Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [90]
Less industrialized agricultural methods have led to various alternative labels on poultry, including:
free-range: Unlike mass-produced chickens, these birds have access to the outdoors. Unfortunately, the birds may not avail themselves of the opportunity to exit the access door and may spend very little time outside. Credible producers of free-range chickens raise their flocks outdoors for a specified time each day. The meat of this type of free-range chicken may be slightly firmer and more flavorful than that of cage-raised chickens, depending upon how much exercise the birds get.
pastured: A more precise form of free-range production, pastured chickens live in outdoor pens that are moved from field to field, providing them with a diet containing a high percentage of natural forage. The meat is firmer and much more flavorful than that of mass-produced chickens.
organic: In the United States, organic chickens and their feed must be produced without the use of antibiotics, genetic engineering, chemical fertilizers, sewage, or synthetic pesticides. An organic label can be given to mass-produced chickens that meet these criteria. Organic chickens are not necessarily raised free-range or pastured.
kosher: In accordance with Jewish religious law, kosher chickens are raised and harvested humanely with tight bacterial controls. They are salted for up to an hour after being hand-slaughtered to draw out their blood, and are then rinsed, making them slightly saltier than other chickens. Don’t brine them. Kosher chickens must be butchered by a certified kosher butcher.
Handling Chicken and Turkey
When preparing raw poultry, clean the birds and your working area thoroughly. Commercially raised poultry in North America live in crowded conditions and bacteria are easily spread between birds. For that reason, industrially produced chickens are regularly given antibiotics in their feed to combat bacteria like Escherichia coli (E. coli) and salmonella. U.S. Department of Agriculture studies show that the majority of mass-produced chicken sold in supermarkets is contaminated with these bacteria. To reduce the risk of food-borne illness, avoid storing or preparing chicken near foods that will be eaten raw. Use hot soapy water to wash all knives, boards, hands, and other surfaces that have come in contact with raw poultry.
Bacteria in poultry skin makes them spoil quickly so fresh, skin-on poultry is best refrigerated at less than 35°F for only 1 to 2 days, or frozen for no more than 2 months.
Since poultry spoils more easily than other meats, it’s often sold frozen. Frozen chicken can be safely thawed in its packaging on a plate in the refrigerator or in cold water. Allow plenty of time to thaw a frozen bird, especially a large one. In the refrigerator, a 4-pound bird will thaw in about 1 day, whereas a 20-pound bird can take up to 4 days. In cold water, a 4-pounder will thaw in just 1 to 2 hours and a 20-pound turkey will take about 8 hours. When thawing in cold water, change the water every hour or so to maintain cool, safe temperatures (below 40°F).
When storing fresh poultry in the refrigerator, keep it in the coldest part (32 to 36°F). Store the giblets separately to help extend the bird’s shelf life.
BLOODY BONES
Even when fully cooked, the meat of young birds (Cornish hens, broiler-fryers, fryer-roasters) may still appear red near the bone. Don’t worry; the meat is done—it’s just that the young animals have built up so little calcium in their bones that the bones leak hemoglobin.
WHOLE CHICKEN
Roasted Chicken with Garlic
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
We have gotten so used to roasting poultry in an oven that our first taste of fire-roasted chicken is often a palate-bending experience. The