Whole chickens are one of the most economical meals you can make for your family, especially when they are on sale for 69 cents per pound...or sometimes even less! You can stock up on whole birds IF you have the freezer space, and you know how to properly freeze them for quick thawing and easy preparation later.
Open up the packages, and remove all the giblets. I freeze the giblets separately for making soup/broth later on. Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water, and then pat dry with paper towel. Now rub a generous amount of spice mixture all over the bird...here are several concoctions below, but you can tailor any blend of spices to suit your own tastes:
For roast "sticky chicken" like you find rotisserie-style in the grocery store, here's the spice mixture for a 6-7 lb. bird. When you cook the bird, stuff the cavity with chopped onion, and baste the bird frequently with the pan juices, which will contain a good amount of carmelized onion.
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
For a very different flavored chicken - try this! Seriously, and don't laugh, it is delicious!
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
There are many different things you can season whole chickens with - a quick internet search will lead you to some winners, I'm sure!
After the chicken is seasoned, vacuum seal it and freeze. The seasoning gets into the chicken really well during the freezing process, and the chicken gets even more tender than if you made it fresh.
No comments:
Post a Comment