Roasted Chicken

I pull the bird out of my zipper plastic bag and set it on the counter. There are dark shards sticking out of it’s skin. After closer inspection I realize they were residual feathers from plucking. Oh fun, my husband is going to love this. He is extremely particular about his poultry. He won’t even eat the edges of luncheon meat. How am I going to get him to eat a bird with feathers?

I pull out my tweezers, sterilize them and get to plucking. After sharing my tweezers with a chicken, I’m not sure I’ll ever look at those tweezers the same again. And yes, when the plucking was over I did sterilize them and put them back into the bathroom. My husband doesn’t need to know that the tweezers used in grooming him also groomed that chicken there on his plate.

After the removal of stray feathers, I turn my attention to the neck which is still attached to the body. Thankfully the head and feet weren’t. Now, what do I do with a chicken neck? I guess it’s time to pullout the Nourishing Traditions book and make some bone broth. Throw in some raw milk and cod liver oil and I’d make Weston A. Price proud. I cut off the neck and throw it into the freezer in a zipper plastic bag. I’ll deal with that chicken neck later.

I slather the bird with olive oil and lay it on a bed of onions, celery and carrots. Into the oven it goes to roast. I boil some rice and green beans, and await my husband’s arrival from work. Of course the tweezers and chicken neck have all been disposed of and out of sight by the time he arrives. I take the bird out of the oven. It looks a little scrawny, but that makes me feel better about the bird being hormone free.

We sit down and eat the bird. And guess what, it tastes just like…CHICKEN…go figure. The meat was a little tougher than one I usually get from the supermarket. But it’s texture is indicative of a bird who had an active lifestyle. This bird was physically fit because it caught worms in the grass.

The verdict is I’ll try this again, but it’s not really doable for me to rely solely on the farmer’s market for my weekly meat. I’d have to stock up for a month’s worth and store it in a freezer. The cost, well I’d say the bird cost twice as much as I’ve paid for the organic version in the grocery store. And three times as much as your bargained priced fryer. All things considered, it was worth giving it a try.