The Quest for the Perfect Chicken

[Al_Dente]

OMG... I had the BEST chicken stock the other night at a cooking class. And I can't believe I 'm saying this, because I was raised on chicken soup, made the classic old-world Jewish way, with celery and onion and carrot in the pot. I was literally ASHAMED at how much I enjoyed it.... It was made by Matt McMillin who is coowner of these restaurants in Texas called Big Bowl. Anyway, here goes...

Put equal amounts of fresh chicken bones, including backs, necks etc. and water into a pot with a slice of ginger and bring to a boil.  When it boils, skim the foam from the surface until it disappears, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Turn off the heat and let sit til nearly cool , then strain and refrigerate. For one gallon of stock, add 1 oz. fish sauce, 1 oz. sugar and 1 oz kosher salt.

It was rich and full-bodied, and tasted quintessentially of chicken. No veggies in there. Not even an onion.

It blew me away....

Memo to self. Make this....

[fifi]

Yes... I really want to make this. But I have a LOT of questions...

Equal amount of chicken bones to what?

How big of a slice of ginger to how much chicken bones? And how miuch water? Are we talking a gallon here? Two gallons?

On the fish sauce, sugar and salt... 1 oz. by weight, volume? And this to how much stock?

This sounds wonderful but I don't know where to start.

[Human Bean]

OMG... I had the BEST chicken stock the other night at a cooking class. [recipe omitted --HB]

Sounds pretty much like a basic Asian chicken stock. I might add more ginger; the specified one slice (per gallon ?? - wasn't mentioned) could possibly be increased a bit, since it'll be there the whole time, and shouldn't be prominent. In place of the sugar (ewww, I'm sugar-phobic, especially in stock) you might add about 1/4 of a medium yellow onion (or more) after the skimming is done (per gallon, I'm guessing here) instead of the sugar.

If you're adding one ounce of fish sauce per gallon, the brand of fish sauce is unlikely to make much difference - the main contribution is salt (plus some MSG-like stuff), you don't want to taste the fish.

[jrufusj]

I intend for this thread to address the "why?" not the techniques. Recipes and techniques belong on the other threads. What I want to know is why we (including me) are so fanatical on this subject?

In addition to a number of good reasons mentioned by other people -- perfection found through simplicity being chief among them for me -- I would add one (or two) more.

First, is there any better foundation for a favored spice or herb? Imagine perfect, moist, flavorful (if you start with the right product) meat, highlighted by a bit of crispy, greaseless skin, set off by a judicious amount of one's favorite seasoning. Hard to beat.

In the same vein, what better backdrop is there for enjoying a delicate, well-aged red wine? As much as I love inventive or comlicated food perfectly matched with wine, I cannot imagine any better combination than a perfectly roasted chicken with one of those sublimely nuanced mature burgundies most of us can only afford to drink on rare occasions.

I don't consider turkey to be edible.

I would have to agree with Jinmyo with the notable exception of wild turkey one has bagged and prepared oneself.

However, I do have a foolproof method of preparing commercial turkey.

(1) Purchase turkey.

(2) Prepare according to whatever method one prefers.

(3) Serve turkey breast meat to whatever unsuspecting fools are at hand.

(4) Make turkey and sausage gumbo with the dark meat and carcass.

(5) Hide gumbo from others and feast on it for a week.

Promising that my tongue is not even anywhere near my cheek, as this is my usual Thanksgiving ritual,

Jim

[fifi]

(1) Purchase turkey.

(2) Prepare according to whatever method one prefers.

(3) Serve turkey breast meat to whatever unsuspecting fools are at hand.

(4) Make turkey and sausage gumbo with the dark meat and carcass.

(5) Hide gumbo from others and feast on it for a week.

Promising that my tongue is not even anywhere near my cheek, as this is my usual Thanksgiving ritual,

That is EXACTLY what I do every Thanksgiving! For the last few years, I just skip the roasting altogether. You know that free turkey you get by collecting "turkey bucks"? That sucker is headed for the gumbo pot. I just put it in a big stock pot to cook the meat, remove the big chunks for the gumbo when they are cooked, then slow simmer for a rich broth.

edit to add: For some reason the "quote" button doesn't work on this post???

Edited September 30, 2003 by fifi (log)

[Verjuice]

I avoided eating chicken in restaurants the U.S. for years after I moved here, because I found that its presence in most dishes would have been better stated with something tepid like tofu or textured shoe protein; equally lacking in character and stucture, but more innocuous. Chicken so often does not know what it's doing in a dish, but is there out of the lack of imagination of the diner or chef. It's often stringy, tough, tasteless, dry or gamey. Then, a couple of months ago, I discovered Mark Haskin's hormone and antibiotic free Smart Chicken- oh my! Has anyone else tried this stuff??

A quote from his website:

"During a trip to Europe, Mark Haskins, made a culinary discovery. He found that European chickens tasted more like the farm fresh birds he remembered from his childhood. You see, in Europe chickens are processed by a cold air method. Processors in the United States commonly use a water immersion/absorption method that not only adds water weight but also increases the potential for contamination.

As a man of vision, Mark brought air chilling technology home to the Midwest to create a premium chicken with that farm fresh taste. Now, you can savor what Europeans have been enjoying for years!"

This is a very good thing, indeed.

[foodie52]

Yeah, his recipe was vague. Basically the premise is that you make a very strong broth, to the point that , when it cools, it is very very gelatinous: he described it as rubbery. He doesn't add veggies because he maintains they dilute the flavor of the chicken. I would put a chicken in a pot and cover it with water...big hunk of ginger.

Fish sauce: my favorite is Three Crabs. Don't ever buy fish sauce in a plastic bottle. My sister-in-law is Thai and she's taught me a couple of things like that. For the ounce thing, I'd use a shot glass. The sugar isn't a liquid weight, of course. Maybe a tablespoon?? I don't think it has to be particularly precise. It's just stock!

The chef uses sugar as a "balancer" 'of flavors...a yin and yang thing. And yes, it seems to be a basic Asian chicken stock. The flavor, standing by itself was a revelation to me. You couldn't "divide out" the flavors of the individual ingredients. That's the key to it, I think. It simply created a wonderful, rich stock tasting totally of chicken. It was huge.

[jrufusj]

You know that free turkey you get by collecting "turkey bucks"?

Sorry to be ignorant, but what are "turkey bucks"? I'm imagining some kind of frequent buyer points or something. Then I'm trying to imagine how anyone could stomach enough tourkey to become a frequent buyer.

Uhh...feeling sympathetic effects of a bored palate and constipated colon just from all that imaginary turkey.

Jim

[elyse]

Supermarkets have been giving away free turkeys if you spend $60 - to like $75 in recent years. My mom always gets several. I love turkey.

[bloviatrix]

My f-i-l turns it into a game and tries to get as many turkey's as possible (Shop Rite in NJ offers kosher turkeys). It's gotten so bad, my m-i-l yelled at him to stop. She was embarassed.

[fifi]

My f-i-l turns it into a game and tries to get as many turkey's as possible (Shop Rite in NJ offers kosher turkeys).  It's gotten so bad, my m-i-l yelled at him to stop.  She was embarassed. 

My sister did this to my nephew and me one Thanksgiving. He and I were planning to fry a couple or three turkeys. We ended up doing 12!!! We now threaten her with bodily harm well prior to Thanksgiving.

[claire797]

Has anyone tried the new Smart Chicken?

I've seen it at Central Market, but have hesitated to buy it because it's more expensive. Is it worth it?