Country chicken is totally different from broiler chicken. One should not confuse with herb fed or corn fed chicken with country chicken again. Country Chicken weighs about 3/4 kilo on average. Its flesh tastes gamier and a bit harder. The bones will be pretty hard too. It may not be meatier. Since this bird eats upon anything (cage free…you know) and gets lots of exercise….they are thin and stronger.
Well….Halal cutting is nothing but chanting a manthra before slitting the bird’s /animal’s throat. Though one would think it has nothing to do with science! You see when we cut an animal…..the frightening state of the animal…..may induce lots of adrenal secretion in it. Which is considered harmful for humans. Or even if we think generally….killing an animal after scaring it for a long time, is not so good, right! So its a method they follow to put the misery quick. Hope you got the point!
Well….people generally cook meat as soon as they bought from the butcher. I don’t think its a very good idea. Soon after cutting the meat (chicken or mutton) flesh goes to a rigor state. All the remaining ATP molecules are used up by the body. So the flesh becomes too tight. This stage is called ‘Rigor Mortis’ in science. So one need to give some time after slaughtering. If we cook immediately after cutting the meat will be rough and hard.
Approximately chicken and Mutton needs about 6 hours after cutting. So I generally prefer marination during this time. Marination also helps in tenderising meat. I prefer papaya, milk and ghee marination for mutton/lamb. I prefer yogurts and tomatoes for broiler chicken. When it comes to country chick….I marinate it with sea salt and turmeric. Well….sea salt (rock salt) gives kind of earthiness to it. Though the iodised salt is not that bad…it gives kind of metallic taste to the chicken after cooking. Again turmeric is the best antibiotic….since its country chicken, I marinate it with turmeric for pretty long period and wash it down several times in running tap water.
Burning country chicken’s skin! Yeah….I do that. Chicken has finest feathers called filoplumes (hardly visible sometimes) which may upset ones tummy. So slightly burning its skin will destroy it.
Though skinning is a handy choice….when it comes to country chicken, skin is considered as delicacy. So I always cook it with skin-on. If you are too calorie conscious like me…better cook this chicken with skin on, but avoid eating skin later. Avoid second helpings or more gravy. Sounds pretty nuts huh!
Cooking country chicken really takes time! When broiler needs 20 minutes ,country hen needs about 45 minutes over medium heat. At the same time over cooking may make the meat go very rubbery.
Yeah bone-in chicken is good over bone less for cooking. Bone’s hold the latend heat inside the meat and makes it to get cooked faster. While deep frying and grilling….I always choose bone-in for this reason. It avoids undercooking!
Actually I stir-fry this chicken for a brief period in oil…before adding water. I give some time to denature the protein. (denaturing protein is nothing but chicken’s pink flesh turns to pale and opaque) You would have noticed egg whites turning to bright white soon after tossing over wok/tawa.
One more thing….never eat this chicken’s left overs on the other day. Eat it on the very same day. Trash them down when you are done. Refrigerating, microwaving…..nothing helps .
By: Malar Gandhi
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