THE BLUE VERVAIN KITCHEN
8. STRETCH A CHICKEN
Carol Ann and I love chicken but we’ve learned how to enjoy it on a regular basis as an accompaniment, rather than the centerpiece of a meal. A morsel instead of a slab. A delectable bite or two. It’s better for us, costs less and is way more fun.
Our friendly gut bacteria apparently prefer not having to work so hard by having to digest excessive protein. I invest the extra time to make small servings more interesting and satiating.
I’m stretching this chicken into six servings and making a gallon of stock on the side (chicken stock fundamentals essay 8). Half of the stock will be the foundation of my quick chicken soup (essay 13) and a quart will be used in the cannellini basics (essay 12). The last quart will be used in some fashion during the week or will go into the freezer.
While we thoroughly enjoy our tasty morsels, occasionally we load up the grill with thighs and legs and with a few friends satisfy the gorging imperative several times during the summer. It scratches the itch very nicely.
The two of us get six great chicken meals for about $0.42 each. It’s delicious, inexpensive and causes little wear and tear on our digestive systems which at ANY age is a good thing but more so for us septuagenarians.
Note: Organically and naturally raised birds without corn or soy products are absolutely worth searching for. Please consider avoiding all factory farmed protein. It’s the right thing to do.
This exercise is less of a how to do it and more of a clarion call to learn, if you’re new at this. Rather than paying for factory processing to cut and package your chicken, you really should do it yourself. Three or four minutes is about all it takes to dismember one of these birds and after a few sessions you’ll be there. It’s easy. I’m sure there are good lessons on line as well.
Clean, rinse and dry. Note: Had I been thinking about it, I would have separated this bird from its skin (15 seconds) which would reveal the cut lines for the breasts, wings, thighs, legs and backbone. It’s really the first thing to do while you become familiar with the chicken’s structure.
Bowl on the right is for the carcass (stock) stuff. Bowl on the left for the bird parts.
Investing in professional quality poultry shears is a great idea. It’s difficult to do this work without them. Snip, snip, snip and it’s in half. Less than 10 seconds.
I would guess that a lot of folks think they haven’t got the time to mess with this. Believe me, it’s ultra simple, quick, saves money and most importantly provides opportunities and choices for the cooker.
You may wish to remind yourself that kitchen time is about making the most of everything. When you buy chicken parts you are paying for the stock making carcass – you’re just not bringing this great food source home from the store with you. That’s a hell of a good deal for the chicken cutter – not such a great deal for the cooker.
Should look kinda like this…
Regarding knives: One rule. Sharp! Learn how to sharpen your knives. Dull knives are dangerous. You should not work with them. Any notion that great food can come from dull knives is absurd and wrongheaded and lazy.
Leg is ready to come off.
One half of the bird. Leg and wing plus breast.
Here is the wing coming off of the second breast.
This is the backbone being separated from the breast meat.
Backbone.
Removing the thigh from the drumstick.
I like to remove the ankle bone.
De-boning the legs and thighs. A very sharp knife is imperative for this process. The knife needs to slip between the meat and the bone. Slide the knife along the bone in one direction away from your grip as you turn the bone in your fingers.
Note about de-boning: To de-bone or not, that is the question. Either way, the bone/carcass is going to find the inside of my stock pot. The decision is all about what you want to do with the meat – your call. Just make sure that when someone finishings their leg, thigh, or wing that it goes into the freezer stock bag. Throwing chicken bones away is a terrible and most wasteful thing to do.
Always respect your knife. It can send you to the med station at the most inappropriate time. Never put your knife into the dishwater! Learn how to keep it razor sharp. A dull knife is not your friend. Be smart. Keep your fingers tucked away.
This is a bone extricated from the thigh.
Probing under the drumstick bone.
Work down and away.
Two boneless thighs and drumsticks.
A quick break to bake the skin and bones for my stock.
I cannot remember ever building a chicken stock from uncooked carcass stuff (bones & skin). I always prefer some degree of caramelization of my stock materials – never raw. This is just a personal hang-up, but I find that revolting.
I use a sufficiently large bake sheet with parchment paper so things are not crowded.
Bake @ 375º (or so) for about an hour (or so) until nicely caramelized and full of flavor. Commercially prepared stock is NOT flavorful and who knows where it’s been and what’s really in it.
Ready for the stock pot or freeze until needed. Remember, when you buy chick parts you pay for this stuff. You just don’t bring it home with you or if you do it probably gets pitched. How does that make any sense?
Just about ready to SOUS VIDE the chicken parts.
My Anova sous vide machine has become an indispensable kitchen tool.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m busting this chicken up into six parts (not including the carcass). I’m using one quart freezer bags and turning the tops to protect the zippers from being contaminated as I load them.
Note: Most people are familiar with the SOUS VIDE process. If you happen to be unfamiliar, you owe it to yourself and those who sit at your table to become sophisticated to its wonders.
Just a hint about sous vide. It is impossible to bring protein to an appropriate internal temperature without applying excessive heat to its exterior. That excessive heat radically alters texture and moisture content as it penetrates into the core (necessary to kill bacteria). The only part of the protein mass that ends up (as you wish it to be) rare, medium rare, medium, medium well or well done is at its core. Everything else (which is most of it) ends up grey, brown, dry or tough.
Sous vide changes that dynamic. If you are not familiar, please read up on it. If you choose not to include sous vide into your kitchen techniques, let it be an informed choice and not as an uninformed assumption.
Here are the six bags. A bag of wings, a bag of thighs, a bag of drumsticks, two lobes of breast plus one bag of the chicken tenders.
I’m going to add this stuff to each bag. Herbs, easy garlic, salt & pepper and EVO.
Like this…
EVO does not need to be heavy. Just enough to coat.
Carefully unfold and seal. Don’t get stuff on the zipper. It needs to seal perfectly.
These six bags are going to be submerged in this 10 liter container of water but they must sink and remain submerged in the precision temperature bath.
This requires getting ALL of the air from the bag. A very easy method is to open the bag near one end, stick you finger into the hole and with the other hand, hold the bag under water. The water pressure will force the air out. Take care to keep the top of the bag as close as possible to the water line (without getting water into the bag). Once the air is forced out use your other fingers to seal the bag. Ultra simple but takes a little practice at first.
Stick you finger in like such… while holding the bag straight down into the water.
Air out. Zip it shut.
It’ll sink! A kitchen vacuum sealer (popular) does a good job but you have to take great care when using it. The object is to remove the air required to allow the package to sink. The big problem is that if you suck the bag to its default (the machine) position, it is likely to compress what’s in the bag and that’s a no no.
Compression will damage the protein if you let it go too far. When I do use the vacuum machine I watch the bag carefully and the moment I believe that the air is out, I hit the seal button (and that’s well before it will go off on its own).
Remember, SOUS VIDE is about preserving the integrity of the textures and moisture content of foods. It will take time to learn how to use it to achieve the results you envision. It’s a terrific tool and I cannot imagine any good kitchen without one (or two). My Anova machine gets a great work out and keeps humming. Very dependable.
Now that the bags are airless, I can move the pieces around in the bags so they’re not touching. They will remain that way throughout the bath session. I’m always conscious of uniformity (at least in a sous vide bath).
Ready to begin the sous vide process. Notice that the lower number on the Anova face is 145º. That is the temperature I chose for this chicken. I’ll time the session to about 90 minutes.
I use a variety of temperature and time combinations depending on circumstances. Sous vide is basically a pasteurization process and one should probe and research the internet to become familiar with temperatures and time. While the process is simple, it’s necessary to learn the fundamentals.
Notice that the upper temperature gauge is about 100º. I prefer dunking my bags for air removal in cooler water. Don’t try it at 145º. Ouch!
I clip each bag to the side of the sous vide bucket so they suspend gently without crowding and will remain submerged. Once it’s ready to go, just flip the switch and the circulation and precise temperature will quickly follow. In this case 145º for about 90 minutes.
Once the bags are removed from the bath, they should be quickly plunged into an ice (cold water) bath for about 10 minutes.
This stops the pasteurization process and allows the cooker whatever time and space he or she needs to either store for later or to proceed with whatever.
Typically, a sous vide protein will be “finished” (for serving/presentation) in some more conventional manner such as very fast, high temperature searing or roasting. The high heat caramelizes the surface (sugars) and transforms the presentation while preserving the naturally moist and succulent character of the meat. Conventional cooking too often dries and toughens that which should be moist and tender.
Don’t take my word for any of this. Do your own research.
Everything is identified and, except for one breast which will be used for the quick chicken soup (essay 13), will go into the freezer. Each bag is a meal. So we get 5 different experiences with 5 different parts of the chicken – plus a gallon of great chicken stock (essay 9) – all for $11.13.
Here’s my chicken bag for the freezer. The pieces are small, in their own bags and thaw quickly. Once you are comfortable with whole chickens, it opens up a whole new universe of opportunities for exciting eating and great cost savings.
MORE BLUE VERVAIN KITCHEN ESSAYS
6. easy reach vegetables
7. peel an egg
8. stretch a chicken
9. chicken stock fundamentals
10. motley salmon
11. crazy pretzels
12. cannellini basics
13. quick chicken soup
14. a dinner surprise
Thanks for visiting with me.
Paul V’Soske
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