Our first egg!

So after all that slaughter and rooster culling on Saturday, something much less gruesome:

WE GOT OUR FIRST EGG TODAY!

Our little Maran Hen, layed this beautiful and tiny dark brown egg.

We are incredibly proud!

Yes, we ate it right away, and it was, of course, delicious!

Saturday. SlaughterDay.

Saturday was the day.

We woke up with the goal to slaughter four of our roosters.

When we bought our baby chicks a couple of months ago, we knew the day would come where we would have to get rid of some surplus roosters and "make coq au vin". Even though we got chickens mainly for eggs, we fantasized about how we would eat our own "homegrown" meat. Back then it seemed so far away, and we didn't waste too much time thinking about the actual slaughtering process. And if we did, we usually were lighthearted about it and certain that it will be just fine...

20 weeks later,  and we'd been pushing the date for the rooster cull further and further. By then they'd become quite cagy and aggressive, especially towards their girlfriends. There were too many roosters in the coop. So something had to be done.

On Saturday both Wil and I woke up with a terrible hangover, and our motivation was at zero. Luckily Wil was much more disciplined than I, and after some pep-talk we got everything ready. We made some space in the barn, covered everything with black garbage bags, set up a slaughtering station, four places to hang the chickens to bleed out, and prepared a hot and a cold waterbath for plucking.

We felt like Hollywood serial killers. Hell, I still feel like some Chicken Ted Bundy in a way while I am writing these lines. I mean, a killing room! Designed for efficient and quick killing. I never thought I would ever build something like this.

First we tried using a chicken culling cone, a metal apparatus that allows you to place the chicken upside down, while restraining it, with the head sticking out for and easier time. But unfortunately the one Wil and his dad built didn't work as planned, so we quickly found a solution that would be quick and humane. Wil was the one to take on this job

We were nervous and quite tensed up while we worked together. Neither of us spoke, unless it was necessary. But it went quickly, almost mechanically. There were, thankfully, not many unnecessary emotions or hesitations from either of us, as this would have prolonged the suffering of the animals. Neither of us wanted that.

After we bled and plucked them in the barn we brought them over to our house to remove the inner organs and intestines. While I wasn't able to do the slaughter of the chickens, Wil had problems taking care of the gutting. So I took the lead in this task and he assisted.

Removing the inner organs seemed much harder than it was described in the books and online forums. You need to be careful and forceful at the same time, to not make a giant mess. But even this gets better with practice.

We saved the neck and feet, as well as heart, liver and gizzards for stock, and discarded the rest.

By the end of the whole process, both Wil and I were incredibly exhausted, but proud that we had managed this challenging task.

I can't say it was enjoyable, but it was satisfying.

First of all WE DID IT!
We didn't just talk about how wonderful it would be to raise your own meat and eat it in the end but bought raised, fed and cared for our chickens. We build them a coop, cleaned the coop, nursed injured chickens, fed them treats, kept them warm and watched them grow. We watched the roosters and selected the ones that weren't contributing to the flock. We planned the slaughter precisely to make it as easy and quick for everyone involved, both the chickens and us. Last but not least: we didn't waste anything, not time or efforts, and not one piece of the chickens.

We are proud of that and happy that it was in a way far easier, and at the same time more exhausting than we would have ever thought. We may have to do it again, soon. 

Do I look forward to it? No. But I now know that we can do it.

PS:
We did make chicken soup using one of the chickens and most of the organs, necks and feet.
And surprise: It tasted like chicken!

Rose Petal Chicken with Green Pistachio Arugula Couscous

Four weeks ago I started my new job at iStock, and I've been busy ever since. So far I like it a lot, given that I have been learning more than in the last five years (it feels like that anyway), and my coworkers are wonderful.
It's been a while since I had a full time job and two other jobs at the same time.
Actually I don't think I ever had that many jobs at the same time.
Aside from working at iStock I also work for the Cookbook Company once or twice a week and on a more irregular bases I contribute photos to the Calgary food and beverage magazine Culinaire.
My photo even made it onto the cover last month. Wohoo!

Both of my 'on-the-side' jobs help me get a great inside on the Calgary food scene (yes, Calgary has one too) and inspire and encourage me to be more willing to experiment in the kitchen.

The recipe I am posting today was prepared by one of the cooking school chefs at the Cookbook Company. As soon as I tried it I knew I had to try this myself at home.

It is soooooo good! And somewhat different.
A light middle eastern dish with lots of herbs and a subtle rose petal aroma that perfectly harmonises with all these beautiful spices.

Here is what you need for the green pistachio arugula couscous

1 cup couscous
3/4 cup boiling water
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp butter / goose, duck, pork fat ... or both

Herb paste

1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped Tarragon
2 Tbsp chopped dill
2 Tbsp chopped mint
6 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup pistachios, lightly toasted and chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 fresh green chile finely sliced
1 cup arugula

Place the couscous in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water.
Cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile fry the onion in olive oil and melted butter over medium heat until golden and soft.
Add the salt cumin, and mix well.

To make the herb paste, place all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.

To assemble the salad, add the herb paste to the couscous, mix it in and then add the remaining ingredients and gently combine.

Here is what you need for the chicken

Two to three small chickens (backbones cut out with scissors and flattened so they look sort of like a butterfly) or 8-10 chicken legs.

For the marinade

1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt (using mortal and pestel)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
3 Tbsp rosewater
1Tbsp lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper

For the sauce

3 Tbsp rose petal jam
1 small garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp olive oil
A squeeze of lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper
Roughly chopped slightly
toasted pistachios
dried rose petals for decoration

Directions:

Mix the marinade ingredients together and rub all over the chickens/chicken legs, place in a dish and marinade for 1-2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

To make the sauce, mix the rose petal jam, garlic, cinnamon together in a bowl.

Add the olive oil and lemon juice and taste for seasoning.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C.
If stored in the fridge, take the chicken out 30-60 minutes before cooking, in order to get room temperature.
Cook the chicken for 30 (legs) to 45 (whole chicken) minutes.
10-15 minutes before the time is up, brush the chicken skin with the sauce.

In the last 3-5 minutes throw on the broiler brush the chicken with the sauce one last time and give that chicken skin a nice tan and crisp.
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serving:

Place the couscous salad on a plate. Arrange the chicken on top of it, and sprinkle chopped pistachios and dried rose petals over it.


Notes: 

• If you can't find rose petal jam, use quince jelly or something similar instead and mix in 1-1.5 Tbsp rosewater. That's what I did. Careful with the rosewater, though. You don't want your chicken to taste like a perfume store.

• You could also throw the chicken on the barbecue. That adds some extra smoky charred flavors.

And: NONE OF OUR CHICKENS WERE HARMED FOR IT! (...yet)

Glazed maple syrup chicken with chestnut-pear filling

I have to admit, I never really cooked a whole bird before. Breast, yes. Legs, yes. But a whole bird? Never. I know it's not that difficult on the one hand. But on the other things can go wrong easily, as well. My biggest fear is dry meat.

I found this recipe on the website of German Brigitte magazine and altered it a little bit. I didn't want to go with something as elaborate as goose, duck or turkey right away. But this chicken with chestnut stuffing sounded perfect. Just a chicken, but with some fancy and wintery extras and ingredients. Wohoo!

Unfortunately it turned out a little too dry in the end. I decided to cook the chicken in a terracotta cassserole (Römertopf) instead of steaming it beforehand, as the original recipe suggested. The terracotta gets soaked in water for at least ten minutes before and keeps whatever meat is inside nice and moist. Unfortunately the chicken looked quite pale, even though the meat was already cooked. So after removing the lid I had to cook it for another 30-45 minutes in order to fry/broil the skin.

That caused some dryness in the breast sections. But hey! My first bird! Next time I will just take the lid  off earlier, so that this won't happen again. And besides that, it was delicious!

Here's what you need:

1 red onion, chopped

400g/14 oz. chestnuts (pre-cooked, peeled and vacuum-sealed)

80g/2.8 oz. butter or margarine

1 pear, core removed, cut into cubes

2 celery stalks, chopped

5 twigs of fresh majoran (I only had dried one)

(A few fresh twigs of rosemary and thyme)

3 tbsp maple syrup

salt, freshly ground pepper

1 chicken (organic, approx. 1.5kilos/3.3 pounds)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

200 ml / ¾cups white wine/cidre (or apple juice)

400ml / 1¾ cups chicken broth (in a glass)

150g / ⅔ cups creme fraiche

Directions

Halve 250g (a bit more than half of the total amount) of the chestnuts.

Mix with onion cubes and sauté both with 20g /0.7oz. butter until onions are translucent.

Mix in chopped celery and pear cubes. Remove the leaves from 3 majoran twigs and add them to the mixture, as well. Stir in 1tbsp maple syrup and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Rinse the chicken under cold water, cleaning the in- and outside and dry it with paper towel.

Rub it with salt (in- and outside, as well).

Fill the chicken with as much chestnut-pear mixture as possible and close it up with tooth picks or small iron spits.

Carefully place some herbs (twigs of rosemary, thyme, majoran) directly underneath the skin. Just try to separate the skin from the meat and push the herbs between. That adds some extra nice flavour!

Preheat the oven to a maximum of 180°C (the lower the longer it needs to cook, but the better and more tender the meat gets.

In the meantime soak a terracotta casserole for at least ten minutes in warm water.

Brush the bottom of the cassserole with a bit of oil. Place the chicken in the casserole, close the lid and cook the chicken for about 30-45minutes. In the meantime melt 40g/1.4oz butter. Remove the lid and cook for another 30-45 minutes at 180°C. To give it a proper tan while keeping it moist and adding some flavour brush the chicken top with melted butter and maple syrup, one at a time, every 10-15minutes. If the skin gets too dark before the meat is fully cooked, just cover it up with some aluminium foil. You know that the chicken is done when the meat comes off the leg bones. This is a pretty good indicator for all kinds of poultry. Once you notice it cook it maybe 10-15 minutes longer, just to make sure. But it should be about perfect!

While the chicken is in the oven puree the rest of the chestnuts (you might wanna add some of the chicken broth to make it easier to puree). Sauté garlic with the leftover butter in a saucepan. 

Add chicken broth and white wine, bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes, do not cover.

Stir in creme fraiche then the pureed chestnuts. Season to taste with salt, pepper and maybe some of the maple syrup and serve the sauce with the chicken.

Yum!

PS: If you have a tip on how to get chicken unresitibly moist, let me know. One info ahead: the minimum temperature of our gas oven is 150°C. That's as low as it gets...

The original recipe didn't use rosemary and thyme just majoran and didn't glaze the chicken with maple syrup, just melted butter. They also added honey instead of maple syrup to the pear-chestnut mix.