Chicken, Why?

The modern chicken breast, it is touted as the harbinger of health for those who eat meat and are looking to stay healthy. "Oh I don't eat red meat, I will have the chicken breast" is a phrase uttered a gazillion times daily all over this land. Red meat has gotten a bad rap, but more on that later. I however am here to indict the chicken breast for perpetuating the crime of flavorless-ness.
We could launch into a discourse about the life of a meat chickens but lets leave that to other bloggers. I asked my local chicken guy, Peat who teaches classes on raising chickens in the city about why the modern meat chicken has little flavor. it appears that flavor increases in a bird as it ages, and given that meat chickens are harvested young, they really don't have time to build a lot of flavor.

So what is the modern cook to do? Well, here is my dilemma, I love a man and he loves chicken. Unless its braised, I normally don't have a lot of time for chicken. The breast I find to be as appealing as noshing on a foam pillow and dark meat while better in flavor is still unthrilling to me.
So dear reader I have two options for you, one starring our beloved chicken breast and one starring the cornish hen or occasionally known as the cornish game hen.

First the breast

The key is twofold, first cook the chicken with the bone in.  This actually saves you some money at the market and you can easily remove the bone after cooking if you are adverse to meat on the bone.  Second marinate that sucker.  You can use a commercial marinade or make your own.  The advantage to making your own is that you can control the sodium, take a look at that bottle of commercial marinade next time and you will be shocked at the amount of your daily sodium is in it.  I have also found that when marinating vaccume packing the meat while it marinates really allows the marinade to penetrate the meat.  You can do with a home machine or for those of us who don't have them, you can buy the Ziploc type vacuum bags at Target or large megamart. I have listed a basic marinade recipe at the bottom of the page.

Now for the cornish hen.  I came across a local poultry farmer who had a special on these birds a week before last and we feasted on them over Labor Day weekend.  The best way to cook these birds is to spatchcock them and either roast them in the oven or as I did on the grill.  I have included a video for how to spatchcock a bird below.  On the hens however you should be able to simply use a knife as the flesh is a little more yielding.  The Labor Day hen recipe follows as well.

The nutrition rundown on both of these types of poultry is surprisingly similar. 
1/2 a boneless skinless breast has 140 calories, 5 grams of fat and 26 grams of protein.  1/2 a bone in hen with the skin has 150 calories, 5 grams of fat and 26 grams of protein.  I did a comparison with a marinated breast and the hens and hands down the hens won.  They were more full flavored and offered the moisture and deeper flavor of dark meat.  So don't be afraid of trying something beyond the breast.

Basic Marinade for Chicken
This can be adjusted in an infinite number of ways.  You simply need 2 parts acid to 1 part oil and flavoring agents.

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar
3 T of brown mustard
1 t thyme
3 cloves of garlic crushed
2 t crushed black pepper
salt to taste

Combine ingredients in a blender and pour over chicken, a baggie works great for this or vacuum pack as I recommended.  Marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

How to Spatchcock


Labor Day Hens
You will need 1/2 a hen per person or if you are feeding extremely hungry people 1 per person.

Spatchcock the hens and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.  No this will not make you sick, it allows the meat to cook more evenly and will actually keep your meat from being undercooked in places and overcooked in others.

Using a charcoal grill place your coals to one side and when they are all white they are ready to use.  I soaked apple wood chips in wheat beer for 3 hours to impart a smoke flavor but this is optional.  Just before placing your hens on the grill add the wood chips on top of the coals.  The soaking keeps them from bursting into flames and allows them to smoke your meat. 

Salt and pepper the hens just before placing on the grill.  Begin the hens away from the coals skin side up. Place the lid on the grill and allow the hens to cook for 6 minutes.  Flip the hens skin side down and cook for an additional 6 minutes.  Continue to flip your hens every 4 minutes until the thighbone come easily out of the joint, which for my hens was around 18 minutes.  You can finish the hens by placing them directly over the coals for a few minutes to really crisp the skin.  Remove hens to a platter or bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.  Serve with corn on the cob and a fresh vinaigrette dressed slaw. 

Summer Slaw
2 cups red cabbage
1 large kohlrabi
1 small apple
salt and pepper to taste
enough of your favorite vinaigrette to coat

Shred the cabbage, kohlrabi and apple, toss with vinaigrette.