Rotisserie Chicken

We were at Walmart Saturday night around 8:30, and while we were checking out an announcement came over the intercom, saying rotisserie chickens were $3.00. First off, that seems so antiquated, an overhead announcement at a supermarket. Secondly, $3.00!! They are a great deal at the normal price of $5.00, and I thought I was probably going to get a rotisserie chicken this week anyway, so we went back and got a chicken. And this was a great chicken! The meat was not dried out at all-- it was succulent, in fact. So, I took most of the meat off the bird and got enough for several meals.


Of course my favorite use of a rotisserie chicken is to make stock for use in future soups (or anything else that requires chicken broth or stock). So I left most of the meat on the back and the wings, removed as much skin as possible, and put it in a soup pot, fully covered with water. I brought the bird to a boil then added a chopped carrot, a chopped celery stalk, a chopped onion, and some herbs-- an allspice, several black peppers, half a bay leaf, a couple sprinkles of thyme, marjoram, and oregano. If I would've had some fresh parsley or fennel, I would have added some of that too. I simmered this for 2-3 hours, mostly covered. I took it off the heat when a little bite of chicken tasted like nothing. I strained the stock into two big bowls (there was alot of stock) and put the bowls outside for an hour or so until the stock was cool enough to stick in the fridge. It's in the fridge now, and today I'm going to scoop the fat off the top then measure the stock into one quart freezer bags and keep frozen until I need it.

While the stock was cooling outside, we made some BBQ chicken nachos. I chopped up a couple handfuls of the chicken and mixed it with BBQ sauce. We laid a bunch of tortilla chips on a baking sheet, topped them with the chicken, chopped jalapenos, and shredded colby jack cheese. Baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven until the cheese was melted, around 10 minutes. Removed from oven, slid the nachos onto plates, topped with sour cream, salsa, and chopped green onion. Yummy!!

As the week continues and I do more stuff with the chicken, I will post it. I just love rotisserie chicken because it is so versatile. Also versatile and on the menu this week: butternut squash. It's way delicious!