The Famous MN Chicken…

[TiredCatLady]

I have purchased a 1.2kg whole chicken (FR, organic, all that jazz from local butcher).

Come on MN - what am I making with it to last two of us however many days?

Day 1 roast. Remove remaining meat and simmer bones with some veg possibly to make stock. This and leftover meat will give you the basics for a marvellous chicken risotto (with leeks maybe?). Any other leftover chicken could go in a (massive MN) salad, sandwich or whatever you fancy. If risotto doesn't please you, turn stock into chicken soup of some kind or freeze stock for later and chuck the meat into a curry base.

Oooooo I don’t have any leeks in but risotto sounds a plan…

Onions would work instead of leeks?

1.2kg! That's a meal for 2 and a sandwich tops. I thought you were going to say 2kg+.

I like adding leftovers to a salad or stir fry

Making coronation chicken

I use the carcass to make stock

I dont know how much 1.2kg is, not good with weights

But theres only 2 of you so have the two thighs for the roast. Cut the breasts up for a salad, being stingy, one breast for 2, makes 2 salads

Other breast chopped up for chicken stir fry, another 2 meals. Everything will have to be bulked out with lots of other ingredients of course, this might be more essence of chicken

Any other bits of meat, wings etc, chuck into the risotto

Then boil the carcass down and make a stock out of that, the soup from that could serve many meals.

So whats that now, about 12 meals?

I committed the crime of using a whole chicken today at lunch.
Absolutely nothing left to last us a few days 😮

Hang on... there's a post somewhere on it

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/2540871-I-am-going-to-Mumsnet-the-fuck-out-of-this-chicken

Not big eaters so One breast and a nip of thigh went to dinner (because I am an absolute fiend for a chunk of hot roast chicken with crispy skin and couldn’t help myself). All juices and the pan roast veg made over a pint of thick gravy which will service at least one more meal. Remaining: a full breast, both legs, a thigh and the wings plus carcass (which will be stock).
Thinking other breast shredded on top of veg/noodles for pho tomorrow, thighs into pie or risotto with the stock and some squash, curry or pate from leg and wing meat.

(this is a bit tongue in cheek to see how many meals people might eke out of a single chicken)

I haven't heard about it for years. The chicken was just for flavour!

There are four of us (2 adults and 2 teens). I regularly do a chicken of that size; it’s a roast for one meal and then does another as a curry, pie filling or pasta dish. So 8 meals for us, albeit with roast trimmings (sausages etc).

We had a 1.4 kg chicken last week. 2 of us.

Roasted with lemon juice and butter with baguettes and a Caesar salad day 1. (I have recently read a thread where this was considered heinous but I really like fresh roast chicken and salad)

Slow cooker day 2. Picked the meat off afterwards and added leeks, diced pancetta and a white wine and cream sauce. 1 cm diced and parboiled some potatoes and crisped it up under the grill. Stuck 2 portions in the freezer and ate 2. This was delicious and I'll do it again. Had it with steamed broccoli.

Day 3 used the stock and more of the chicken to make a ramen style soup. Frozen one portion of the left over broth.

Cats got the last of the chicken and the broth as there's no room left in the freezer. And day threes pushing it a bit anyway I think.

We had roast chicken yesterday using an extra large chicken from Tesco. To be honest it didn't look very large when it came out of the bag. I made stuffing to go with it. There is one slice of breast left and one leg. It served 4. There were carcass pickings left (probs a couole of sandwiches) but I popped it in the oven away from the cats and forgot to put it in the fridge after dinner.

My usual chicken is an extra large one. Serving 3 adult portions
Roast chicken dinner the first day, then strip the carcass and make an Asian soup stock - that either gets used later in the week or frozen for a quick noodle soup.
Half the remaining meat goes into a curry and the other goes towards the soup. Sometimes there's an extra chicken sandwichs worth or a small risotto in there but after that point it's basically chicken homeopathy so I stop at that point!
So 9- 11 portions I guess.

'Chicken homeopathy' 😂

I usually buy a large chicken as the additional cost vs meat gained is economical. Then
Day 1 - 2 drumsticks and 1 breast for roast dinner
(Pick carcass and chuck in slow cooker with leek tops etc for stock.)
Day 2 Most of the non breast meat in a curry or risotto (if latter use the stock made the day before)
Day 3 Chicken noodle salad (often for packed lunches) - shredded cabbage, carrot, spring onion, sweetcorn and noodles in a soy dressing. Sprinkled with sesame seeds.
If there is stock then make chicken soup with whatever is left and freeze in individual portions for quick mid week lunches.