Biggins' the Chicken

Last night, my bf showed me how to cut up a chicken. We started by removing the wishbone, slicing down the sides of the sternum and then we popped the joints of the legs and sliced them off. It was more a watch and learn experience for me, but I got some hands on time slicing through the joints and feeling out the wishbone. (Click here for a Chow.com video demonstrating the process).

We bought our chicken from whole foods for $1.99 / lb. and we got about a 4-5 lb chicken that ended up costing about $8.88. The chicken appeared very large to me so I named him Biggins' (which co-incedentally is the name of the nudie magazine that Al Bundy reads in Married with Children).

Once Biggins' was chopped up, he(she?) was marinated in olive oil, paprika, cumin, honey, soy, red wine vinegar and garlic.



Biggins' journey continued into a cast iron skillet where he was braised with crushed tomatoes, parsnips, yams, mushrooms, and red wine with the help of some bacon grease for browning. My boyfriend did most of the cooking and I watched in wonder. Biggins braised for close to an hour, and then was served with shaved horse-radish on top. Wow!



I'm eating the chicken as leftovers tonight. That's 4 filling delicious meals for around $20.00 give or take. I can see how meals can get cheaper when you're know what you're doing. The meat that was cut apart at the butcher cost about 3-4 times as much per pound. It always seems like you pay more in time or money.