Butcher Rob Adams of Adams of Oxton talks us through Chicken and his delicious Grilled Chicken with Chorizo & Chickpea Stew.
THE BUTCHERS CUT
BY ROB ADAMS
Butcher Rob Adams of Adams of Oxton talks us through Chicken and his delicious Grilled Chicken with Chorizo & Chickpea Stew.
Britain’ s undisputed favourite meat … The Great British Chicken.
There are many hundreds of varieties of hens; the light Sussex in England; the Faverolles and Bresse in France; the White Cornish and the White Rock in America; and the way these breeds have been developed is a closely guarded secret.
Birds are rated by their performance – that is how many days to achieve a certain weight. Chickens are such a versatile food, with virtually no waste, especially if you use the carcase for preparing delicious chicken stock for soups, broths and sauces.
Chickens are available throughout the year, fresh or frozen and are usually sold oven ready. Supermarkets usually sell packaged birds by oven ready weight, but a fresh bird bought from a butcher is preferable as it can be prepared in the way you want to cook it. Generally a larger bird gives better value because the ratio of meat to bone is higher. As well as being available whole, birds can be bought in individual portions – legs, wings, thighs, drumsticks, halves and quarters. Ask your butcher – we are always happy to portion the bird however you may wish. Chicken is a delicate meat and needs considerate cooking since it has a rapid rate of shrinkage in high heat – But much depends on the age of the bird: tender, young poultry can be barbequed, fried, grilled or roasted; old birds need long, slow braising or stewing. Traditional dishes such as the Scottish‘ cock-a-leekie’ and the French‘ coq au vin’ are unlikely to have been prepared with cockerels but with capons or boiling fowl. The age and the type of chicken therefore determine the method of cookery and the recipe.
To roast a chicken – brush with oil or fat, season with salt and white pepper – Birds that are roasted in foil or in a covered chicken pot roaster are in fact cooked by steam and not by radiant heat. They will need a final 20-30 minutes browning, uncovered.
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