For a while there, I wasn’t eating chicken. I grew up eating the stuff practically every night of the week and I got pretty sick of the white, chewy, no flavor protein that sat on my plate all the time. So I said enough is enough and decided that chicken wasn’t for me. Then I came to a realization. I wasn’t eating REAL chicken. See I have a theory. When you buy chicken that comes on a little bed of Styrofoam that has been deboned and skinned and wrapped in plastic it just isn’t the same, free range or range free.
Lately I have eaten some damn good chicken, and guess what? A chicken is actually a bird! It has wings, legs, skin and bones and when you buy a chicken at the grocery store THAT is what it should look like. Besides being WAY tastier, a whole bird is more economical, and in my opinion, more respectful. When you can’t imagine what your food looked like when it was still alive how can you really appreciate the fact that it gave up its life to nourish you?
When you cook a chicken with the bones and skin on it adds flavor to the meat, giving it a richer taste, as supposed to that skinless, boneless, 99% fat free, white rubber.
For free range chicken, you can pay up to 13 dollars for the skinless boneless breasts, while a free range WHOLE chicken costs around the same price! That is a lot more chicken for your dollar, plus you can make a delicious stock out of the carcass for soups, sauces, or to add to grains.
To learn how to carve up a chicken check out this great video on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiwHpDtZHOE
Here is also an amazing recipe for grilled chicken that we made on the 4th of July with friends: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Chicken-with-Lemon-Garlic-and-Oregano-106742
Thanks Shawn for the recipe!
