we raised and butchered 32 chickens this past summer, and kept them all whole for the freezer. There are many options to use the meat, even with keeping the chicken whole.
our favorite way to cook a whole chicken is in the crockpot. It gives us enough chicken for two meals, and about 3 quart jars of nutritious broth. We slightly thaw the chicken to get the packaging off and throw it in the crockpot.
we cut up carrots, celery, onion and garlic to add to it. Then season with a bay leaf, salt, pepper, and whatever other spices you like. We then cover the chicken with filtered water.
cook the chicken on low for 8-12 hours, or on high for 4-6. Pull the whole chicken out, and shred up the chicken. Separate in half for two meals. For the chicken I’m not using right away, I’ll store it in a glass container with a lid, and add some broth on top so it doesn’t dry out. If I don’t plan on using it in the next couple days, I will put it in the freezer. You can then thaw it out for an easy meal using chicken.
strain the broth, and store in jars. You can freeze, or keep in the refrigerator if you plan on using within a week or so. The flavor of this broth is amazing! If we don’t plan on using it, we will put it on top of our dogs’ food. It has significantly decreased our dog’s arthritis symptoms!
some of the meals I will make out of the shredded chicken are:
- chicken alfredo
- chicken enchiladas
- shredded bbq chicken sandwiches
- chicken bacon ranch sliders
- chicken noodle soup
- chicken tacos or fajitas
- chicken tortilla soup
- chicken fried rice
we have been loving the taste and texture of the chickens that we raised, and are happy to know how they were treated and fed.