The March 2018 Local Food challenge is chicken. As with other months, find chicken local to you, use it for a meal, and then comment here or email me about what you did and how it tasted. For additional rules see the original post.
Whole chickens can be boiled, roasted, cut into parts and fried, or cooked in a crockpot or instant pot. They can be served over rice or potatoes. Leftovers can be used in soup or casseroles or sandwiches.
If you are local to us, chickens can be purchased from us for $5.00 / lb through March 31, 2018. They were raised outdoors on our farm in fresh air and sunshine, were fed non-gmo grains, were processed by us and frozen, and are 4-6 lb. I have been using them regularly as a main dish and for chicken broth and stock. They taste good!
I purchased some chicken breasts and made a recipe that I have used before. But it was a disaster! The ones I purchased were thinner than what I normally use and I cooked them for the same amount of time as the thicker ones. They got overcooked. They were edible and we ate them. But it was not a good experience.
I entered the cooking challenge for using local chicken. At the farm where I purchase raw milk, I found frozen boneless chicken breasts for sale. I assumed the package, which was frozen stiff, included 4 chicken breasts. My plan was to share the meat with my mother, also participating in the challenge. When the package defrosted I realized there were only three chicken breast halves for which I had paid $18.34. I try to be frugal, and to me that is a ridiculous price for three pieces of meat.
With my half of the meat, I prepared chicken Parmesan. The skinless meat was tender and lean. My husband and I enjoyed the dish but the cost is prohibitive and I don’t plan to do that again. If I had to purchase chicken at those prices, I would be looking at meatless meals and cooking with beans.
We love your chickens. I use one a month. I usually roast the chicken or barbeque it (we have one of those beer can stands!). Roasting in the winter and grilling in the summer. Then I use the carcass for soup so it usually gets our family of 6 through 2 dinners.