong, it's just the natural gelatin that's been released as the chicken cooks starting to set. This is also true of home-made chicken broth; if you make broth by simmering bone-in chicken and then stick the broth in the refrigerator, the next day you may have something that looks like jelly rather than a liquid. That is fine! It will turn back into a liquid if you reheat it.

[emma-in-oz.livejournal.com]

Vital to refridgerate chicken at all times. Maybe not so vital since you are in mid-winter but it is mid-summer here.

[joyce.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend the crock pot; in my experience - and I've cooked a lot of chicken - it is the easiest way to cook general purpose chicken. You don't even need any liquid - just dump either a whole chicken (if you want breast meat) or thighs (fewer bones to deal with, more dark meat, cheaper) into the crockpot, turn the sucker on high (if you're doing this of an evening) and leave it. How long it takes is going to depend on the amount, form factor, and thawness level of the chicken. Thawed thighs on high can take under an hour; an unthawed whole chicken can take up to five on high. You'll get tasty chicken that makes excellent chicken salad (and tacos and such, if Tiny Alice Waters would tolerate branching out, which I know is an issue).

But, you say, with such a range of times, how will I know it's done? It will take a little trial and error - every crock runs a little different - but I will second the comment to get a meat thermometer. It'll run you very little, comparatively, at Target, and it's so nice to be able to stab the chicken and make sure it's at temp, as opposed to "Well, the juices are running clear" or "I think it looks done..."

Finally, I will also second (are we up to thirds?) the farmer's market suggestion. Odds are, you have a farmer's market around you that sells meat (maybe the one you already go to.) Ask around, talk to the folks about how their animals are treated, ask the people you buy your vegetables from who THEY buy their meat from. We don't buy meat anywhere but our farmer's market now (except for the occasional frozen pizza cheat or Jeff's lunchmeat incidents) and it's the best meat I've ever eaten. For someone who is on the fence ethically about meat consumption, it's important to me to know the folks who raise my meat.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

I am sure a million people have said this already, but chicken in a crock pot produces THE MOST MOIST AND AWESOME chicken ever. I recommend chicken on the bone for that - it ends up FALLING OFF THE BONE, and it's INCREDIBLY yummy. The best recipes I use are either:

- a small whole chicken (though you have to yank out the bag of guts, and as a vegetarian, you may not want to do that. It makes ME gag, and I'm a meat person). IF YOU GET PAST THE GUTS: you put the WHOLE CHICKEN in the crockpot, rub it with salt and pepper, cut up a lemon into circles, put it all over the chicken, and let it cook for 6 - 8 hours. TREMENDOUS.

- chicken legs or thighs. throw them in the crockpot. cut up onions into tiny pieces and dump those in. cut up a LOT OF GARLIC and throw that in. salt, pepper. TOMATOES. (we use canned ones, which I KNOW WILL NOT FLY with the earthling. I - have no experience with crockpot cooking with fresh tomatoes. Try it?) Cook for 6 hours. serve over brown rice. SO FUCKING GOOD AND SIMPLE OMG.

[emgeetrek.livejournal.com]

I think thigh meat is the best for an inexperienced meat cook to use, because if you err on the side of caution and cook it a little too long, it will still be tender and tasty and not dry; whereas overcooked breast meat is stiff as a board and dry as dust. (And this is true even of poached chicken; I've never understood how a piece of meat completely covered in liquid could get so dry.)

I would look for a sale on boneless thighs (even the high-priced, organic stuff is on special sometimes), stock up, and freeze (raw) in appropriately-sized packages. Whoever said that freezing doesn't do cooked chicken any favors was right. It tastes strange AND the texture changes. The only way I've been pleased with the results is when freezing chicken in a stew or sauce, which seems to protect the meat.

Current recommendations are NOT to wash chicken before cooking, because it tends to spread bacteria around, but if you buy a whole chicken there is some inevitable poking and pulling and rinsing of the cavity that has to take place. This is another argument in favor of thighs, which (especially if they've come from a higher-end market or butcher) come out of the package clean and ready to go.

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

Terribly weird question here, but does the chicken have to happen at all? Does the Earthling have a condition that needs to be remedied with chicken? My boss is vegetarian and has kids at 4,6 and 13 - none of whom have ever eaten meat. I don't know the story of your vegetarianism or your partner's food preferences, but if you have a strong ethical objection to meat, people have successfully raised smart, happy, healthy vegetarian kids.

As to the chicken itself - I'd buy bits with the bones in and the skin on, and roast them covered in foil in a medium oven and then shred the cooled bits afterwards. Baked or roasted will keep the flavour the best, but the meat won't be as soft as if it were poached.

Partially raw chicken, apart from being a bit of a health hazard, is revolting and slimy and feels horrible in the mouth. Tiny Alice Waters will definitely notice. It it's pink or red anywhere, it's not finished cooking yet.

I usually cut up chicken (or any other raw meat) as the last job before the cutting board and knife go into the sink. This saves me from having to wash the board halfway through. One of my sporting groups has different utensils, boards and BBQs for vegetarian and carnivorous foods, though that may be overkill in a home kitchen. Certainly you cannot (must not) cut up cooked meat on a board that you have used for raw meat. A serious wash or a new board is required in between times.

If you've been handling raw chicken, you will want to wash your hands before you touch anything else anyway - your hands will be revolting and slimy.