The very easiest chicken
From Liz and Nate's kitchen
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken
Salt and Pepper
Other seasonings if you'd like
A crock pot! Try Goodwill if you need one. :)
Directions -- How Liz and Nate do it:
1. Thaw that chicken! Put it in a casserole dish on a low shelf in the fridge. This may take 2 days!
2. Cut open the chicken package. Dump any water in the bottom of the bag, but there's NO NEED to wash or pat dry your chicken.
3. Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot.
4. Add enough water that there's 1/2" to 1" of water in the bottom of the crockpot. You can even skip water entirely - the chicken will produce its own juices!
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, depending on the weight of your chicken and how tender you want it. Our rule of thumb: check it at 6 hours. If you can put a fork in it and easy pull meat off the bone (AND it's reached safe temperature), you're good! If not, give it another hour. :)
Directions -- If you want a little more guidance:
Step-by-step directions are here.
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken
Salt and Pepper
Other seasonings if you'd like
A crock pot! Try Goodwill if you need one. :)
Directions -- How Liz and Nate do it:
1. Thaw that chicken! Put it in a casserole dish on a low shelf in the fridge. This may take 2 days!
2. Cut open the chicken package. Dump any water in the bottom of the bag, but there's NO NEED to wash or pat dry your chicken.
3. Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot.
4. Add enough water that there's 1/2" to 1" of water in the bottom of the crockpot. You can even skip water entirely - the chicken will produce its own juices!
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, depending on the weight of your chicken and how tender you want it. Our rule of thumb: check it at 6 hours. If you can put a fork in it and easy pull meat off the bone (AND it's reached safe temperature), you're good! If not, give it another hour. :)
Directions -- If you want a little more guidance:
Step-by-step directions are here.
chicken stock / broth
Recipe from Liz and Nate's kitchen
Get the most out of your whole chicken by making broth. We use broth in soups, and any time we make rice (use broth in place of water to up the nutritional value and flavor!). We like to keep things simple --- partly because we're busy on the farm, but also because simple is tasty! This broth is as simple as it gets:
After you've cooked your chicken, keep back all of the bones. This can work regardless of how you cooked your chicken: if you roasted and cut it up, just gather the bones after your meal. If you cooked it low and slow in the crock pot, and let the meat fall off the bones, just pull them aside. If you can, just throw them in the crock pot right away, cover the bones with water, and cook on low for 8-18 hours. If you don't have time right then, put the bones in the fridge and do it in a day or so.
We put the broth into old mason jars or spaghetti sauce jars, and freeze the broth for future soups and such. Note! You have to leave ~2" of "head space" or empty room at the top of the jar, so that the broth has room to expand as it freezes. Otherwise, you'll have a cracked jar!
You can also freeze in silicone muffin pans, and then pop the frozen broth into a freezer bag to store in the freezer.
Our favorite recipes that call for chicken broth:
Get the most out of your whole chicken by making broth. We use broth in soups, and any time we make rice (use broth in place of water to up the nutritional value and flavor!). We like to keep things simple --- partly because we're busy on the farm, but also because simple is tasty! This broth is as simple as it gets:
After you've cooked your chicken, keep back all of the bones. This can work regardless of how you cooked your chicken: if you roasted and cut it up, just gather the bones after your meal. If you cooked it low and slow in the crock pot, and let the meat fall off the bones, just pull them aside. If you can, just throw them in the crock pot right away, cover the bones with water, and cook on low for 8-18 hours. If you don't have time right then, put the bones in the fridge and do it in a day or so.
We put the broth into old mason jars or spaghetti sauce jars, and freeze the broth for future soups and such. Note! You have to leave ~2" of "head space" or empty room at the top of the jar, so that the broth has room to expand as it freezes. Otherwise, you'll have a cracked jar!
You can also freeze in silicone muffin pans, and then pop the frozen broth into a freezer bag to store in the freezer.
Our favorite recipes that call for chicken broth:
- https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spicy_pumpkin_soup/
Nate's simple summer chicken
Nate's favorite, low-stress option for a whole chicken.
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. Remove neck from chicken cavity, put it in fridge (you can use it when you make stock tomorrow). Rinse off your chicken, then pat it dry with a paper towel.
3. Grease a glass baking dish or a cookie sheet with butter or canola oil. Place your chicken on your dish/sheet, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. The pepper is for taste, and the salt makes for crispy, flavorful skin.
4. Cut a 1-2” slit in the flap of skin near the cavity, and tuck in the legs. This keeps the chicken moist. We also like to roast the chicken breast down to retain moisture.
5. Bake the chicken for about 50 minutes, or until it reaches 165° F.
6. Remove the chicken from the oven, and take it off of the hot pan. Place it on another cookie sheet or baking dish so it can cool (and not overcook).
7. Coat the outside of the chicken in the pan drippings and butter. Yum. Nate recommends using at least 2 tablespoons. No need to melt your butter – rubbing it on the chicken will melt it. Be sure to put a half tablespoon or so in the cavity.
8. Serve your roasted chicken and enjoy.
9. Reserve the bones for making chicken stock.
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. Remove neck from chicken cavity, put it in fridge (you can use it when you make stock tomorrow). Rinse off your chicken, then pat it dry with a paper towel.
3. Grease a glass baking dish or a cookie sheet with butter or canola oil. Place your chicken on your dish/sheet, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. The pepper is for taste, and the salt makes for crispy, flavorful skin.
4. Cut a 1-2” slit in the flap of skin near the cavity, and tuck in the legs. This keeps the chicken moist. We also like to roast the chicken breast down to retain moisture.
5. Bake the chicken for about 50 minutes, or until it reaches 165° F.
6. Remove the chicken from the oven, and take it off of the hot pan. Place it on another cookie sheet or baking dish so it can cool (and not overcook).
7. Coat the outside of the chicken in the pan drippings and butter. Yum. Nate recommends using at least 2 tablespoons. No need to melt your butter – rubbing it on the chicken will melt it. Be sure to put a half tablespoon or so in the cavity.
8. Serve your roasted chicken and enjoy.
9. Reserve the bones for making chicken stock.
M’sakhan: Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar, and Lemon
Recipe from CSA Member Fernanda Zullo
Ingredients:
1 large Nightfall Farm chicken, divided into quarters: breast, wing, leg and thigh
2 red onions, thinly sliced scant 1 c chicken stock or water
2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 1/2 t salt, plus extra
4 T olive oil 1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 t ground allspice 2 T za'atar (or thyme / oregano)
1 t ground cinnamon 4 t unsalted butter
1 T sumac 6 T pine nuts
1 lemon, thinly sliced 4 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix chicken, onions, garlic, olive oil, spices, lemon, stock, salt, pepper. Marinate in fridge (a few hours to overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400° F. Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a baking sheet large enough for all of the chicken pieces to lie flat. Space well apart, skin side up. Sprinkle the za'atar over the chicken and onions. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is colored and just cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small frying pan. Add the pine nuts and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Transfer to a plate with paper towels to absorb fat.
4. Transfer the hot chicken and onions to a serving plate and finish with the chopped parsley, pine nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil. You can sprinkle on more za'atar and sumac, if you like. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 large Nightfall Farm chicken, divided into quarters: breast, wing, leg and thigh
2 red onions, thinly sliced scant 1 c chicken stock or water
2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 1/2 t salt, plus extra
4 T olive oil 1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 t ground allspice 2 T za'atar (or thyme / oregano)
1 t ground cinnamon 4 t unsalted butter
1 T sumac 6 T pine nuts
1 lemon, thinly sliced 4 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix chicken, onions, garlic, olive oil, spices, lemon, stock, salt, pepper. Marinate in fridge (a few hours to overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400° F. Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a baking sheet large enough for all of the chicken pieces to lie flat. Space well apart, skin side up. Sprinkle the za'atar over the chicken and onions. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is colored and just cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small frying pan. Add the pine nuts and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Transfer to a plate with paper towels to absorb fat.
4. Transfer the hot chicken and onions to a serving plate and finish with the chopped parsley, pine nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil. You can sprinkle on more za'atar and sumac, if you like. Enjoy!
Chicken Pasta Salad
Calls for tenders and breasts...but we just use whatever is leftover after crock potting / roasting a whole chicken. We'll use meat from any part of the chicken that we've pulled off of the carcas.
Ingredients:
Pasta
Leftovers from Whole Nightfall Farm chicken
Bacon from Nightfall Farm
Tomatoes
Onions
Basil
and some yummy things for the dressing....
Directions:
Easy use of leftovers! Here's the full recipe.
Ingredients:
Pasta
Leftovers from Whole Nightfall Farm chicken
Bacon from Nightfall Farm
Tomatoes
Onions
Basil
and some yummy things for the dressing....
Directions:
Easy use of leftovers! Here's the full recipe.
Jaime Oliver's Chicken In Milk
Recipe from CSA member Rebecca Siefert
Ingredients:
Milk - yep, milk
Whole Nightfall Farm chicken
Lemons
Garlic
Herbs
Directions:
This one takes a little effort, but the results are miraculous. Here's the full recipe.
Ingredients:
Milk - yep, milk
Whole Nightfall Farm chicken
Lemons
Garlic
Herbs
Directions:
This one takes a little effort, but the results are miraculous. Here's the full recipe.
Bone Broth
Recipe from CSA member Heather Holland
Ready to up your chicken game? Bone broth is just a little different from regular stock, but so good for you!
Ingredients:
Bones from a Nightfall chicken
Onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and other yummy additions
Directions:
This has a good summary of how to cook the chicken, too! Read the three steps and enjoy!
Ready to up your chicken game? Bone broth is just a little different from regular stock, but so good for you!
Ingredients:
Bones from a Nightfall chicken
Onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and other yummy additions
Directions:
This has a good summary of how to cook the chicken, too! Read the three steps and enjoy!
chicken salad, with A twist
Here are two incredible options for chicken salad. One comes with details, one doesn't - have fun!
Option 1: Greek-style Chicken Salad
Recipe from CSA member Chris Stoner
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken
Jar artichoke hearts
A few mild banana peppers
Small container of greek yogurt
Small block of feta cheese
Directions:
1. Slow cook the whole chicken in the crock pot.
2. Take off breast meat, dice it.
3. Drained a jar of artichoke hearts, dice them, add hearts to the breast meat. Add diced mild banana peppers for zing.
4. Mix in greek yogurt dressing and feta cheese to taste.
5. Enjoy!
Option 2: Southwest Chicken Salad
From CSA member Heather Holland
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken (recipe calls for chicken breast, but we all know that a little dark meat thrown in there is the best!)
Lime
Green onions
Spices (cumin, chili, garlic)
A bit of mayo
Directions...full details here.
1. Mix ingredients.
2. Serve on a tomato, avacado halves, or bed of greens.
3. Enjoy!
Option 1: Greek-style Chicken Salad
Recipe from CSA member Chris Stoner
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken
Jar artichoke hearts
A few mild banana peppers
Small container of greek yogurt
Small block of feta cheese
Directions:
1. Slow cook the whole chicken in the crock pot.
2. Take off breast meat, dice it.
3. Drained a jar of artichoke hearts, dice them, add hearts to the breast meat. Add diced mild banana peppers for zing.
4. Mix in greek yogurt dressing and feta cheese to taste.
5. Enjoy!
Option 2: Southwest Chicken Salad
From CSA member Heather Holland
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken (recipe calls for chicken breast, but we all know that a little dark meat thrown in there is the best!)
Lime
Green onions
Spices (cumin, chili, garlic)
A bit of mayo
Directions...full details here.
1. Mix ingredients.
2. Serve on a tomato, avacado halves, or bed of greens.
3. Enjoy!
Buffalo chicken casserole
Recipe from CSA member Heather Holland.
Heather says:
This is one of our favorites. We make a double batch and use a whole chicken! So good. I love to make this when spaghetti squash is in season. Just made this tonight!
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken Spaghetti squash
Butter/coconut oil Garlic
Carrot Celery
Onion Bell pepper
Seasonings Mayo
Hot sauce Eggs
Scallions
Directions:
For the full recipe, see here.
Heather says:
This is one of our favorites. We make a double batch and use a whole chicken! So good. I love to make this when spaghetti squash is in season. Just made this tonight!
Ingredients:
Whole Nightfall Chicken Spaghetti squash
Butter/coconut oil Garlic
Carrot Celery
Onion Bell pepper
Seasonings Mayo
Hot sauce Eggs
Scallions
Directions:
For the full recipe, see here.