Our son and daughter-in-law gave birth to a daughter named Keira this week. I have experienced the wonder of love at first sight all over again. I miss my new granddaughter dearly when I am away and I can visualize her face in my mind when I think of her.
When I arrived home after seeing her one of the first stops I made was my pattern drawer to see what I might be able to make her. I look forward to sharing life with Keira and watching her grow.
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Reduce processing
The less a food is handled by the processor or retailer, the lower the price to the consumer. Compare a boneless, skinless chicken breast to one that still has skin and bone attached. Generally a whole chicken will be cheaper. I take great satisfaction in buying a whole chicken and cutting it into parts, using the extra skin, bones, back and wing tips to make broth.
Cutting up a chicken
When handling raw foods, be careful about cleanliness. Thoroughly wash your hands, counter and sink area, cutting board and knife with hot soapy water, using a clean, freshly laundered dishcloth.
It’s best to use a fresh, not previously frozen chicken. Check the date on the package and only use ones that have been packaged in the last two days or have several days left on the best-before date. Use a cooler or insulated bag to transport the chicken home and refrigerate it immediately.
Cut the chicken the same day you purchase it or freeze it for use later.
Remove the chicken from its wrapping and rinse it under cool running water. Place it in a colander to drip for a few minutes and dispose of packaging.
To cut the chicken, use a sharp, pointed medium-sized knife. The key is to bend each joint in the opposite direction from its normal bend to dislocate it and then cut through the joint and skin. For safety, always cut away from your body.
Place the chicken on its back on a cutting board and grasp a wing, pull it away from the body, dislocate it and cut.
Cut the wing tip at the first joint and then split the other two wing parts at the joint.
Next, grasp a chicken leg, pull it away from the body and insert the point of the knife into the skin and cut down to where the thigh joins the body.
Take the leg and bend it backward at the thigh joint, making a cut into the joint, and then bend until you hear a snap. Cut though the dislocated joint. Use the same process to separate the drumstick from the thigh.
Remove chunks of fat from the mouth of the body cavity. Turn the carcass on one side and cut through the ribs, turn over and do the other side.
Bend the breast and back apart to break the remaining bone holding the breast and back together, cutting if necessary. The back can be split into two pieces by bending it and then cutting through the backbone.
There are several ways to cut up a breast. My preference is de-boning. The skin can be peeled off the breast.
Using the sharp point of the knife, cut down the breastbone to release the breast meat. Use your fingers to peel and pry the meat from the ribs.
The thighs and drumsticks can be skinned. To remove the skin, peel it from the thickest end down to the narrow end. Grasp the skin with a piece of paper towel and give a tug.
By cutting several chickens at one time, you can accumulate enough parts for several meals.
Separate the parts and freeze in groups. Separate the wing tips, skin, fat, back and breast bones for use in a chicken broth. Package and refrigerate or promptly freeze.
The final step is to thoroughly clean your work area again with hot soapy water. Sanitize counter tops, cutting boards, knives and containers with a mild bleach and water solution and then wash them.
Rinse the dishcloth in soapy water and put it in the laundry.
Visit the Foster Farms website at www.foster farms.com/docs/carving_chicken.pdf for diagrams on how to cut a chicken.
Chicken broth
Skin, bones, back and wing tips
1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 sticks celery, with the leaves,
coarsely chopped
2 large unpeeled carrots, coarsely
chopped
1/2 teaspoon sage or poultry 2 mL
seasoning
1-2 quarts of water 1-2 L
Place chicken pieces on a cookie sheet and pop into a 350 F (180 C) oven to brown and render off some fat.
Lift these parts out of the melted fat and put them into a large pot, add the onion, celery, carrot, seasoning and water. Simmer for two hours, adding water as needed to keep everything covered.
Strain, using a colander, to remove the bones and vegetables. Cool for a few minutes and then refrigerate the broth.
Once the bones have cooled, you can pick through them to remove some nice meat pieces from the back and breast bones. Add these to the broth for soup.
Once the fat has solidified, use a spoon to remove the fat layer. The broth can be used to make soup, add to a stir fry or use when cooking rice.
Freeze what you don’t plan to use in two days.
Betty Ann Deobald is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
