Lest you all think I am some sort of perfect Martha Stewart of the Frugal set, I wanted to let you know that it took me until Tuesday evening to process that 20 lbs of chicken thighs I started on Saturday evening.
Here’s how it worked:
Saturday late afternoon: Cut the skin and any large chunks of fat off of 10lb bag of raw chicken. Placed chicken in largest crock-pot, filled with water, turned on.
Saturday night: Chicken was still not done, decided to leave it on low all night.
Sunday morning: Took chicken out of broth and placed in my largest stock pot, which went into the fridge in our garage for safekeeping. Strained broth and put in largest Tupperware style container and put on top shelf of inside fridge to settle fat to top. Cut skin et al off of second 10lb bag, put raw chicken in crock-pot, filled with water, cleaned up and went to church.
Sunday evening: Took chicken out and placed in large roasting pan to cool. Skimmed fat off of broth in fridge (mostly because I needed the large container) measured 2 cup portions of broth into freezer bags, placed flat on cookie sheet and ran them out to the upright freezer in garage.
Strained broth from second batch of chicken into newly vacated container and place back into fridge. During transfer manage to drop entire container of chicken broth and get greasy broth all over the floor, and all inside the open fridge (only lost half the broth). Chicken processing stops while DH mops the floor and I do an unscheduled cleaning of the fridge which includes having to wash and dry all the condiment bottles on the bottom two shelves of the fridge (hmm, how come I have two open bottles of BBQ Sauce and two open bottles of Cocktail Sauce).
When that was finished and the floor dried, I picked all the meat off of the bones of the recently cooked chicken. This was a long process due to constant interuptions to settle disputes between buddy and princess (which necessitated a thorough washing of hands each time).
Was fed up with sight and smell of chicken by completion, so entire roasting pan full of cooked chicken was covered with aluminum foil and placed in the outside fridge.
Monday evening: Chicken sat there. Sunday evening was enough of a fiasco.
Tuesday evening: Ready once more to tackle chicken. Bagged up all the chicken in 1 C portions for freezing. Brought the cooked chicken still on the bone up from the fridge in the garage. Used the microwave to warm it up in two batches (chicken separates and comes off the bone much easier when warm then cold). Picked all the meat off, packaged it in 1 C portions. All packaged chicken was placed on a cookie sheet and put out in the upright freezer.
Total net accomplishment: 13C of chicken and about 9 C of broth (would have been more if not for the great greasy chicken accident)
There is no way around it-processing this much chicken (or beef, or pork) is a pain. But I subscribe to the philosophy that sometimes it is better to take your pain up front-I’d rather do a massive processing now rather than freezing the raw thighs and having to mess around with them individually later. Now I have several months worth of chicken out there in the fridge.
Because I do a lot of things this way, I also have about 4 meals worth of boneless chicken breasts pounded flat, the same in pork pounded flat, a large bag full of meatballs, and about 5 meals worth of chicken breasts frozen in various marinades. Although I will keep buying meat if I see a good sale, I have enough in my freezer right now to keep us in protein for months. Having this stockpile also allows me to wait for a sale.
Tomorrow, at the request of mom2fur I’ll post my chicken and stuffing casserole. In the next few weeks I will also do a “what’s in my freezer” piece.
Yes, processing is a pain, but it is so worth it in the end. Good job!
Sometimes we trade money for time, and sometimes we trade time for money. Sorry to hear about “the drop” but look what good came out of it. š
Wow, I’m going to be so happy to get that recipe! I love chicken and stuffing–a casserole sounds really good. Thanks!
And all that work is worth it, isn’t it? Homemade broth is sooooo much better.
Too funny. I have done this more than a few times too! Seriously, though, I’ve been thinking that your chicken broth must be a lot more chickeny than mine. I think I get 6-8 cups from about 3 lbs of chicken parts (usually left over carcasses that were carved before serving, not plate leftovers), and then another cup or 2 of chicken that would otherwise have ended up in the compost. My soups (mostly Joy of Cooking, sometimes Moosewood Cookbook) are sometimes 100% chicken broth if I have lots, but often 50/50. This has been a huge money saver for me, and even a time saver too. Faster than takeout.
Wow, “the great greasy chicken accident” brings back fond memories of “the diet coke dumped all over mom’s taxes… wait for it….not once but twice. I think that is the only time I’ve ever seen mom REALLY loose her cool. I think I hid upstairs for a feew weeks after that. Ah, good times!
The local store sells chicken drums and thighs, back attached for between .98 lb and 1.19 Canadian. I take it home, then cut it up into drums and thighs and backs.
I freeze them all on cookie sheets separately, then put in bags then in plastic containers. This freezes them faster (better flavour and texture) and allows me to grab the exact number I need.
I bake the backs and skin and fat in a large pan. I add bits of onion. I brown it all a bit. Then I make a stock, about 8 to 12 quarts. I get it hot as soon as possible (start on med-high to high) with cold water. Turn it down when it just starts to boil. After six hours I add carrots, celery and onions and a couple bay leaves. I usually save vegetable trimmings when I am cooking. At seven and a half hours (after start of boiling) I add crushed pepper corns and a little salt.
After eight hours I turn off the heat and put it on a cold granite cutting board. Cool for 30 min. I strain the liquid and fat into another pot. Then I put it in the sink with cold water and ice packs. Cool as quickly as possible. Then I put it all in the fridge. The next day the fat has solidified on top. I remove it and through it out. I divide the stock into containers and freeze it. I use yogurt containers, 750ml, 125ml and ice cube trays. This covers all the different amounts I use in different recipes.
Note that you need to get the temperature of the stock up quickly and when you are finished, down quickly to reduce chances of food poisoning.
When I was working in a restaurant another cook took the pot off the heat just as it was warming up. He forgot to put it back on. By the next morning the pot was ‘boiling’ at room temperature, and it was the foulest, most gruesome, disgusting concoction I had ever had the misfortune of encountering.
I made the other cook clean up the problem.