Insert excerptOne chicken, three meals: How to eat the whole chicken

A chicken can go a long way. These recipes from The Good Eating Company will help you use every scrap of a 1.3kg bird for three delicious meals that’ll keep you going for days.

Meal #1: Herb Roasted Chicken Crown 

Ingredients

 • 1 tbsp pesto
• 50g butter
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp rapeseed oil
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Method

1. Remove both legs, the wing tips, and the wishbone. Wrap the legs and freeze for use in another meal, and set the wishbone and wing tips aside to be used in a stock.
2. Mix the pesto, butter and garlic together with the zest and juice of the lemon.
3. Using your fingers, gently prise the skin from the breast to form a gap. Be careful not to tear the skin or pull it away from the chicken completely.
4. Spread the butter and pesto mixture under the skin (using a piping bag will make this easier). Massage the mix evenly over the breast.
5. Cook at 180C (fan) for 35-40 minutes. Rest for 15 minutes, then remove the breast meat from the bone. Slice and serve with your choice of vegetable side/s.
6. Prep the rest of the chicken for more meals. Remove the oysters and any other meat left on the bones. Refrigerate along with the rest of the carcass for recipe 3.

Meal #2: - Classic Coq Au Vin

Ingredients

2 chicken legs
Flour for dusting the legs
Knob of butter
100ml water
300ml red wine
1 shot of brandy
10 button onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
50g smoked or streaky skinless bacon
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme

Method

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a deep, lidded pan. Season the legs with salt and pepper, then lightly coat with flour.
2. Sear the legs in the pan until golden brown, then set aside. Put the garlic, mushrooms, onions and bacon in the same pan. Saute until brown.
3. Add the brandy and, once evaporated, add the red wine and tomato puree, stirring well. Return the legs to the pan, top up with water.
4. Add the herbs and season to taste. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with creamed potatoes and seasonal wilted greens.

Meal #3: Thai Spice Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

Chicken carcass, chopped into small pieces
1.5L water
1 tbs Thai green curry paste
Splash of fish sauce (or swap for salt or soy sauce)
80g vermicelli noodles, broken into small pieces
2 spring onions, sliced (reserve the offcuts)
8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
Chicken oysters and any other meat left on the carcase
2 tsp chopped coriander

Method

1.  Place the bones in a saucepan and cover with water. Add the curry paste, spring onion offcuts, and fish sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Strain the liquid into a clean pan. Add the noodles, simmer until they are soft, then add the chicken meat, spring onions and sliced mushrooms.
3. Sprinkle with fresh coriander, serve and enjoy.

Note: Adjust the flavour by varying the amount of curry paste, and take the opportunity to use up extra veggies by adding them before the noodles.