A Chicken in Every Pot--recipe!

There’s a guy on the Clean Water Commission that votes for more CAFOs, always with the apology that he knows they’re bad but where else will we get the bacon we need? Well, of course, that’s a false dichotomy but it’s been so long since the poor fellow has had good meat that he thinks it’s normal! His declarations must make sense to him, but if he weren’t so brainwashed by the industry and its advertising, he’d know that the meat that comes from well-managed family farms is so much better than the meat that comes from CAFOs. Case in point is my neighbor Luke’s chicken. He raises it outside on pasture and moves the chicken wagons (he calls them “chicken tractors”) every couple of days. To fight predators, he has big dogs prowling through the pasture. It’s a great system and it produces wonderful meaty birds that are delicious right from the crockpot, with a bonus amount of delicious broth for gravy or to freeze for soups. OK. Here’s the how-to, but it’s so simple I know you can figure it out for yourself! Take one whole chicken from the freezer. Unwrap it and rinse with clear water. Put it in the crockpot with 1 cup of water. If you have favorite seasonings—garlic, rosemary, sage, onions—add them now. If I have the time, I use a little salt and pepper and chop a clove of garlic. Turn the crockpot on low. Forget about it for 6 hours or more. If you are around the kitchen and want to add some potatoes, carrots and onions, add them for the last hour. I like to throw some broccoli or kohlrabi in with it, big chunks! After the hours have passed, check for doneness by wiggling the chicken leg. If it wiggles freely, it’s done. Since it’s usually quite pale, you might want to brown the skin and crisp it up by putting it on a broiler pan and browning it under the broiler for a few minutes. Then you can carve and serve it! I usually freeze the broth to use for soup. Cooking a home-raised chicken is the best way I know of to convince yourself that CAFO meat is not worth eating!