These days when you find a sale, you MUST stock up. The sales are fewer and not as big a savings as they used to be, BUT you can still find some great deals. Keep your eyes peeled and be ready with these 3 great ways to cook a LOT of chicken at one time!
Last Saturday I wasn’t even looking to buy chicken. But when I saw 4 whole ones marked down to 49c per pound (that’s 84c per pound for the meat), I bought the two largest. Over 5 pounds each for a total of about $5…that’s a lot of chicken needing to be cooked quickly!
Whole roasted chickens
As it turns out, roasting ‘em whole just isn’t a big deal. It doesn’t take all day either. I used the recipe from @thewoodenskillet (see that here) with these alterations – 1) I didn’t have any oranges, so I used more lemon; 2) I didn’t have the fresh green spices, so I used the dried; 3) I didn’t have the whole head of garlic so went without; and 4) it took a little longer than the prescribed time since there were two of them AND they were so big. The original recipe was for one 2-3# bird.
We had a meal from them that evening, then I pulled the rest of the meat from the bones. Easiest to do while they are still warm, but of course, I ended up finishing the next day. This had a very subtle flavor (I like a little more punch, my husband liked it as it was), but that’s perfect for adding to a chicken salad or other recipes so the flavors don’t compete.
Of course, I forgot to take the pic of the whole amount, but we’ve already eaten 3 servings and 3 cups of meat were used to make Madras chicken salad (if you haven’t tried this, it’s one of my favorites…recipe here). I plan to use the rest for Green Curry Coconut chicken and Baked Jambalaya. We’ll see if there’s any left after that!
I also strained and chilled the broth overnight, skimmed it, then froze it for later use. Two and a half cups of tasty broth for soup!
Easy baked chicken
My Sam’s has a good daily price on bone-in thighs…98c/# (that’s 1.48/#…if you’re wondering how I’m figuring these prices, check it out here /is-that-bone-in-chicken-really-cheaper/ ). So when I buy those, I have about 10 or 11 thighs to cook. It’s simple to take the skin off if you want (see that here or in video form here). Here’s how I cook ‘em.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 9×13-inch or 11×15-inch baking dish (or you might need a second smaller pan). Put the skinned thighs in there upside down, with their V shapes alternating so they fit well together (see pic). Top with butter or a little olive oil and sprinkle with spices of your choice. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, flip and top with more olive oil and spices. Bake for another 15 minutes. Check the thickest pieces with a meat thermometer. Make sure they reach an internal temp of 165 degrees.
Again, so much easier to take the meat off the bone and remove the vein and the fat in a thigh while it is still a little warm. Then shred or chop according to how you’ll use the meat.
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
And recently I’ve cooked my boneless, skinless breasts in the Instant Pot according to this recipe by @thewholecook.
It’s so simple: 2 pounds of chicken with 1 cup of broth for 10 minutes on high, then natural release for 10 minutes. Add spices if you want. I mean seriously…you can even memorize that one!
My favorite method? That depends!
If you need a meal and have gotten a whole chicken on sale, go with the roasting method. If you need a meal from cut chicken parts with meat left over, I’d say use the baking method. The crockpot used to be my favorite to cook chicken, but the Instant Pot might be beating that now…and those two methods won’t heat the house as much.
Any which way you go, saving on chicken and cooking in bulk not only saves you money, but time and sanity too…and can’t we all use more of those? Which is your “go to” chicken-cooking method? Share it in the comments below!
