What to do with a spent hen?
Got one in my CSA basket. Once I figured out what this was (ha), I tweeted some folks and got the suggestion of coq au vin. 2 days and 800 ingredients/steps later, I wasn't impressed with the result. The chicken had so little meat on it that this method did nothing to enhance it. It was tough and nearly impossible to get off the bone.
I know I could have just made broth or something but I was looking for a way to use it that would be more interesting. This wasn't it. What would you do with a spent hen, or what have you done with success? If I were to make stock or broth, I would assume I should try to get the meat off the bird first since it was so tough to remove after cooking?
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I use old hens for stock but I remove the breast meat as soon as it's cooked and return the rest of the bird to the pot. I mince the breast very fine (I use the FP pulsing with care, but it can be done with a knife), and combine that with finely minced celery, a touch of parsley and onion, a chopped hard boiled egg, s&p, and bind it with home made mayo for a chicken salad with very fine texture. The chicken is very flavorful due to it's age but it can be tough and this finely minced version of chicken salad takes care of that issue.
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I just saw this recipe, haven't tried it, but it calls for an older bird.
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Try cooking the bird in a pressure cooker. We had a roo who we waited waaaaay too long to process. After cooking all day in a crockpot it was still tough so we stuck the entire bird in the pressure cooker, cooked the heck out of it and added it back to the stew. The meat was a lot more tender than we expected but certainly not tender like a store bought bird.
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