The Food Club

Use every part of a chicken!

Posted on 05. Apr, 2010 by Justin.

I set myself a little challenge last weekend which was to use every part of the chicken including the bones. My rule was that no part of the chicken was allowed to go into the bin which would be my way of measuring my success.

I’m pleased to report that I was successful in my challenge and I’m going to share with you how I did it.

1. Roast the chicken - I roasted a chicken for the usual Sunday dinner and the two of us ate the legs and wings leaving the breast meat un-touched. We kept the bones from the legs and wings which I would use later for a stock.
2. Make a stock - I then removed the breast meat from the bird and put this to one side. I put the bones we had saved along with the rest of the carcass into a large pan. I chopped up a carrot, a leek, an onion and 2 sticks of celery which were added to the pan containing the bones. I then added water, thyme, parsley, rosemary, peppercorns and a bay leaf. This was then simmered for two hour and drained to make a fantastic chicken stock. The bones were then picked out of the pan and put to one side as I had further plans. The remaining vegetables from the stock were put on my compost bin.
3. Cook a curry – I now had the remaining breast meat and my chicken stock. I scoured my cookery books and found a curry recipe to make a Rogan Josh. I used less than half of the chicken stock making two portions and even had some curry left for my lunch the following day.
4. Make a soup – I was left with over half the chicken stock so thought a leek and potato soup would be the perfect way to use this up. I simply fried off a clove of garlic, onions and leeks in a pan. Once soft I added my potatoes and the chicken stock which was left to simmer for 45 minutes. I then passed the whole mix through the food processor to make a great soup for two people.
5. Make bone meal – This is the bit that most people will probably think this is a step too far! Bone meal is a fertiliser widely available in garden centres and is just crushed bones. My thought was, if I use the stuff on my vegetable patch why can’t I make it. So I was still left with the chicken bones from the stock so I cleaned all the fat/meat off the bones using an old toothbrush. I then put the bones on a baking tray in the bottom of the oven and left them there for a week. Obviously I do lots of cooking so at the end of the week my bones were extremely dry as the oven had been used at least three times for 45 minutes each time. I moved the dry bones to the grill and cooked (more like burnt them) until they were black. I had picked up a second hand coffee grinder which I then used to turn the bones into a course powder. I had my very own bone meal ready to use on my vegetable patch.

From this one chicken I produced 7 meals and had some fertiliser to use in the garden.

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Saving money? Buy a chicken!

Posted on 01. Apr, 2010 by Justin.

If you’re looking to save some money then buy a whole chicken and think smart once you get it home. I don't bother with buying pre-prepared chicken from the supermarket or butcher. For example, chicken fillets can be really expensive and don't forget your paying a premium for the convenience. So for a little more effort you could do a few things with your chicken:

1. A medium sized chicken will quite happily feed a family of four with a few veggies! This represents good value for money as I buy a free range chicken from my local butcher for £5. I know the chicken is from a local farm and isn't bloody which is a good sign the animal hasn't been under too much stress before getting to the abattoir. Including your vegetables you could be looking at paying under £2 per person for free range meat. You will pay more for free range at the supermarket but look out for the "Freedom Food" chickens as these are a great compromise.
2. Why not cook a chicken bigger than you planning to eat and use the cold chicken to make sandwiches? This can be used for most meats from beef to pork. A sandwich at a local deli can be between £2 - £4 so if you’re left over chicken gets you 3 sandwiches this is a saving of over £6!
3. Learn how to joint or quarter a chicken and then freeze the parts you’re not going to use. I learnt how to do this from the watching a video on YouTube. This might seem difficult but once you get the hang of it you can have the chicken jointed in less than 5 minutes. This will give you two large chicken fillets for stir fries, fajitas or to cook whole and two legs which can be roasted. I tend to roast the wings with my chicken legs but not everyone likes this part of the meat. This method means your cutting out the premium the supermarket is charging for the convenience of pre-prepared chicken.

To cook a whole chicken might seem like it’s going to take a long time as traditional recipe books recommend 20mins per pound. However, I use a method from Delia Smith which is the “Quick Roast Chicken” method and it will allow you to cook a chicken in under an hour.

I hope this post gets you going when it come to chicken as there are lots of other things you can do to make a whole chicken an extremely economical meal.

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Local Markets

Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by Justin.

I've just had a long weekend away in London and decided to look round Borough Market during my stay. This was an incredible experience and I've attached some of the photos from the market below.

This experience made me think about the culture we all seem to have become accustomed to of going to our local supermarket. I'm not saying don't goto the supermarket but how about thinking about how we shop a little more carefully. The retailers in this market are extremely passionate about the food they sell and think about quality before price. Most of the food being sold was sourced from the UK and this market is clearly is a great advert for British produce.

Every major city will have a least one market but people seldom visit them as the convenience of the supermarket is an overriding factor. How about over the next month you make an effort to visit your local market? Here are a few reasons why:

1. Save money - markets are on the whole cheaper than a supermarket as they don't have the same high overheads / staff costs.
2. Better quality - find out who are the really good suppliers in your market. Ask questions such as how long have you been here? Where does your meat come from? How long do you age your beef etc. You will soon get an idea about their ethos and passion for the produce on offer. 
3. Get to know your food and the retailers - a lot of people buy the same food every week from the supermarket as it seems less terrifying when it's covered in a plastic tray. By talking to the retailers in the market they can help you choose a delicious cut of meat or new vegetables to try. Market traders have knowledge which you can't find in a supermarket. In fact next time you are in your local supermarket ask a member of staff where a particular cut of meat comes from in the animal. 9 time out of 10 they won't know!
4. Good fun - a market has atmosphere and there is an air of excitement. 

Enjoy your local markets and enjoy the photos below!

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Buying Good Beef

Posted on 26. Feb, 2009 by Justin.

All my friends know I’m extremely picky when it comes to the quality of my food but when it comes to beef I go to extremes. Last week I bought what I hope is going to be a fantastic piece of beef. I’ve taken a picture so you can see what I’m talking about.

This cut is called “Wing Rib” and I have several reasons why I think this will make an exceptionally tasty meal.

1.       Marbled Fat – you will see from the photo that the meat is what I call marbled with fat. A piece of meat with no fat is likely to be dry and tasteless when cooked. I personally like to eat the fat on meat but even if you don’t always pick a piece of beef with plenty of fat as it will pay dividends when cooked. Don’t forget that any fat (dripping) that comes out of the meat can be collected and later used to make roast potatoes.

2.       Dark Colour – you will also see that this meat is not bright red but is slightly darker. This is because it has been matured by the butcher which will increase the flavour. Beef can be matured for up to 21 days and the longer it’s matured the better it gets. In the supermarket you will see a lot of the beef will be bright red and this signifies it hasn’t been matured so the taste will be poor. You can also see that my piece of beef is not swimming in blood like a lot of supermarket meat. This is a sign that the animal was not stressed when slaughter and has been treated with respect until its final moments. I happen to know that the butcher where I bought this meat actually has an abattoir on site and the animal only had to travel a few miles from the farm.

3.       Cost – your all thinking so how much does a piece of beef like this cost. I’m very lucky that I’ve got a fantastic local butcher so only paid £12 for the cut. Let us consider a few hard facts; the supermarket is cost driven and even the best ones out there are still looking to keep the shareholders happy. By supporting a local butcher you get better quality, value for money and you know where your food has come from. If you’ve ever looked at supermarket packaging you will see a lot of the meat we buy comes from abroad where quality control and standards could be poor. Meat from a local farm down the road should benefit from better quality and lower transport costs.

If you are looking for a cheap meal try asking your butcher about some of the cheaper cuts of beef. By getting to know you butcher he will in most cases recommend what to buy and how to cook it. In my view some of the cheaper cuts are often the tastiest. 

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Lemon Posset / Lemon Cream Pudding

Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by Justin.

My friend Rob gave me a fantastic recipe over the weekend which I made for my good lady for Valentines Day. I was blown away by the simplicity and taste; so I thought I'd share it with you all. He describes this as a lemon posset or a lemon cream which is ideal to cleanse the pallet after a big meal. As the pudding can be prepared in advance it's ideal for a big dinner party. 

Serves 6 people.

Ingredients:

• Espresso cups or shot glasses
• Blueberries (a small pack from the supermarket will be fine)
• 300ml double cream
• 85g Sugar
• 3 Lemons

Method:

• Put the cream and sugar in a small pan and bring to a rolling simmer for 3 minutes. Be careful not to catch the cream on the bottom of the pan. 
• Juice the 3 lemons and add the juice to the cream. 
• Remove from the heat.
• Put half a dozen blueberries in the bottom of each cup or glass then pour in the liquid from your pan. 
• Put in the fridge to set for 2 hours. 
• Garnish with a blueberry once set.

I put my puddings in espresso cups as the puddings are very rich and this provided just the right amount for one person after a big meal. You could use blackberries instead of blueberries as long as you are getting the tart contrast in flavours. Apparently the lemon causes a chemical reaction which makes the cream set once cooled. All I know is that it tastes delicious! 

Bon Appetite!

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Tea Loaf

Posted on 29. Jan, 2009 by Justin.

If your looking for a great snack while waiting for your fruit and veg to grow this should keep you satisfied. I like a slice of tea loaf with a cup of tea and lashings of butter. If you've got ingredients left from when you made your Christmas Pudding that your not sure how to use; this is a great way to use some of them up. 

225g / 8oz sultanas
50g / 2oz cut mixed peel
100g / 4oz soft light brown sugar
150ml / 1/4 pint warm tea
1 egg 
225g / 8oz self raising flour

Place the sultanas, peel and sugar in a bowl. Add the tea and leave to soak for at least 1 hour. If you can stand the wait leave it over night. Once soaked, grease a 450g / 1lb loaf tin.

Stir the egg into the fruit mixture and beat well. Sift the flour on to the fruit and mix well. Add the mix to the loaf tin and cook at 160c, 325F , gas mark 3 for 1.5 hours but take a look after an hour. When cooked the loaf should be springy when pressed with your finger. Leave the loaf to cook for 10 mins and then turn out to cool. Stores very well when kept in an airtight tin and I think it improves if you keep it a few days.

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