Southern Matters--Supplemental Images

Select two birds of approximately equal size, about five pounds each, dressed weight. Clean the sink well and handle the bird within the sink to avoid cross contamination with other parts of the kitchen. (In a 2007 Consumer Union report, 83% of fresh, whole broilers bought nationwide harbored campylobacter or salmonella. Thus, poulty particularly but also other flesh products should be treated as dangerous until fully cooked, IMHO.)

Trim excess fat (poultry fat has a high ratio of omega 6:omega 3) and the wing tip (that part which is homologous to the hand). Remove organ packet (which often contains neck, heart, liver, and gizzard) and ensure that the cavity is rinsed clean and clear. Avoid cross contamination with "juices," which derive from processing-bath water, add value to the product and go by a most unsavory name ("fecal soup").

Pat on copious quantities of lemon pepper, inside and out. Be careful to avoid contamination of the spice container with germ-ladden hands. A second pair of hands is invaluable (for assistance with this and other tasks, such as turning water on and off).

Wash sink and cutlery throughly at the end of the task, then fill sink with water, mix in a few milliliters of bleach and let all, including scrubber pads and cloths, soak for some minutes. Use as little bleach as possible (dioxins?) and do not mix with cleaning products that contain ammonium (ref) or are acidic (e.g., vinegar). Then, wash sink and utensils again. Wash hands thoroughly.

The chickens are deboned on a clean cutting board. As desired, the skin is trimmed away and the chicken is chopped. One might wish to keep the dark separate from the light meat in case of dietary idiosyncracies. Refrigerate or freeze right away. The drippings are poured into a tall container and refrigerated overnight, after which the fat-layer is skimmed off and discarded. The aqueous broth is an excellent flavoring for bland food such as a small portion of rice (or a larger portion of a food of lower glycemic index).

The Mega-Meal Chicken For several years when time, money and Nedra's energy level were short, I defaulted to cooking mega-meals, about 45 meals per episode. Of course, they were easy meals and incorporated factory products (such as spaghetti sauces and frozen vegetables). Meals were frozen individually in partitioned microwave-safe containers and were handy for dinners, but especially for lunches at work. This habit, sans the microwave, harkened back to graduate-student days when I worked day and night and Nedra had a long commute to her job. It continued through Will's second year in medical school (in Gainesville), when ten meals were part of the incentive for him to visit us on alternate weekends. Will mentioned this tradition over Christmas 2008 and asked me to share the recipe I used for chicken, so here it is. As incidental points, meat production accounts for nominally 15-24% of greenhouse-gas emissions (ref). Factory meat is not equal, however, in global-warming effects. Indeed, chicken is 13x less offensive than beef (ref) because of their higher feed-conversion efficiency (important because of deforestation issues, waste management, fossil-fuel consumption, soil degradation), and also because of the flatulence produced by ruminants. In addition, chickens are further away from us evolutionarily, so we empathize with their predicament less, nothingstanding that millions in the US are plunged into scalding water each year while yet alive. In summary, relative to the factory-food meat alternatives, chicken is "good."

A major goal of cooking is to avoid a messy, expensive and time-consuming clean-up. Begin with an inexpensive enamel pan and coat it with oil. Although canola oil might best be applied by use of a disposable paper towel, spray is convenient (outside, of course, to avoid overspray on the counter). Next, line the pan with inexpensive aluminum foil, leaving extra on the sides. Finally, add a rack (so that fats will drip from bird during cooking).

Select two birds of approximately equal size, about five pounds each, dressed weight. Clean the sink well and handle the bird within the sink to avoid cross contamination with other parts of the kitchen. (In a 2007 Consumer Union report, 83% of fresh, whole broilers bought nationwide harbored campylobacter or salmonella. Thus, poulty particularly but also other flesh products should be treated as dangerous until fully cooked, IMHO.)	Trim excess fat (poultry fat has a high ratio of omega 6:omega 3) and the wing tip (that part which is homologous to the hand). Remove organ packet (which often contains neck, heart, liver, and gizzard) and ensure that the cavity is rinsed clean and clear. Avoid cross contamination with "juices," which derive from processing-bath water, add value to the product and go by a most unsavory name ("fecal soup"). Pat on copious quantities of lemon pepper, inside and out. Be careful to avoid contamination of the spice container with germ-ladden hands. A second pair of hands is invaluable (for assistance with this and other tasks, such as turning water on and off). Wash sink and cutlery throughly at the end of the task, then fill sink with water, mix in a few milliliters of bleach and let all, including scrubber pads and cloths, soak for some minutes. Use as little bleach as possible (dioxins?) and do not mix with cleaning products that contain ammonium (ref) or are acidic (e.g., vinegar). Then, wash sink and utensils again. Wash hands thoroughly.

Place the birds breast-side down on the rack. Ensure that no part of the bird overhangs the pan/foil (to avoid dripping fat into the oven, a matter of fire safety and general hygiene). Transfer to a 325F oven for 1h 15 minutes; then, remove and flip birds on their backs, and insert thermometer. Continue cooking, about another hour. (Because of the heat generated during cooking, it would be energetically preferable to make this meal during winter or with open windows.)	According to the USDA only temperature is an adequate means of determining meat doneness. Cook to about 175 F, just in case the thermometer lacks accuracy. (It is prudent periodically to check the calibration of these cheap thermometers by "measuring" the temperature of boiling water.) Monitor the temperature during cooking near the bone in the breast, i.e., at the thickess part of the bird. Double check the temperature on the inside of the thigh, again, near the bone. Finally, make a deep incision and if the juice runs clear, declare the bird safe to consume.
	The chickens are deboned on a clean cutting board. As desired, the skin is trimmed away and the chicken is chopped. One might wish to keep the dark separate from the light meat in case of dietary idiosyncracies. Refrigerate or freeze right away. The drippings are poured into a tall container and refrigerated overnight, after which the fat-layer is skimmed off and discarded. The aqueous broth is an excellent flavoring for bland food such as a small portion of rice (or a larger portion of a food of lower glycemic index).