Even though I entitled this post with the word ‘bird’, I mean chicken or turkey. I’ve not yet cooked a duck or goose! But this method should work well, in most areas, with either bird. This method is for cooking the entire bird at once versus cutting it into parts and cooking (though that is a good method too!).

I have some friends who have whole birds to eat up and wanted to post this for anyone who may not like cooking an entire bird, or with less experience. But, I will tell you, this is the way to go. More meat, bones to utilize, and ways to enjoy it all!

Slow Cooker: I cook a whole chicken almost every week of the year. Most of the time I begin by placing it into a slow cooker along with 1/2 a gallon of water (veggie scraps, garlic, etc) for meat stock, killing two birds with one stone if you will. This makes a moist and tender chicken and stock/broth at the same time!

Another way to use the slow cooker is just adding the bird and anything else you’d like to flavor it with. I will add fresh herbs sometimes if I have them, garlic, salt, pepper… you get the idea. You can cook a thawed bird on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours (this depends on the size of your chicken and how you like your meat).

For a turkey, you would either need a roasting slow cooker, or a very small turkey. I have not tried this because we don’t cook much turkey, but I would say this method would work fine as long as your lid fits properly! (The above turkey photo was a baked bird).

What’s Next: After you have cooked your bird in the slow cooker, you let it cool enough to handle and debone the meat. This process doesn’t take as long as you would expect. And, perk: once you have done it several times, it is like clockwork- you know where meat is, where bone is, and how to separate things like you want.

In the end, you have nice portions of white and dark meat as well as organs.

Using the Meat: Now is the fun part! Let’s jump into the many ways you can use that delicious chicken or turkey.

• Hot and ready- use the meat right off the bone and add veggies, fruit, and starch for a lovely meal.
• Process it- if you added this cooked meat to a food processor, it becomes more of a ground meat, used in cold salad, soup, or possibly (though I haven’t tried it) meatballs. If you add a bit of liquid, it will likely become spreadable (this is especially true for the turkey).

• Chunk- cut you meat into chunks/dice it and have in a variety of dishes including chicken salad, pizza topping (see below), skillet dinners, soups… (the above skillet dinner was made by my 14 year old son; he chose the meal and each piece to go in it!).

• Shred it- tear your meat into shreds and use in tacos, baked nachos, BBQ sandwiches, chicken n’ rice…
• Organs- eat them! Or chop them up and add to a dish where they may be disguised (especially if this grosses you out!). I have a post about organ meat.

This is only one simple way to cook and use a whole chicken or turkey. Depending on how many pounds your bird is, you may be able to use this meat for many meals! If you get tired of it, freeze it! We often use our chicken throughout the week in a few different meals. That way, the taste is spread over many days and we can eat other things here and there.

Broth/Meat Stock: Now, if you chose to also make broth as you cooked your bird, you can use it throughout the week as well or freeze it. I like the souper cubes for freezing! However, if you are making 1/2 a gallon of broth/stock per week, I bet you can use it up easily. How?

• Meat and Rice- this can work for chicken, turkey, beef… use the broth instead of water to cook your rice (any rice!) Add veggies as the rice cooks for a well-rounded supper dish.
• Soups and Stews- broth is such a nourishing boost, use it in all of your soup dishes this week! You can use it straight or cut it with a little water. Such an enhanced flavor and without fake preservatives or extra add-ins.
• Wet your other dishes- I use broth as a backsplash when making many meals. Taco meat, bbq chicken, etc use some water to help cook it from cold- use broth instead.
• Drink it- if you have strained your broth through cheesecloth, drink it warm each morning for an immune boost and a warm start to your day.

Happy Bird Cooking, friends!

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