Notes on Buying a Chicken 

 
[Editor's Note:  The vast majority of chicken recipes call for boneless, skinless chicken breasts and other parts. The expectation is that you will buy these parts sans bones and skin, paying a premium to do so.

Most of the vendors selling poultry at the DCFM sell the whole bird (less head and feet), many times including the neck and organs. If this form of the bird has put you off, by all means read on.

Stop paying extra to buy boneless, skinless pieces from an uncertain source.

Being comfortable piecing a whole chicken gives you the flexibility to buy a locally raised bird from the farmer who grew it (found at the DCFM) and produces more flavorful meat. 

Boneless: Boneless parts are great for soups, stews, and other recipes where they'll be cut into pieces and combined with other ingredients.

It's a mistake to buy a boneless chicken breast to be grilled, served atop rice, or served fried (as in this week's recipe). Bones mean flavor. When you remove the bone you are removing an important source of what gives "home made" its flavor depth, aroma, and consistency. This is true for all meats, not just poultry.

In the case where only a boneless piece will do, you can easily achieve this in the piecing process. In the instance where you require a shredded product, like pulled chicken, cook it whole, let it cool, then remove the meat from the bones. It's a quick and easy process.

What to do with leftover bones? Make stock! 

Skinless: The experts are correct when they said skinless chicken breasts, legs, and thighs contain less fat than those with the skin on. If it makes sense for the recipe, cook the pieces first and then remove the skin.

The majority of fat in a chicken comes with the skin. You can keep the skin on while cooking, then remove it without suffering a "fat penalty." The meat doesn't absorb the fat during cooking.

In the cases where you'd lose all of your seasoning by removing the skin after cooking, simply remove the skin before preparing. From the standpoint of cost and source control, it still makes sense to buy the chicken with the skin on and then remove it, especially if this opens up the opportunity to enjoy one of the locally raised birds offered by DCFM growers. 

Learn to break down a chicken to achieve the ultimate flexibility when it comes to preparing this ingredient. You'll produce more flavorful dishes while enjoying potentially significant savings. 

Additional information on skinless chicken breasts.] 

Amish Oven Fried Chicken

by Miss Annie

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (We recommend sunflower oil from the market)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (Check with Hickory Hill Farm)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 10 chicken pieces

Directions

1. Place oil and butter in a shallow cooking pan and place in 375ºF oven to melt butter, set aside.
2. In a large paper sack, combine dry ingredients.
3. Roll the chicken pieces, 3 at a time, in butter and oil then drop into a sack and shake to cover.
4. Place on a plate until all pieces are coated.
5. Leave any excess butter and oil in pan.
6. Place chicken in the pan skin side down (or it's just as good if you remove all the skin before coating in sack).
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
8. Turn chicken pieces over and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until crust begins to bubble.  

  Adapted from  www.food.com