Yesterday was a tough day. I ended up with a migraine and had to take a long nap that frankly, I didn’t want to wake up from. I’m sure many of you know how that feels. I tried some ginger tea, tried some headache yoga (From Yoga With Adriene on YouTube) and I was just feeling icky. Supper time rolls around and I feel it coming. That time when I normally give in and ask to get something quick. Yes! I’m guilty of the fast food trap. Thankfully, that is something I’ve been thoroughly working on and it’s cut our fast food in take from once every other week, to on rare occasions and I don’t participate. So what to do!? I knew I had seen a recipe where Julia and Jacque put a whole chicken in a pot and boiled it. Off, once again, to YouTube I go!
Here’s what you’ll need to set this chicken up right:
- 1 Whole Chicken (I find great deals on Whole, Organic Chickens at Krogers. Simple Truth Brand.)
- 2 or 3 Carrots, peeled
- 2 or 3 Pieces Celery
- 1 Roughly Chopped Onion
- Herbs (I used some left over sage from Thanksgiving. Rosemary, Basil, and Parsley.
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 Bottle of White Wine (Use something you’ll drink! I used Cupcake Chardonnay.)
- Plenty of water
Bring out your biggest soup pot. Remove the giblets and plastic from your chicken. Set the giblets aside and look out for my chicken giblet gravy recipe. Throw that baby in your pot. I just set mine on the counter next to my cutting board so I could just throw everything in as I went.
Peel your carrots and celery. Yes, the celery too. If you can take off one layer of the celery, it’s a little more edible in texture. Cut the onion into a couple pieces. Halves or quarters works fine.
Add your herbs. Use whatever you have on hand. Fresh or dried. I’ll list the video below so you can see what Julia and Jacque did for their herb bundle if you want to follow the original. Make sure and add some salt and pepper.
Pour in your white wine. I just eye balled it; half the bottle…ish. I am never opposed to taking a sip or two so that I know how it tastes. One thing that Julia preaches, is knowing how the food should taste. Also, Gordon Ramsay says, taste, taste, taste! Do you need any more excuses? I could probably think of a few more. 🙂
Bring everything up to a good rolling boil. Turn it down so it doesn’t over flow…It was about Med – 5 on my cook top. This keeps it bubbling, but not over flowing. Do this for 20 minutes then turn it down to Low-Simmer for 45 minutes with a lid on top. The chicken, when fully cooked, should reach 165 degrees. Check out this great resource I found http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html
I peeled some potatoes, boiled them like usual. I have a recipe for Mashed Potatoes two ways that was posted before Thanksgiving. I added some of the chicken broth from the chicken and some grass fed butter. It whipped up just like conventional potatoes! It was so good with the chicken gravy, I may have had a small saucer plate for seconds. Cut up your carrots, celery, and onions on the side and you’re good to go. This was well received well by all 3 of my kiddos!
I hope you enjoy this recipe. I was pretty impressed at how easy this was and how simply delicious it turned out. Make sure and come back for that Chicken Giblet Gravy recipe. It is different than the Giblet Gravy recipe already posted and frankly, I like the Chicken one better. If you try it out, feel free to come by the Facebook page and share pictures!
-Ami M. Lee, Julia Child Loving, Cooking with Wine Lover, Common Sense Cook
P.S. Here’s the link to the YouTube video. You can skip to 24:45 in the Video because there are two episodes per video.
P.P.S. Don’t throw away the chicken carcass! Make bone broth! Waste nothing! 🙂
The Common Sense Cook 