Colder Days Are For Stewing -killertomato

There's a phrase in Italian about hens, "La gallina fa buon brodo", meaning "The old hen makes good stock." B brought home a hen recently after discovering it at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market in Atlanta. You can buy many different cuts of meat there that aren't offered at conventional grocery stores, such as pigs' feet, offal and whole birds with their necks and all. We usually choose to buy a whole bird and butcher it at home. You get a lot more for your money and can pull meat out of the freezer for a while afterward. All you need is a very sharp knife. A tough old bird like a hen goes for a very fair price, since you pretty much have to stew it if you want to be able to chew and swallow the poor dear. You'll know it's an older one if it is large (around 10 lbs or so), should say "stewing hen" somewhere but don't count on that, and is more difficult to butcher. By the way, places like the market we bought this one from may butcher it for you if you ask.
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I'm sure there are other sayings about how the bird may be old but it isn't finished yet, because roosters and hens alike make a lovely and decadent stock. Coq Au Vin is probably the most popuar dish to make at home using rooster or hen, but at the time, we had all caught a cold, the baby was cranky and I needed to make my baby some chicken soup. B made a simple stock after butchering by covering the carcass in a large pot and covering it with water. For the next two hours, he skimmed the "clouds" off the top of the water as it simmered. Then added a mirepoix (though he would never call it that as he is presently being tutored in a strictly Italian methodology) along with peppercorns and simmered for one more hour.
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Any piece of the hen can be used next, I used the breasts and wings. They were coated in flour and seared in olive oil until browned. I think butter would be a good option here, but whenever we are cooking with the baby in mind, we have to be mindful of fats, sugar, and sodium. Then, in a dutch oven, sauteed more carrots, onions, and celery- since we had those particular vegetables- salt and peppered them, and added the chicken. Then about half the stock, plus about five or six sliced okra which were coming in strong out in the front yard, dropped in a bay leaf and baked at 250 degrees for about 3-3 1/2 hours. This is a lot like making short ribs. The meat should fall off the bone when it's done. You could never put an older bird like this in the oven and roast it without the liquid to braise it. The inside of the meat might get tender enough, but there is an outside layer that people have probably attempted to make boots out of.
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I feel so bad that I don't have pictures to accompany this procedure. For one thing, it happened before this blog was even a thought in my head. I do have a link to a diagram on butchering a chicken, though: http://recipehut.homestead.com/chicken_photo.html.