No, I'm not going to list them all here, but it's the subject of a new book by Tony Rosenfeld, co-owner of the b.good all-natural burger chain and contributing editor to Fine Cooking magazine. The full title of the book is 150 Things To Make With Roast Chicken And 50 Ways To Roast It.
Rosenfeld says that not many people roast whole birds anymore (besides Thanksgiving I guess). Most people are buying them pre-cooked. He worries that traditional cooking like that is becoming a little passe, and that maybe one day we'll no longer be able to get whole birds from the market.
Yeah, I have to admit that not only am I not roasting whole birds these days, most of my chicken meals come from pre-cut and pre-cooked chicken from Perdue. Oh well.
But if you do get a whole bird, before you cook it, you have to know how to choose it:
Now you have a host of options. But before you roast, you have to know how to choose a bird. "The differences are spectacular," says the author. "And you really notice the subtle nuances with the whole birds more than with parts." At the meat counter, the chicken expert looks for smooth skin and plump legs. He says that the more expensive birds usually do taste better, fresher and cleaner mostly. Size is important, too. "Four pounds is just right," he says. As for the packaging, he says, "Birds smothered in that thick, tight, Cryovaced plastic can get a little funky. Also, the sell-by dates on those chickens can be two to three weeks out." As far as this chef is concerned, "Basically, everything matters."
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