Chicken: Favorites and Prep

[Smithy]

I applaud @blue_dolphin and other folks who (a) have access to farmers' market chicken and (b) are willing to pay the fair prices.

 

I don't have access to farmers' market chicken, that I know of, but I do love chicken. Imagine my surprise then I spotted this the other day:

 

Whotta price! I bought 2 packages. I've parted them out and frozen them in packages of 2 and 4. I'll try to do them justice.

[rotuts]

@Smithythat's an excellent price for CkTh's

 

Ive tried them , same price 

 

and found , from MarketBasket  there was a lot of fat under the CkTh's

 

of course this id very variable , depending where you shop.

 

Stop&Shop in my area, their store brand , Ive learned is where I go from now on.

 

Sooo  : what are your plans ?

[Smithy]

29 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Sooo  : what are your plans ?

 

Two I've already baked atop a pilaf. Altogether disappointing: edible, but the pesto I threw into the rice mixture wasn't noticeable. More to the point, the chicken skin was flabby! (I've gotten spoiled by the really crisp fried chicken that a couple of our stores do, that are my special treats.) I think that may have been poor temperature management on my part, though. I'm sure I've managed in the past to cook chicken atop an oven pilaf, removing the lid at the appropriate time so the chicken skin gets crisp. 

 

With that in mind, I'll probably grill the next batch after marinating for a while. i haven't done anything about it, but grilled chicken is a wonderful thing and I have plenty of fixings for accompaniments like tzadziki or tabbouli.

 

Beyond that, I dunno. I'll have to start with a general flavor direction (Greek? Italian? Mexican? Egyptian? etc.) and go from there. The possibilities with chicken are immense. And of course I'll have to remember to remove them in time to thaw!

 

What would you suggest?

 

Edited to add: now that I think of it, I'll definitely use some of it for my version of Chicken and Cauliflower Shawarma, in which I cleverly added chicken thighs to the recipe. It's a sheet-pan roasting process that produces good, crisp chicken along with good, spicy/crisp cauliflower and onions.

Edited September 27 by Smithy
Updated the post (log)

[KennethT]

We rarely get farmer's market chicken, primarily because I would rather pluck out my toenails one by one with a rusty pliers than go through my local farmer's market (the most popular one in NYC and packed with slow moseying tourists) on a weekend (when I do my shopping).

 

Also, most of what I make are "boldly flavored" so I think I'd probably lose the nuance of a high quality chicken.

 

But, one attribute that is important to me when picking a "supermarket" chicken is that it's air chilled.  Not only is it theoretically a lot safer (bacteria-wise) since it doesn't get chilled in a river of punctured innards, it also has a lot less absorbed water so it has more concentrated chicken flavor than an equivalent supermarket bird.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What would you suggest?

 

 

Get a GE Profile Indoor Smoker and try smoking them.

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

my local farmer's market (the most popular one in NYC and packed with slow moseying tourists) on a weekend (when I do my shopping).

 

Go earlier.  You don't think that restaurant cooks go when all the tourists are there, do you?

 

Air chilled is good (I buy Bell & Evans if I happen to see a sale in the local supermarket, or BoBo Poultry at Essex Market), but the thing I believe to be most noticeable is the textural difference between a good bird and a battery bird.  (This is where pre-salting for a day or two can really help the not-so-great bird).

 

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

We rarely get farmer's market chicken, primarily because I would rather pluck out my toenails one by one with a rusty pliers than go through my local farmer's market (the most popular one in NYC and packed with slow moseying tourists) on a weekend (when I do my shopping).

 

I feel the same. My favourite and historical market in town has been completely overtaken by post-covid 'tourists' intent on taking their next social media video and buying nothing.

Fortunately, there are many other markets around town, one in particular I frequent.

 

All of them sell great chickens.

 

 

[weinoo]

Don’t mean to bust anyone’s bubble, but Smart Chicken is Tyson Foods.  Possibly not the greatest for quality, but very good for low prices.

[AAQuesada]

I thought this was an interesting video comparing different chicken breeds with the same cooking method. One caveat is that they are based in the UK so the availability of different breeds there is prob different  if you are based in a different country.