Preparing your chicken

Growing up, it was instilled in the Smith Family not to throw food away and we learned the valuable lesson of how to make the most of your chicken.

For us the leftover chicken was used in meals throughout the week in a number of ways.

From simmering the carcass with vegetable peelings to provide a base to comforting soups or enrichening sauces; to shredding the delicate pieces of meat into sandwiches for school lunchboxes, and casseroles. 

A whole chicken can provide a family with a lot more than just a roast chicken however.

Here we want to show you a few simple steps to prepare a whole chicken for different cooking methods to suit your tastes. 

We call this The Smith Family Way.

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Chicken Breast & Wings

The leanest and most popular piece of meat is the chicken breast. It has a milder flavour and absorbs spices and herbs well. It can be dry if overcooked, so we would recommend shorter cooking methods e.g. stir-fried, grilled, pan-fried

Wings: Delicious on their own or as part of the breast, wings are full of flavour. Add to stocks and sauces to elevate the taste, or simply oven-roast or fry for a crispier texture. .

 
 
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Chicken Legs

This darker meat is more flavoursome and tender than the breast and is ideal in casseroles, curries and richer meals.

The bones are full of flavour and will enrich stocks and sauces. The thigh can be separated from the drumstick as its own piece or served as one larger cut.


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Spatchcock Chicken

A simple preparation process which results in:

  • Even cooking: People can often find it hard to balance cooking the thigh and breast fully without the breast meat drying out.

  • Shorter cooking time: As the chicken is laid flat on one layer this reduces the cooking time

  • Superior texture: As the surface area is larger, all skin becomes crispy while retaining succulent meat.