I finished reading Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" last night. He writes about the industrial food chain, versus the organic food chain, and adds a third (eye-roll inducing) section on hunting and gathering. Reading this book put happy animals at the top of my mind.
I want to steer us clear of the industrial food chain as much as possible. Even if it means eating less meat overall, or eating only what vegetables are in season (and always, always cooking!). My husband is game...he loves his vegetables. I cook two or three veggie dishes each meal*...with a small portion of something select from the butcher. My boys, however, reject crappy food and new healthy food at the exact same rate. They eat from a very narrow band of foodstuffs. They survive on rice and pasta with butter and avocado rolls and fruit. I am convinced that it doesn't matter how much my cooking improves, they will need to grow out of this phase before they can appreciate it (and I will be ready when they start asking for a second and third bite!)
Back to my happy chicken... it was a chunky little guy! Chubba chubba!! The taste was standard. I didn't find that it tasted any better than organic chicken. I will buy one again if I am having dinner guests because I love that the entree comes with its own story. Otherwise, I was not converted. I may have overcooked my happy chicken a bit, because of it's size. I used the thermometer, but the last 7 minutes did me in, I think.
ps. Michael Pollan mentions that the reason for washing chicken before roasting is to get the skin nice and plump so that it browns beautifully...of course you need to thoroughly dry it before you slap on the oil...have you heard this?
*Tonight we had roast sweet potato and fried kale with garlic (not my favorite), along with white rice (for my boys)
Mmm I am new to roasting chickens and I save the bones to make a chicken stock! and then since I am one person who cant eat a whole chicken, I chop it up and make chicken stew with my new chicken stock. yumyumyum and nothing wasted :) Plus it feeds me for like a week!
ReplyDeleteWhole chicken is tricky to cook and yours looks great. I actually never cooked my kale but always have it in Caesar salad or with pine nuts. They taste amazing raw.
ReplyDeleteI make whole chicken once a week! never fails! usually a small organic bird...I am kinda a wiz at whole chicken! This guy, however, did not fall in line! We weren't that impressed. Good, but not as good as I usually make! Worth the try!
ReplyDeleteYah. chicken stock is the bomb!
ReplyDeletemmm that looks tasty. I thought that washing the chicken was just good practice...didn't know it had anything to do with browning!
ReplyDeleteI love cooking and baking! When I roast a whole chicken I turn any uneaten pieces into stirfry or pizza toppings. Then I use the bones for stock! As for browning of meat, all meat browns better when it's thoroughly dried after washing. You can get a nice crispy brown skin when you start with a well dried chicken :-)
ReplyDeleteI order all of my meat from Brooker's Meat. It is all grass-fed and free range and happy :-) I don't notice it tasting better than a good quality piece of meat from Loblaws or Longos, but I know it is better for me and the animal so I think that makes it worth it.
ReplyDeleteBut ya - doesn't necessarily taste better. Especially because we are so used to eating corn-fed beef, etc.
I have a whole chicken sitting in my freezer, that I'll hopefully be cooking for my mother in law's birthday. It's a local bird from a farmer friend of mine, although it definitely is not organic or pasture raised and I am more than okay with that.
ReplyDeleteWe eat a lot of chicken, but I don't do whole birds very often because it's just the two of us and my husband will only eat the white meat, haha.
As EJ noted it's the drying of the bird that helps with browning/crispiness. Thomas Keller's recipe is the easiest/best method I've come across for perfect roast chicken: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/My-Favorite-Simple-Roast-Chicken-231348
ReplyDeleteWe need to be lobbying for organic for all. It's a pricey option that only a small portion of the population can afford. The ability to eat organic, free range etc should be accessible to all and right now it's not and although a lot of families would love to feed their kids and selves healthier options it isn't financially accessible. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this...we do it because we can afford it, I am voting with my feet, I guess...one less person buying supermarket chicken is probably not going to do much...but perhaps there are other ways to support change!
ReplyDeleteFrozen never turns out for me...be the time I defrost it...it gets a funk smell and I can NOT touch it...into the bin...into the bin as fast as possible!
ReplyDeleteThere is one way of thinking: to buy what is best for your family...then another layer, buy what is best for the animals you are eating...this second part I am now aware of (michael pollan), and I wish I could un-know...
ReplyDeletei may have mixed up washing with brining?
ReplyDeleteI dunno...i knew to dry it well...