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Making Roast Chicken

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So, what’s a good meal to complement two consecutive days of rain?  Well, if you run a meat shop, and you have a cooler full of good stuff, you might want to roast a chicken.  So, that’s what I decided to do.

I started off with one of these amazing dry pluck fryers.  That’s the chicken I keep talking about in emails with no growth hormones or antibiotics that’s never scalded when it’s processed.

Ok…enough plugging…you can keep buying at the supermarket if you like the chicken equivalent of a Dr. Kevorkian patient.

Since I possess sharp knives and modest meat cutting skills, I decided to process this chicken like the ones we send to L’Albatros.  That is to say, I opened up the back and boned out the breast.  Next, I rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with the usual suspects–Kosher salt, Black pepper, Paprika and Granulated garlic.  Here’s what it looked like:

Please note…I am not a professional photographer nor do I play one on TV. Nevertheless, what you have here is a 3 1/2 pound bird with a boneless breast.  Legs and wings are attached.  Paprika is plentiful.  Next I added a breast, which I also de-boned and seasoned.  After all, I’ve gotta feed a wife, two kids and eke out a few leftovers for Buttons the Dog. See how little he is?

Next, I flipped over the chicken so the skin was on top.  This way, the fat runs onto the meat–not away from it.  Then I placed it in my oven and roasted until the internal temperature hit 160 degrees–which is done for poultry.  It’s tricky because the breast will get done a bit faster than the thigh.  This is because dark meat–which contains fat–takes longer to cook.  It’s important to take the temperature in both the breast and thigh to assure the chicken is thoroughly done.  I should mention that I cooked the chicken in a convection oven on a flat surface at 300 degrees.   My recommendation would be 325 degrees if you’re using a conventional oven.

Because the breast is boneless, the whole chicken roasted in roughly 40 minutes–faster than if it had the bone in.  Here’s your model citizen.

Now, there is no question but that the look of the chicken would have benefited greatly from the presence of a food stylist.  However, it is delicious. In addition, look how nicely Buttons filled out after eating quality chicken.

Just add some baked potatoes and your favorite green vegetable and you’re in business.

 

Chicken Soup from Scratch

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(makes roughly 5 gallons)

Ingredients:

  • One large bag Mister Brisket Chicken Bones (roughly 8 lbs)
  • Two Large Onions
  • Six Carrots
  • One Bunch Celery
  • 4 Tbsp Minor’s Chicken Soup Base

Quick Story:

For years I made the chicken soup at Mister Brisket. It was generally good but not consistent. Sometimes it was more flavorful than others; sometimes too salty. Occasionally, it was bland. In spite of using similar ingredients, I couldn’t seem to get it right every time. My method was simple: Place the bones and vegetables in a stockpot, add water, bring to a boil then simmer for three hours. Next, I’d remove all the ingredients, strain the hot broth, add some soup base, stir and let cool. That was it.

Enter my wife Kelly. I asked her to make the soup and gave her the ingredients. When she was through, I tasted. It was terrific. I had her do it again with the same outcome. A third effort proved as charming as the previous two. I wondered why Kelly was getting a great result every time and asked her to break down her method. When she finished explaining, I discovered there were a few crucial differences between her process and mine. First, she was boiling the bones without adding the root vegetables. Next, she’d remove the bones, add in the vegetables and the chicken base, and then allow the broth to simmer for two more hours. So, not only was she cooking the soup longer, but she’d broken down the soup making into two distinct phases—boiling the bones, then removing them and adding the vegetables and soup base. Her soup tasted great every time. So, here’s the best method—tried and true—for making excellent chicken soup.

A couple final points of emphasis: only Mister Brisket chicken bones work well for making soup. If you use the recipe and different bones, it won’t taste as good. Also, many might wonder why we use soup base? The answer is because if you don’t the soup will taste watery. Only Mister Brisket’s mother, Margaret Wine, could make incredible chicken soup without a little “assistance”. And even she would add a bouillon cube.

Kelly’s Perfect Chicken Soup

  1. Place the chicken bones in a large stockpot.
  2. Add enough water to comfortably cover the bones.
  3. Bring the water to a boil.
  4. Turn down the heat and allow the soup to simmer for two hours.
  5. Remove the bones from the soup and discard.
  6. Add the root vegetables. You don’t need to clean the carrots but should probably trim the ends of the celery and cut up the onions.
  7. Put in roughly four tablespoons of Minors Chicken soup base or a similar type product. Add, stir and taste to make sure you have the right amount.
  8. Allow the soup to simmer for a few more hours.\
  9. Remove the vegetables and save. They’re delicious to eat or can be placed back in the soup when it is re-heated. Discard them if you prefer.
  10. Strain the soup with a mesh colander. It helps to have another large stockpot handy so you can pour the soup slowly from one to the other.
  11. Allow the soup to cool.
  12. Pour the broth into suitable containers. You can freeze it or save for several days in the fridge if you plan to use it right away.

Don’t forget…Mister Brisket sells wonderful Matzo Balls. If you want a great Matzo Ball soup, make the broth and buy the balls from us.