Architecture of a Mom: January 2013

Rotisserie Chicken in the Crockpot

8:55:00 PM

Have you ever cooked a whole chicken?

I consider myself to be fairly brave in the kitchen. Test a new recipe when guests are coming over…no problem. Try out a new cuisine…let’s go for it. But one thing that intimidates me…butchering my meat and poultry. I know it’s cheaper to buy a big cut or whole bird, but I’m just a teensy bit leery of handling raw animal products. But my usual grocery store put out an awesome sale on whole chicken, and I bit the bullet and bought one, hoping that I could use one of my favorite tools in the kitchen—my slow cooker.

I have to say that making a “rotisserie” chicken in the slow cooker is not only way easier than I thought it would be, but it was absolutely delicious.

And did I mention I only had two ingredients…so, here’s what you need:

1 fryer size (about 5 pounds) whole chicken

Poultry seasoning of your choice—I used McCormick’s rotisserie chicken seasoning.

Take the chicken out of the packaging. Steel yourself for the hard part and….Reach into cavity and remove any fun “surprises” you might have in there.

My chicken had a gizzard, heart, and liver in there. Yum.

It simply depends on the processor what you might find in there. You can save these goodies for another recipe (like soup), or you can discard. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place in slow cooker breast side up. Liberally spread seasoning all over bird. Do not forget to put some of the seasoning inside the chicken. Truss up the bird with some twine.

And…that’s it. Close up that slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Spend those 8 hours wondering why you made such a big deal over the touching of raw meat. Then come home to an absolutely delicious smelling house.

Be prepared, though: this will create the most moist, fall off the bone chicken. If you take pictures of your food (for a blog, for example), take your pictures inside the slow cooker because it will literally fall apart when you take it out. Yum.

And once you have eaten your bird, if you want to really want to use the leftovers to an advantage…make stock.

Put your carcass (picked clean as much as possible) back in the slow cooker you just cooked the chicken in (it should have some yummy drippings still in there), with any veggies you might want to throw in (carrots, celery, and onions are all good choices) and about 8 cups of water (you want to cover the carcass).

Cook on high for four hours or on low for 8. Strain and then you can freeze for another day’s soup!

Sometimes I link up at the following places: 504 Main, A Diamond in the Stuff, AKA Design, Alderberry Hill, At the Picket Fence, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blessed with Grace, Cherished Bliss, Classy Clutter, C.R.A.F.T., Craft-o-maniac, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Eat at Home, Finding Fabulous, Gingersnap Crafts, Glued to My Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, House of Hepworths, I Heart Naptime, It's So Very Cheri, Lil Luna, Lines Across, Live Laugh Rowe, Made in a Day, My Favorite Finds, Not Just a Housewife, One Creative Mommy, Organizing Junkie, Positively Splendid, Semi Homemade Mom, Serenity Now, Sew Much Ado, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Six Sisters Stuff, So I Married a Craft Blogger, So You Think You're Crafty, Someday Crafts, Sugarbee Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, The 36th Avenue, The Finer Things in Life, The Frugal Girls, The Grant Life, The Shabby Nest, Tidy Mom, Today's Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, and Under the Table and Dreaming.

Menu Planning

Menu Planning Monday 2013-01-28

4:58:00 PM

Creative Outlets

Pom-Pom Valentine Centerpiece

8:07:00 PM

Culinary Creativity

Perfect Steak Sous Vide

8:48:00 PM

If you like steak, then I have a cooking method for you. Particularly if you have a champagne taste for steak on a beer budget. If you are looking to wow a Valentine’s Day date, then please bookmark this recipe.

Have you ever cooked your steak sous vide? Many of you are probably scratching your head because I just busted out a French culinary term. Don’t feel bad, I took 5 and a half years of French, and my internal translator had me scratching my head. The literal translation is “under (or within) empty.” Which makes little sense, but a more figurative translation would be “in emptiness” or even better “within a vacuum.”

Yeah, that makes more sense. But you thought we’d be talking about a recipe in this post, not a foreign language.

Well, to make a long explanation short, apparently if you have this type of steak in a restaurant, the place a vacuum packed steak in a water bath for hours and then finish it up on the grill for a few minutes to get a sear on the outside.

This method creates a particularly impressive effect on relatively inexpensive steaks like flank steak.

But if you don’t have vacuum packing capabilities, don’t despair. With a little preparation, you can make some flank steak that will melt in your mouth.

What you will need:

Flank steak

Seasoning for the steak (pick yours—from salt & pepper to a “steak rub”)

Gallon size zip top bags

A cooler with enough room for the amount of steak you are cooking

Access to lots of very hot water (as long as your water heater is turned up it can be tap water—120F is at least as high as you need)

Be forewarned, this method takes some time. You will need to plan, but most of that time is waiting time.

Season the steak as you would normally.

Place each flank steak (we made 2 for 4 adults and 6 kids, with leftovers) into a zip-top bag.

Run hot tap water into a cooler. I recommend doing this step in the bathtub. Put the steak and the probe sensor of your thermometer into the cooler and shut it up. You want the water to maintain at about 125-130F for medium rare.

Leave it in there for at least an hour. Check occasionally to make sure your water is still the desired temperature.

A few minutes before it is time to eat, turn on your grill on high. You are basically going to grill the meat only to get your desired char marks. The meat is already cooked on the inside, super tender and amazing in flavor.

When you take the meat off the grill, wrap it in foil and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. This allows the juices to recirculate and make the steak juicy!

When you're ready to serve, cut the meat across the grain.

This has to be the best way to get an inexpensive yet tender steak. The meat is also perfect for leftovers in philly cheese steak sandwiches or fajitas.

I also want to also give a shout out to my brother in law who taught me how to make this steak. Thanks Michael!

Enjoy!

Sometimes I link up at the following places: 504 Main, A Diamond in the Stuff, AKA Design, Alderberry Hill, At the Picket Fence, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blessed with Grace, Cherished Bliss, Classy Clutter, C.R.A.F.T., Craft-o-maniac, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Eat at Home, Finding Fabulous, Gingersnap Crafts, Glued to My Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, House of Hepworths, I Heart Naptime, It's So Very Cheri, Lil Luna, Lines Across, Live Laugh Rowe, Made in a Day, Not Just a Housewife, One Creative Mommy, Organizing Junkie, Positively Splendid, Semi Homemade Mom, Serenity Now, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Six Sisters Stuff, So I Married a Craft Blogger, So You Think You're Crafty, Someday Crafts, Sugarbee Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, The 36th Avenue, The Finer Things in Life, The Frugal Girls, The Grant Life, The Shabby Nest, Tidy Mom, Today's Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, and Under the Table and Dreaming.