Boiling a full chicken

rubadub

I sometimes get a chicken, strip the skin off it and roast it and strip the meat off. I had a go boiling one today. It is a cheap way to get chicken meat.

Chicken was 2256g listed on the pack €6.75. I put the whole thing into a wok and filled about 1/3 with water, then brought to the boil, it was breast down. I turned it down to simmer and had a lid on so it was being steamed where it wasnt in water. I turned it over after 30mins. After an hour I turned it over again, put the lid back on and turned off the hob and just left it. I left it like that for an hour.

Now be warned it looks horrific! very "anaemic" looking. I drained off all the water, some might keep it for stock or soup. The skin just fell off, very easy. And it was very easy to separate it from the underlying fat. I got 2 big bowls, one for skin & bone, the other with meat.

I got 940g of lean meat from it in total. So around €7 per kilo.

I just pick it all off shredding it with my fingers, stick it in a big bowl or bag and pop it in the fridge.

Clean up is easier than the roasting, everything is just slimy and rinses off easily, it is also cheaper on electricity, and quicker to strip it than a roast chicken, and not as dry.

EileenG

Sounds good. I remember my Northern grandparents used to cook a whole chicken with some barley and carrots to make a sort of liquid stew.

I have a feeling you could have cooked it less and it would have been fine.

rubadub

EileenG wrote: »

I have a feeling you could have cooked it less and it would have been fine.

I think so too. I did read some sites saying never to really boil it, just simmer. I just turned the hob off and went off and forgot about it, I didn't need it in a hurry.

I never weighed it before hand, I thought I would have gotten a little more. I think before I had got around 60% meat from cooked chickens. This was a ~40% "yeild", per weight. But the cooked chickens had the moisture driven off already. In Dunnes they have cooked O'Kane chickens that are on a continual offer of half price.

€7 per kilo is alright, but not that great. I used to get 10 fillets for €10 and they weighed in around 1200kg which was about €8 per kilo.

There was a sort of scum on the water too. Some site suggested adding garlic to the water. I would rather keep a bag of unflavoured chicken, it is very versatile, sambos or lash it in a stir fry, it is nice not having to worry if it is raw.

I might do it with some turkeys at xmas. Every year they are being sold off on christmas eve in my supermarket. Too big to freeze, but if I cooked and stripped 2 or 3 the meat could be frozen.

Cadyboo

They use boiled chicken everywhere now especially on pizzas and wraps, but some people think its disgusting!
Have never boiled a full one, only breasts (for Sandwiches) but am gonna have to try it, thanks!

IanCurtis

Buying a full chicken and using all of it is one of the great pleasures in life!

What I do is cut the breasts, wings and legs off (freezing if not all gonna be used straight away) then boil up the remainder with potato and plenty of onions. I would add herbs, but it depends what will you use the stock for. Also, cutting it up becomes quite easy after one of two attempts.

The stock forms the basis for loads of stuff, chicken noodle soup being a favourite, but also stews, sauces, all sorts - again loads of it can be frozen. There's a fair bit of "scum" to be scooped off as it cooks though, as the fat rises to the top of the water.

It's so much cheaper than buying individual chicken breasts etc. and so much more rewarding.

Just remember to buy free range if price allows.

How Strange

IanCurtis wrote: »

Buying a full chicken and using all of it is one of the great pleasures in life!
Just remember to buy free range if price allows.

I agree, it's so much cheaper than buying breasts.
I buy free range and/or organic chicken now but bloody hell it's an expensive principal.

A smallish free range chicken costs €11 in Superquinn. You would just about feed two people on two nights. An ordinary one probably costs €5. That's some price difference especially if you were trying to feed a family on a budget. I've started buying chicken thighs now instead of breasts as I prefer the meat in a curry etc; it stays alot more tender probably because they are more fatty.

rubadub

How Strange wrote: »

I buy free range and/or organic chicken now but bloody hell it's an expensive principal.
if you were trying to feed a family on a budget.

A lot of people here are lifting weights so have high protein needs. I can eat up to 500g a day, so it would be an expensive habit.

How Strange wrote: »

I've started buying chicken thighs now instead of breasts as I prefer the meat in a curry etc; it stays alot more tender probably because they are more fatty.

I got them a few times but found the full chicken was a cheaper option, i.e. I calculated the true price per kilo of edible lean meat. If breasts are on offer they can be almost the same, esp when you include stripping and clean up time. Some would value the "low fattness" of the breast. I find it a little too dry sometimes. By cooking the lot, stripping and mixing it all up I find the result is just right, not too dry, not too fatty.

How Strange

rubadub wrote: »

A lot of people here are lifting weights so have high protein needs. I can eat up to 500g a day, so it would be an expensive habit.

What about turkey breasts or turkey mince? I buy turkey steaks occassionally as a cheaper alternative to chicken and then cook them in a griddle pan with some lemon. Tougher than chicken but still quite nice.
I've used turkey mince for bolognaise a few times too and its not bad.

derek27

I think boiling chicken is far nicer than raosting it. Retains much more moisture in every joint. A pressure cooker is a great thing to have... pop a couple of onions and herbs into it along with the chicken and a 2.5 kg chicken will cook beautifully evenly in about 45 minutes and be very flavoursome. Also, the stock that's left behind is the perfect starting point for a delicious homemade soup... add a couple of chopped spuds and simmer until they start to disintegrate, then flavour the soup with whatever you want - eg leeks - season and use a handheld blitzer to combine all the flavours into a thick wholesome soup.

Caution... since boiled chicken retains more moisture and the meat fibres are usually more separated, boiled chicken is a haven for micro-organisms if it isn't stored properly... any meat you won't eat immediately... cool as quickly as possible and keep refrigerated... use within 2 days.

rubadub

How Strange wrote: »

What about turkey breasts or turkey mince?

Yeah, I have used them and like them. They are cheap in dunnes, especially turkey thigh mince, which is still low in fat. But in tesco it is often cheaper to buy chicken fillets, than even turkey mince. Seems to be always an offer on chicken there. It is great for bolognaise like you say.

Caution... since boiled chicken retains more moisture and the meat fibres are usually more separated, boiled chicken is a haven for micro-organisms if it isn't stored properly... any meat you won't eat immediately... cool as quickly as possible and keep refrigerated... use within 2 days.

That is true. Shredding it helps cool quicker. You could also rinse it under the tap, I rinsed some to get the slime off. I usually recook it anyway. It you fluff up the shredded bits and freeze them they will separate easier, and defrost quickly in the pan, or put them in a bowl of water to defrost.



I have my eye on a good pressure cooker. The best pressure cookers are all-american brand ones, I know a disturbing amount about pressure cookers! due to my work and hobbies. A lot of ones in argos and other shops only go to 12psi now, you really want 15psi. will last a lifetime, bombproof. They do not use a gasket so nothing can wear out. The smallest is 9.5litres though, they are big, and expensive and not really available in europe. I am looking now due to the weak dollar.

This is the one
http://www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/americancook.htm

they have a massive 39 litre one too! In the US canning is popular. You could make up a sauce with uncooked chicken and put it in jam jars. Then pressure cook the jar with the lid loosely on. This will cook and steilise the food. Now you twist the cap on and it will last indefinitely, just like jars in supermarkets, or tinned food.

Beerlao

IanCurtis wrote: »

Buying a full chicken and using all of it is one of the great pleasures in life!

catch yourself on son!

IanCurtis

Beerlao wrote: »

catch yourself on son!

Hey! I don't have much other pleasure....cutting up a chicken is as good as it gets