I designed this recipe as protest food on multiple levels. Not only would it be excellent to immortalize his ineptitude in the American culinary idiom, but it’s also a great way to get lots of calories to lots of people without a lot of effort or money. A thrifty shopper could easily get their food cost down below $1/taco and the only piece of equipment that is absolutely necessary is a pot.
Despite the unappetizing name, we’re going to make these tacos smack by putting lots of love into the chicken, and as a bonus, the recipe also yields an abundance of home-made chicken stock. ¡Vámonos!
Chicken
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 1/2 hour per pound of chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 bunch carrots with greens
- 1 bunch celery
- 1 bulb garlic
- 4 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the pot whole. If we were making stock, I would tell you to include the giblets, but I think they make the meat taste too gamey, so I trash them.
- Cut off the root end of the onion (keep the skin; it is both flavorful and nutritious), cut it in half lengthwise, and toss it in the pot.
- Snap the greens off the carrots, cut off the stalk below the leaves, and toss both the leaves and the carrots into the pot.
- Cut off the root end of the celery and toss the stalks in the pot.
- Cut off the tip of the garlic bulb, separate the cloves, trash the core (but again, save the skins), smash each clove, and toss them in the pot.
- Add bay leaves, salt, and water until all ingredients are barely submerged, cover, and simmer at 165°F for two hours. (If you don’t have a thermometer, the water should be emitting steam but no bubbles.)
- Once the chicken is cooked, draw off the stock, remove the chicken, and discard the vegetables. Allow the chicken to cool, then shred it.
