Farmers Market Fresh: Homegrown Chicken

A new vendor at the is making us cluck- with farm fresh, organic, local chickens. 

Jason Ring lives in Spring Valley and raises chickens to feed his own family. He argues if you are going to eat animals, you should know where they come from and be comfortable knowing they lived a happy life. He believes chickens that have been raised and killed humanely are cleaner and more ethically responsible to consume (see video for an interview with him). 

Since he lives in the next town over, buying local chickens from local farmers reduces your carbon footprint, meaning much less waste of fossil fuels and pollution to the environment.

Finally, fresh chickens are much more flavorful than the frozen variety found in most grocery stores. Many Americans have never tasted a fresh (never frozen) chicken.  These chicken have been killed within a few days of being served at your dinner table--the taste makes all the difference.

Ring sells whole chickens individually.  He does not have any expensive machines to slaughter and clean his chickens-- it is done by hand which means there are a few stray feathers here and there that can be easily peeled off. Just handling the chicken you can tell how fresh it is. Try this delicious recipe tonight:

Lemon Caper Chicken:

Ingredients:

1 whole fresh chicken
2 large lemons
2 small or 1 large white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. flour
1/2 cup drained capers
fresh chopped Italian parsley
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
canola oil

• Cut the chicken up into pieces with the bone in.

• Heat 1-2 large skillets with a few tablespoons of canola oil (enough to coat the bottom) to medium-high heat.

• Dredge (cover) the chicken pieces in flour, shake off excess flour. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. 

• Put in hot pan skin side down. Let the chicken skin start to caramelize for about 10 minutes, occasionally turn the chicken pieces as you go so the skin gets crispy all over. Keep the pan hot enough to get the skin to brown, it will probably start to spatter violently with the fat heating up in the pan, just cover the pan with a lid and let it do it's thing. If the pan gets too hot and starts to burn, adjust the heat accordingly, but usually hotter is better with these guys. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

• Halfway through the cooking process, scatter the onions around the pan to cook in between the chicken. You may need to add a little more oil if the pan starts to get dry during the cooking process. About 10 minutes before the chicken is done add the garlic (if you add the garlic too early it will burn and turn the entire dish bitter). 

• The chicken should take approximately 40 minutes to cook through.  Pierce the skin of the thighs, when juices run clear it is done.

• Once the chicken is done cooking, slice one lemon and add the slices to bottom of pan to caramelize.  Squeeze the juice of the second lemon all over the chicken. Add capers and parsley, toss and serve!  This recipe is so delicious and the fresh chicken really makes all the difference. The breasts of our chicken turned out perfectly plump and moist--such a treat!