The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (14 page)

At this point the broth is usable, but the flavor and color is still on the weak side. After all the skin/bones, cartilage, and small bits of meat are back in the broth in the slow cooker, add water if needed. Continue to simmer broth and carcass for several more hours or as long as 24 hours. If simmered a very long time, the contents will begin to turn a rich golden brown and a deep chicken flavor will develop.

Turn off slow-cooker, let cool at least one hour, then ladle broth through a fine mesh strainer into storage containers. After chilling, the solid layer of fat that has collected at the top of the broth can be removed easily or left on top to “seal” the broth surface.

This recipe is adapted from a
Cook’s Illustrated
technique, which was based on their experiments recreating a French-style chicken. The covered, slow-bake method using only the chicken’s own juices creates a rich gelatinous chicken-y sauce and intense flavor in the meat that will wow your taste buds so much you might not even miss the crispy skin of a conventionally roasted chicken. Make this recipe with a truly free ranging heritage breed chicken like Poulet Rouge, and you might even swear you are dining in France.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place rack in lowest position of oven (remove top rack if there isn’t enough clearance for the Dutch oven pot). Preheat oven to 250°F.

Dry chicken with paper towels to remove excess moisture from packaging. Season all over with salt and pepper.

Heat fat in Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. When fat is hot and nearly smoking, place chicken breast side down in the hot pot. While chicken is browning, prepare vegetables, adding to the pan as you chop. Cook about 6–8 minutes total, until breast skin browns.

Turn chicken breast side up (a sturdy wooden spoon inserted into cavity is useful) and cook about 8 more minutes. Continue adding vegetables if you aren’t yet finished prepping them.

Turn off heat. Cover pot with tight fitting lid (use a sheet of aluminum foil under the lid, too, if the lid doesn’t create a good seal).

Place pot into oven and bake about 1 ½ hours for a small chicken (under 4 pounds) or about 2 hours for larger chickens (over 4 ½ pounds). Chicken is finished cooking when instant read thermometer shows a temperature of 175°F in the thigh meat not near a bone (thigh will wiggle freely in socket, too, and juices will run clear).

Transfer chicken to warm platter or grooved cutting board (some juices may escape) and cover loosely with the sheet of aluminum foil used to seal lid to pan. Let sit 20 minutes.

Strain juices from pot through a fine wire mesh strainer (save cooked vegetables for making broth with leftover chicken bones—see below) and let the fat rise to the top. Skim fat off and adjust seasoning to taste, salt and pepper if necessary. Keep juices warm until time to serve.

Carve chicken into quarters and serve with warm juices.

Place strained cooked vegetables, bones, skin, cartilage and leftover juices back in Dutch oven or in a slow cooker. Cover bones with cold filtered water and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and let sit one hour. Then simmer over low temperature for at least 6–8 hours, up to 24 hours if using a slow cooker. Strain broth through fine wire mesh strainer to remove solids. Broth will keep in refrigerator for up to a week (reheat to a boil before consuming) or several months in the freezer (be sure to leave room at top of the container for expansion).

This basic soup template has infinite variation possibilities using leftover cooked chicken or turkey (or rabbit!) for a fast, satisfying soup entree. Try fresh pea pods, strips of red pepper, steamed winter squash chunks, or even those small remainders of the week’s leftovers that aren’t enough for one serving. The curry powder, hot sauce, or red pepper flakes may be omitted or adjusted from mild to scorching.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place coconut milk, chicken stock, lemon or lime juice, ginger, lemon-grass (if using), carrot, and Thai curry paste or other hot seasoning into a 2–4 quart sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When carrots are about halfway cooked, add cauliflower florets and lower heat to medium, until the vegetables are all nearly cooked through, about 5–8 minutes. Add chicken meat and simmer a few more minutes (until chicken is cooked through if using raw chicken). Stir in chopped basil leaves and season with salt and more hot spice to taste. Remove lemongrass stalks, and serve in a bowl garnished with thinly sliced fresh basil leaves.