It may seem difficult to handle whole chickens. Especially if you work in a production kitchen. But it doesn’t have to be time consuming, and with the many meals you can get from a whole chicken, there is actually a lot of money to be saved!
Here you get tips on how to get 5 meals out of one whole chicken.
Meal 1: Wok with chicken
It’s only the first day you have to invest extra time on parting the whole chickens. But that investment saves you plenty of time the rest of the week!
Debone the chicken and put the breast fillets, thighs and wings aside. Make a chicken stock from the carcass and save for later use. We recommend that you use the chicken breasts for today’s main meal, as thighs and wings easier retain the juice and taste because of the skin.
Serving suggestions: Wok with chicken, noodles and vegetables
Meal 2: Owen baked chicken thighs
The next day you can take the parted thighs out of the refrigerator and enjoy the gain from yesterday’s work. If you want, you can mix the chicken thighs with your own homemade marinade before cooking them in the oven.
Serving suggestions: Honey marinated chicken thighs in oven served with baked root vegetables.
Meal 3: Hot wings
With two main meals in two days, you can use the parted wings as side dish or in the buffet. Turn the wings in a salty and spicy marinade and serve them as delicious and crisp hot wings.
Serving suggestions: Marinated hot wings
Meal 4: Chicken soup
Although the meat is now gone, there are still plenty of good things left from the chicken. Take half of the chicken stock you made on the first day and cook a healthy and tasty chicken soup with different vegetables and herbs in it.
Serving suggestions: Chicken soup with vegetables
Meal 5: Risotto with chicken stock
With only the remains of the chicken stock left, there is actually a possibility for one more main meal! For example, use the last chicken stock as the flavorful ingredient in a delicious mushroom risotto.
Serving suggestions: Risotto with chicken stock and mushrooms
Tip: Buy the right size chicken
This was our suggestions on how you can get 5 meals out of a whole chicken. The possibilities are many, and it is about finding the solutions that suit your kitchen and your guests.
Lastly, we want to recommend that you buy your whole chickens in the right size. There must be a great amount of meat on the chicken if the different cuts are to be used in the different dishes!
We recommend our 1400 g. whole chickens and organic whole chickens at 1700-2400 g from Chefs Club. Contact our consultants and get help finding the right chicken for your kitchen and your budget.