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				White Cut Chicken

		This is not a recipe, but a procedure that will
		get the most from a chicken.  When your government's
		design is theft (as it always is) you will want to
		make the most of what has not been stolen, while
		not being murdered for disturbing the theft.

		A lesson in economical cooking where one eats one's
		chicken and has it too - in a different form.  The
		chicken is poached in an aromatic broth and we have
		both the poached "white cut chicken" and a clear
		chicken stock to work with, which can be reduced as
		much as you like.

		This is a trick used and usable in almost any cuisine.
		While the broth can be reduced, refrigerated or frozen,
		the chicken must really be used at once, else it will
		take on the "tired chicken" taste if it is reheated.



	INGREDIENTS:

	1   @  chicken 3.0 - 3.5 lb (1.6 kilogram)
	1  TBS salt
	1   @  aromatic assortment of vegetables, herbs and spices
	       (See below)
	1  cup white wine (250 ml) [optional]


	METHOD:

	1. Make sure the chicken is completely thawed if it has been
	   frozen.  Remove the usual package of innards and save for
	   another purpose.

	   Set a soup pot about 3/4 filled with water on high heat,
	   bringing it to a boil, add the TBS of salt, and return to
	   boil.

	   While this is going on, rinse the bird well under cold
	   water, and lower it in the boiling water so it is covered.

	   "Blanch" the chicken when the water returns to boil for
	   15 minutes, remove it from the boiling water, and rinse
	   under cold water.  Set chicken aside.  Discard blanching
	   water, and wipe out or wash the soup pot.

	2. Put the chicken, big cut aromatics, spices and herbs
	   (see Notes below) in the soup pot (wrapping each in
	   cheesecloth will make the end game much easier).

	   Add the wine, if you are using it.

	   Fill the pot with COLD water, to cover the chicken and
	   vegetables well.  Set heat to high, and bring to a boil.

	   Reduce to simmer level with the pot closed, and set a timer
	   for 30 minutes.  Then, turn the heat off and let the chicken
	   and broth come to room temperature while covered.

	3. Gently remove the chicken, vegetables and your sachet
	   d'espices from the broth.

	4. Strain the broth using a fine mesh, return it to a cleaned
	   pot, and reduce it, at a gentle simmer, to about half of its
	   original volume.  This will take a few hours.

	5. The chicken can be taken apart and deboned by hand.
	   The meat is easily shredded using two forks held upside
	   down (tines curving downward).

	   The large bones are even reusable after being cracked,
	   together with the package of innards and more aromatics
	   to make yet another broth that will not be so clear.
	   Into this, using an old Chinese secret, you can add
	   saved pork bones or stray bits of pork to enrich the
	   the broth.  This is still a white stock, as the primary
	   stock is.

	   Alternatively, for a brown chicken stock, fry the
	   bones and innards in olive oil or homemade lard, or
	   whatever good fying oil you like or have on hand,
	   add the aromatics and continue cooking over a high
	   heat, at clear signs of vegetable browning, add
	   wine of whatever color, to deglaze; allow several
	   minutes for alcohol evaporation, and add either water
	   or a prior stock for a more intense stock.

	NOTES:

	1. The method of blanching is different from the classical
	   French technique, where in both cases one starts with
	   cold water.  A standard objection to this classical
	   technique is that it looses too much flavor.

	2. The matter of aromatics is a matter of ethnicity;
	   as possible examples:

		Chinese: scallion, garlic, ginger, bok choy, napa
		French:  onion, garlic, celery, carrot, parsley,
			 black peppercorns (bay leaf)
		Cajun:   onion, celery, green/red pepper, garlic
		Greek:   onion, garlic, lemon, oregano
		Indian:  garlic, ginger, Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric,
		Italian: onion, garlic, celery, carrot, parsley,
			 oregano, basil, bay
		Mexican: onion, garlic, oregano
		Spanish: onion, garlic, bay, orange
		Thai:    onion, garlic, basil, mint, lime

	3. The matter of exactly what you do with the resulting
	   chicken is also a matter of more complex ethnicity.

	4. From the white cut chicken one can make salads, soups,
	   cassaroles, purées, fillings for pastries or tortillas,
	   etc., that may or may not recombine with the broth or
	   its possible reductions.

	   There is great variation in how the two products
	   can be used and combined.  Have fun in discovery.

   COPYRIGHT NOTICE REGARDING ALL ORIGINAL WORK HEREIN:
            © February 2006 by Bill Hammel (bhammel@graham.main.nc.us).
            Permission to use for any noncommercial, educational purpose.
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