I am no Rachel Ray nor will I ever claim to be one but, cooking old school, I can do!
Cooking farm raised poultry is a bit different from cooking one of the antibiotic filled, hormone induced, birds from your local store. All of the lovely stuff that is so horrible for our bodies changes the cooking process. Unfortunately, most of us in today’s society are accustomed to that type of cooking.
Anyone that knows me, knows I am definitely from old world upbringing. It seems that the older I get, the more I appreciate all that my father taught me growing up, especially cooking. My father loved to cook on his wood cook stove. He was a manly man that could cook up a awesome batch of food too!
But I digress, now on to the chickens. Fresh farm raised, free-range chickens when cooked by more standard methods have a tendency to be harder to get off the bone. This throws many a curve ball as they are used to cooking the store purchased juiced up chickens. All of these chemicals, additives, broths, etc though bad for us help tenderize the chickens you purchase. But all is not lost, you do not have to break a tooth on a bird to eat healthy! My dad taught me long ago to brine the bird. His favorite go to was buttermilk! Buttermilk for everything lol. Don’t drop off yet. There are 2 types of brine, a water based brine or a milk based brine. Daddy always used milk based. The lactose acted as an agent to break down the muscle tissue and give a more tender bird. There is also a saltwater brine as well. Adding salt with your favorite herbs, makes for a mighty tasty bird.
Additional options include such things as beer can chicken, the crockpots, and even the bottled marinades. If it is acidic and can break down the muscle of the bird that is what you, want. Inject some melted butter, I do that for my turkeys on holidays. They are always tender, juicy and full of flavor.
So that’s my little tips and tricks on cooking farm raised birds. If you got any let me know and I will post them as well! I don’t usually do measurements in my cooking but if any of ya all are interested in some of my fathers recipes let me know I will send them to you!
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