After tasting a never-frozen farmers market chicken last Winter, it's been hard to go back to supermarket chickens. It hit me that the Vietnamese markets butcher their own meat--I bet their chickens are fresh. I found this lovely 5.5 lb. lady for $7. It's gratifying to connect with your food and see that this is a creature from Earth, a real animal, not fromless meat. I came to peace eating her because I knew I was participating in a food chain and I could see in her eyes who she was.
The breast meat became a Thai curry with eggplant and baby bok choi.
The dark meat was put into tandoori marinade for kebabs later in the week.
The head, bones, feet, and skin became the most marvelous deep golden stock I have ever made. Terry told me that the feet are prized for stock and he wasn't kidding. This bird delivered TWICE the flavor, twice the stock as the Empire Kosher bird I last prepared. Jacques Pepin said once that he prizes the flavor of chicken from his childhood. Modern chickens are milder. Well, this chicken was robust and gamey, more akin to turkey. Then it hit me, do I have matzo meal? YES!! Use plain matzo meal and let the dough refrigerate overnight to soften. Outstanding texture, outstanding broth!
I got 10 meals out of this $7 bird!