Time for the Yardbirds BY JIM MATHIS
I
used to work with an older guy who always referred to chickens as yardbirds. Apparently, when he was a kid, his family had chickens roaming the yard around the family farm. His mother would send him to the yard to dispatch one of the brood; that luckless hen would become supper. Things are a little easier for us. We can go to the mega-mart or butcher shop and select chicken ready-to-cook in dozens of ways; a whole chicken, 30 wings, two hindquarters or four boneless breasts; your choice, ready to cook as you wish. For a long time, I would buy just chicken parts; I’d get breasts to grill, thighs for paella, tenders for stir-fry, just pieces and parts as needed. But I’ve since discovered that it’s best to buy the whole bird.
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MAN IN THE KITCHEN
It’s more than the two of us need for a meal, but the extra parts are better when they’re all cooked together. This weekend I’m going to roast a whole chicken. A simple yardbird cooked with a few ingredients. When I’m done, we’ll have dinner for the night and precooked chicken for a salad later in the week.
Beer Can Chicken? As I guy who likes to grill, you know I’ve tried the beer-can chicken method. It’s a pretty simple idea really. You use a half full can of beer inserted into the cavity of the chicken to help it stay upright while it grills. The proponents of this method say the steam created as the beer boils helps to keep the chicken moist. But the reality is that the
steam is released from the top of the can right near the opening at the neck of the bird, so it finds the path of least resistance and escapes without really adding much to the party. Kind of a waste of a good beer. But I’ve found there are devices you can buy that hold the chicken upright, release steam lower in the cavity and let the bird cook evenly and develop a nice crispy skin. The versions I have are made by Weber from cast aluminum and steel. They have nice builtin drip pans that catch the fat and juices, a shallow area to fill with beer, wine, or chicken stock, and it leaves room in the cavity for herbs and aromatics. I’ve found this works much better than the beer can and produces a finished product that is much like the
