Comments on: How I Finally Prepared My First Whole Chicken. (Which means you can do it, too.)

By: Marcie

Marcie — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:52:10 +0000

I’ve always used the giblets in the “batch” of broth………I have my husband, who used to be a butcher, cut up a whole chicken for me (usually I buy about 10 when they are on sale and have him cut up 5 and keep the other 5 whole)………….
I use the “neck, back, wings” that we don’t use for anything else, plus any excess skin………and the giblets…………to make stock and then when the stock is done, I give the “guts” to my cats and dogs as a “treat”.
I just have a “thing” with eating organs, but I do use them while I make my stock.

By: Darcy

Darcy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:50:20 +0000

I stumbled on this page doing a search for slow cooker chicken recipes. I do not understand why people cook a whole chicken so I was curious to read your page. I see now that you are leaving it to cook all day or night in a slow cooker, and that’s a good reason. If one is baking/roasting a whole chicken, that confuses me. It takes longer to cook and therefore uses more energy that I have to pay for.

When ever I make my chicken and dumplings, I buy what ever is the cheapest at the time. Lately that’s been chicken leg quarters. After boiling the chicken parts for 20 minutes and removing the chicken from the newly made broth and allowing it to cool to where I can handle it, I always save the skin, bits of fat and the bones to make another stock, as you have done. My BF uses the skin, either cooked or raw, to make beans (and then he disgards it).

I want to make beef broth some day. Since soup bones are not avaiable anymore, I plan on using beef ribs, when they are on sale. I’ve been waiting for that and so haven’t been able to make beef broth yet. If anyone here does try and make beef broth, roast the beef first. Google it and you’ll find instructions on that.

I’m not really saying anything in regards to your recipe, just rambling, it’s a gift I have. ; )

By: jolyn

jolyn — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:58:44 +0000

I love the idea of putting the veggies in to cook with the broth. That’d be a good way to use up celery, too, which I can never seem to do.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:31:20 +0000

I too have started just recently making my own chicken stock and i will never go back to using canned. Its so much more economical & you can control all the elements in it, which is a plus. I often make food for my parents who are taking care of my grandma, all of whom have to watch their sodium. So when i make my own i can just leave the salt out or add very little, either way, much lower than broth or stock from the store. Also, i haven’t seen anyone mention adding roughly chopped veggies to their stock when they make it? I put celery, onion, carrots, parsley & garlic in mine. All cut large enough so they can be easily pulled out when its done. But normally i just cook in my pasta pot on low for about 6 hours, then when done i just lift the insert out & then strain the remaining liquid. That’s my favorite pot ever

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:05:16 +0000

The drier the meat the harder it is to get off. Turkey is easier to get off the bone when its still somewhat warm. For some reason when it gets colder. It all wants to stick to the bone lol.

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:03:23 +0000

Of course.. Boil your chicken in a pan full of water with salt pepper to taste. (taste after its cooked haha) When its falling off the bone. Take and pull the meat off and put in back in the pan with the now chicken broth. Dumplings recipe(this was my dads. and I have never used ANY other recipe. Dont wanna ruin a tried and true )
3 cups flour
3 eggs
lil bit of salt
Chicken broth(yup from the pan)
Mix all these together until it forms a very slightly sticky dough. NOT VERY just slightly. Flour your table really good. Plop your dough on the table. Flour the top roll it out until its about 1/3 of a inch thick.. maybe a lil thinner. Take a pizza cutter and cut into squares. about a inch or so. Get that pot with chicken and broth boiling. Drop your floury dumplings in one at a time so they dont stick together(extra flour on those dumpling pieces will thicken up your broth a lil which is good.) Cook that for about another 5-10 min until you taste a dumpling and they are done in the middle. This will make a HUGE pot of chicken and dumplings. If you only use HALF your chicken. Only do 2 cups flour 2 eggs for the dumplings. This is enough to feed at least 10 people if not more.

By: Our Lives

Our Lives — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:38:34 +0000

Jolyn, Your first lines of the post cracked me up! Yes, I was quite suprised that this was your first time making the whole chicken dish. It looked good though. Did you like the taste? I have always oven baked my whole chicken and have recently been using the bones to make my chicken stock. Now that you mention this I will have to post how I bake my chicken. I oven bake a whole chciken every other week. As a mater of fact I will be making one this week. Ok, I will have to get my camera ready.
Next week I am going to try your crock pot whole chicken recipe and see how I like it (without the yummy crunchy skin).

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:14:11 +0000

My favourite way is to chop onions, fresh garlic and fresh ginger and place them on the bottom of the crock pot under the chicken. Then sprinkle the chicken with soy sauce. if you’re really adventurous you can add cilantro and chile flakes to the chicken too.

I also like to turn my chicken over at least once while it’s cooking I find it helps keep it all moist.

As for the giblets- my husband cooks them up in a curry or in some soy sauce. He grew up eating them. I on the other hand don’t touch them.

By: Tonya

Tonya — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:06:34 +0000

I never thought about making a whole chicken in a crockpot. I have a rotisserie and I use that to cook whole chicken. You didn’t have to put any water in there? Does the chicken make its own juice? I might have to try that.

By: Jean

Jean — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:16:06 +0000

Nourishing Traditions is a ‘cook’ book by Sally Fallon. Very interesting read w/some good recipes.

I used to ‘help’ my dad butcher chickens as a kid so I’m very familiar with cooking whole chickens. The woman at the 2nd St Market even gave me a discount on my whole chicken b/c I told her I knew how to cut it up! There’s a first time for everything – good for you for taking on the challenge!