Back To School With A Chicken

On our way down to see Julian, we stopped at Stansted Services, and I picked up a Waitrose Weekend magazine. It mentioned that the Waitrose Cookery School was doing a live online class about cooking chickens, and it was free.

I signed up - and so on Thursday evening at 6.30, I joined in - the hosts were chef Alex Szrok and Ruby  Bhogal [2018 GBBO]  I have to say it was an hour of great fun.

You can find out more here. This was the second live class- but afterwards, they're available to watch online [you just do not have the same opportunity to ask questions]  

The show began with Alex demonstrating how to cut up a chicken. He ended up with a tray containing boneless chicken breasts, chicken supremes, mini fillets, wings, drumsticks, thighs, plus the skin and the carcase. The photography and instructions were clear, and I think I will joint a chicken with more confidence in future.

There were eight recipes - and lots of other ideas - to use the different cuts for family meals, 'date night for two' etc. Some recipes fast, others a little slower. All were shown on the website, along with shopping lists for ingredients. Many of these items were things I would buy normally, and most of the recipes had a small list of ingredients.

I particularly liked the look of Winter Panzanella - swapping out the fresh tomatoes for root vegetables, and made with chicken thighs. 

I did like the way that questions in the sidebar were answered promptly there, and some were picked up and dealt with on screen. Ruby and Alex were a good team, teasing each other, whilst keeping things on track. And he gave lots of tips about substitutions, accompaniments, and more. 

I particularly appreciated his comment about chicken wings - they are too small to do much with, and a chicken only has two anyway - so every time you joint a chicken, pop the wings in a box in the freezer- then when it is full, you'll have enough for a recipe. Like Chicken wings with sweet soy and burnt lime butter  - cooked on a hot baking tray, no deep frying.

I'm really tempted by the Gunpowder Drumsticks too.

I have been to live cookery demos in the past - but sometimes it is hard to see properly what is happening - this was filmed really well, so you saw in close up how to wield your knife, oand the consistency and colour of the sauce in the pan.

He said that Waitrose Essential Chickens have the same Higher Welfare Standards as their other poultry [good to know] and that the saving if you buy a bird and portion it yourself is considerable, compared to buying the portions separately in the chill cabinet.

I shall  definitely post about any of the recipes I try out - and wholeheartedly recommend watching the show. Thank you Waitrose!