What's your favorite chicken recipe? It calls for chicken breasts, doesn't it? Recipes that use chicken breasts sure are convenient, but cooking a whole chicken doesn't have to be scary!
Batch cooking and meal planning helps make the most use out of a whole chicken and cuts down your time in the kitchen. When meal planning, we will plan to cook a whole chicken early in the week and then use the leftovers for another recipe that uses shredded or cubed chicken. These are typically the recipes that call for chicken breasts. This way we are spending time in the kitchen on days that we have the time and using the leftovers for a whole new meal on nights we are crunched for time. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed!
So, what do you do with a whole chicken? Here are a couple ways we like to cook a whole chicken:
- Beer can chicken – cooked on the grill and so tender and juicy
- Smoked Chicken - brine, season, and smoke chicken for amazing flavor, we follow Traeger's recipe
- Crock pot – for an easy meal this is a great option, we like this recipe https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/slow-cooker-whole-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-12830.
- Butterfly Chicken – this is a great option for oven roasted chicken when you don’t have as much time to do a traditional roasted chicken…here is our favorite recipe https://cookathomemom.com/oven-roasted-butterfly-chicken/
- Simple Roast Chicken – easy traditional oven roasted chicken https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/my-favorite-simple-roast-chicken-231348
Once you have cooked your chicken, don't forget to make some chicken broth with it. An easy, no-fuss way to make broth is to put the carcass in a slow cooker and cover with water. Throw in carrots, onion, celery coarsely chopped. You can even just use leftover veggie scraps. Add some spices (rosemary, oregano, thyme), salt and peppercorns. Let simmer for 12-36 hours. Once strained and poured in jars it can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or froze for up to 12 months.
If you haven't tried pasture-raised chicken it is definitely worth a try. You will taste the difference!