Duck, duck, frozen chicken

February 21, 2006 1:55 PM

I have three pounds of frozen chicken stew meat. What should I do with it?

It's great stuff, from what I can tell: organic, free-range and from a local farm. Problem is, it's just me and sometimes a friend, and it all has to be thawed at once. I'll definitely make a simple chicken soup in my small crock pot, and if I do that once or twice, I'll have some to freeze and save. I've never made chicken soup "long-hand," on the stove, but I'm open to trying. Is stew meat good for anything else--can I use it in place of cubed chicken in recipes, or stir-fry it?

posted by hamster to food & drink (20 comments total)

Gumbo! Find any recipie and substitute the chicken for pork, andule, shrimp, or whatever other meat might be indicated.
posted by kc0dxh at 2:05 PM on February 21, 2006

Um, chicken stew? Freeze for later use.
posted by doctor_negative at 2:07 PM on February 21, 2006

Yeah, I was gonna say chicken stew too. My recipe (approximately) is to toss the chicken in the crockpot, cover it with white wine and some chicken broth, add some carrots and potatoes and some chopped-up sausage for extra flavor, and seasonings, and let'er stew. Towards the end I add some corn starch for thickening the gravy and some fresh chopped celery, and mmmmmmmm. Hearty.

When you've got too much food on your hands, that's a great excuse to have more than one person over for some social interaction, too. "Come on over and bring a friend, I need to work through this chicken stew!"
posted by Gator at 2:16 PM on February 21, 2006

Chicken Jambalaya.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:17 PM on February 21, 2006

Chili. Sub chicken for the beef. Mmmmmmm....
posted by unixrat at 2:17 PM on February 21, 2006

Chicken Fajita Casserole
posted by kc0dxh at 2:19 PM on February 21, 2006

make a LOT of chicken dansak and freeze it

mmmm

unSane's proprietary Chicken Dansak

2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp crushed black pepper
5 cloves
3 cardamom pods
5 cloves garlic
3 fresh green chilis, seeds included
1 inch cube of fresh ginger
3 bay leaves
2 inch stick of cinnamon
tamarind if you can find it
red lentils
2-3 onions
big pack of spinach
bunch of mushrooms
canned crushed tomatoes + fresh if you want
fresh coriander
green onions
salt to taste

1. chop the onions and mushroom

2. Put the powdered spices in a bowl and add warm water to make a thick slurry

3. put the tamarind in a bowl and add hot water and mush it up with a fork until it turns soft.

4. Put the red lentils in a pot and cover with 1" of water.. simmer until they are soft.

5. meanwhile, heat a bunch of oil or (better) ghee in a wok. Add the spice paste and fry it for 1 minute.

6. Add the onions to the wok and saute until soft

7. Add the garlic, chili, cardamom to the wok and saute for 1 min

8. Add the chicken (you can pre-fry this in a pan if you like it to be browned). Turn up the heat a bit until it is sealed on all sides.

9. Add everything else to the wok and simmer for 45 mins or so.

10. Chop up the fresh coriander and add half of it to the wok around now

11. After 45 mins add the rest of the coriander and a bit of garam masala to freshen up the spices

12. Salt to taste

13. sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving

Ideally serve with black rice, plain yoghurt, poppadoms, lime pickle and Pilsener Urquell!

This makes a LOT of curry and it freezes beautifully.
posted by unSane at 2:22 PM on February 21, 2006

PS step 9 includes the lentils
posted by unSane at 2:23 PM on February 21, 2006

You could saw the frozen brick into smaller chunks...
posted by DandyRandy at 2:44 PM on February 21, 2006

Second curry. Try Thai - grab a sachet each of red, green and yellow curry paste, and three cans of coconut cream. Put a pound of chicken in each. Add veges if you like - fresh green beans, pumpkin/squash and basil to the red, tiny eggplants/aubergine, zucchini/courgette and cilantro to the green, potato and fresh ginger to the yellow.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:40 PM on February 21, 2006

mmmm.... chicken masala
posted by nimsey lou at 4:00 PM on February 21, 2006

Chicken and dumplings
posted by brujita at 4:01 PM on February 21, 2006

Do you like Indian cuisine? I'd use it in chicken Korma, chicken coconut curry or any other curry dish of your choice.

Chicken and dumplings would also be a good use.

Since it's stew meat, you want to use it only in recipes where it will cook a long time in liquid, I believe, to break down the toughness.
posted by GaelFC at 4:02 PM on February 21, 2006

You should cook it at a low enough temperature that it barely bubbles--lower than a boil, so the meat is tender. The broth will be clear if you don't stir much. If you're using onions, throw in a few skins to further clarify the broth. Tarragon is excellent with chicken.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:30 PM on February 21, 2006

Marrinate the meat in soy sauce and cornstarch for an hour or so. Put it in a slow cooker or in a covered pot in the oven (about 325) and cook until it is tender. (Add a little bit of water, maybe and inch or less.) Move the meat to a skillet and cook down the liquid until there isn't much left.

Use this meat for tacos, curry, potpies, soups, spaghetti, and almost any other place that you use meat. You can freeze the meat in smaller portions once it is cooked and then use it to make quick meals when you are in a hurry or don't have time to get to the store.

wife of 445supermag
posted by 445supermag at 5:11 PM on February 21, 2006

Chicken pot pie!
posted by scody at 5:12 PM on February 21, 2006

(and oh yeah, seconding weapons-grade etc.'s recommendation for tarragon with chicken -- it's the secret for really tasty chicken, methinks.)
posted by scody at 5:14 PM on February 21, 2006

Chicken kabobs - spear with green bell peppers, mushrooms and onions, broil or grill.
posted by cajo at 5:27 PM on February 21, 2006

Make this chicken stewed in beer. You wouldn't have to use a flavored beer, but I'll bet it would be good. I just had it made with an unflavored lambic ale (a geuze) and rabbit, and it was fabulous:

http://indianabeer.com/cooking/rabbit/rabbit.html
posted by OmieWise at 6:40 AM on February 22, 2006

Oh my God, that's a fantastic idea. Chicken stewed in pale ale instead of white wine. I'm having a delicio-gasm just thinking about it.
posted by Gator at 6:51 AM on February 22, 2006