Recipes for pastured chicken

Our Rosemary Garlic recipe is loosely based on this recipe, with some modifications:

http://www.foodiecrush.com/oven-roasted-chicken-with-lemon-rosemary-garlic-butter/

  • we aged your chickens in the fridge for over 24 hours before freezing (much like beef)
  • thaw fully in the fridge for 24 hours
  • do not trim fat or skin - in this case, it is full of nutrition and flavor (like bacon), not nasty chemicals :)
  • no lemon (didn't have any at the time)
  • substituted butter instead of white wine (didn't have any at the time)
  • melted the butter, because it didn't stick by hand
  • skipped adding anything to the cavity, to avoid obscuring the chicken's taste.  (Less is more with this breed as they actually have a distinct flavor.)
  • used dutch oven with lid, instead of adding water & using foil tent
  • cooked at 325 degrees
  • measure temp at inner thigh's thick joint meat (new for us)
  • cook until inner thigh meat temp is 155 degrees (usually about an hour)
  • cook an additional half hour or until reaching internal temp of 165 degrees (uncover to crisp)
  • let the chicken rest for 20 minutes before cutting
  • if thigh meat is rubbery (breast will be less so), cook another 20 minutes

See the quote from *Diana* at the end of this article, she gets it:
http://learningandyearning.com/2012/02/21/cooking-pastured-poultry/

More recipe ideas:
https://www.parisperfect.com/blog/2015/07/poulet-de-bresse/
http://cafedelites.com/2016/04/12/honey-lemon-garlic-chicken/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/53058101838341943/
http://www.coolspringsranch.ca/cooking-free-range-poultry
http://www.livestrong.com/article/134431-free-range-chicken-cooking-tips/


How do I use the entire pastured chicken to maximize my investment in my health?
  • A: That is the right question!  The parts were designed for your health.  Here is one path:
    1. Oven roast whole including skin & fat (recipe), and eat the easily removed pieces of meat, throwing nothing away.
    2. Debone the remaining meat and use in multiple recipes including chicken tacos, chicken & rice, stir fry, etc.
    3. Crock pot the bones along with any unused parts (feet, neck, etc.) and vegetable scraps to make highly nutritious bone broth (recipe), and strain.  Use broth as a base for other recipes or as a breakfast drink to support gut health.
    4. If you don't cook the organ meats (the highest nutrition parts) in separate recipes, dice them and include in the bone broth recipe.

Enjoy!