Friday, August 28, 2009

Whole Chicken

Bake it as instructed on the package of the bird. Approximately 20 minutes for every 1/2 pound on your bird. I gave the birds to you thawed so you could pull the insides out if you plan to cook it immediately, however if you freeze it make sure you thaw it completely and remove the stuff before cooking. Otherwise your bird won't be cooked all the way. My Mom always cooked the heart and liver. We liked it but if you don't obviously just chuck them. Don't remove the skin before you bake it (or at all in my opinion). It'll make the bird more moist and adds a lot of flavor.

As far as seasoning, salt and pepper the skin and put lemon slices under the skin where you can. You can put the herbs in the cavity of the bird or under the skin as well.

After baking to serve it you can cut the breast like a turkey, but to remove the legs and wings just use a sharp knife and cut through the joints. After you're done you can remove the remaining chicken from the bird and boil the bones with salt, a couple of onions, 2 carrots and 2-3 celery stalks (can be whole, or really big chunks). Strain it all when you're done. It makes a really nice broth for a chicken soup (add the leftover chicken and any vegetables, and some sage).

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