All That From One Chicken?!

(photo credit)

Talk about stretching a buck AND getting max nutrient benefits... use the whole chicken! I used to be so intimidated by the thought of cooking a whole chicken. Now I don't know what I was so scared of because it's about the easiest thing you could do in your kitchen (besides watching hubby do the dishes). So take the plunge; walk confidently up to that meat counter, proudly ask for a whole fryer chicken, then read what to do with it below:

Whole Roasted Chicken
(This recipe is from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, slightly modified.)
What You Need:
1 Whole Chicken Fryer (about 4 pounds)
Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, or Butter
Fresh herbs - Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste
Orange or Lemon slices (optional)
Roasting Pan (about 2 inches deep, give or take)

Pre-heat oven to 375. Place a few sprigs each of chosen herbs into cavity of chicken. You also have the option of placing some orange or lemon slices in cavity (a woman at my church just gave me this tip this morning!) to help keep it moist and add a little citrus flavor). Place chicken in roasting pan, under-side up. Brush with butter or oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for one hour. After an hour, turn chicken over (using wooden spoon inserted into cavity) so that the top-side is facing up. Brush with butter or oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and return to 375 oven for one more hour.
Enjoy the dark meat and some of the breast for dinner, but reserve the majority of the breast for recipes the next day. Also reserve the carcass and all the fatty, grizzly pieces that you (ok, I) would never eat. Basically, don't throw any of it away. You're going to make stock!

Chicken Stock
(This recipe is from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, slightly modified.)
What You Need:
Reserved Chicken bones, feet (optional), gizzards (optional), fatties and grizzlies. :)
4 Quarts cold filtered water
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery sticks, including leafy tops, coarsely chopped
1 bunch parsley

Place chicken, water, vinegar and all veggies except parsley in a large stainless steel pot. Let stand 30 minutes to one hour. Bring to a boil and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6-24 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth. Remove carcass from the stock, then strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

Leftover Breast Meat
You can use it for just about anything! My favorite thing to make is chicken salad sandwiches for lunch the next day. Shred the breast meat, add mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste. I also like to add dried cranberries and/or apple pieces and celery.
Another favorite use is to shred and spread on a BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Or you could add it to a killer Southwestern Chicken Soup. (If you use Lindsey's recipe you'll have to modify a bit because you already have cooked chicken ready to go! I would also suggest halving the recipe since there's not as much chicken going in.) Oh, and go ahead and use that delicious stock you just made.
Oven melt sammies, quesadillas, chicken pesto pasta... oh the possibilities!

One 4 pound chicken can really go a looooong way. It has become one of my favorite and EASIEST things to cook. Go ahead, give it a shot!