A Truly Worldly Bird

There are a few unwritten rules of food snobbery that come into play, especially when dining in a new hot spot or restaurant run by a big-name chef. One is for the dining party to order as many courses as possible, making sure to hit all areas where the kitchen’s repertoire is considered notable. Another prohibits the same dish from being ordered by more than one person, thus permitting a wider circle of tasting as everyone passes plates and forkfuls loaded with the perfect bite. Superceding those rules, however, is one that, when broken, has been known to create uncomfortable moments of silence among even very good friends. That rule is: Never order the chicken.
Food snobs believe that restaurants offer chicken simply to provide something for your Aunt Sally from Iowa who just happened to invite herself along to dinner. It’s on the menu as a concession, or a bribe to be offered up by more adventurous gastronomes to the lesser inclined: “Well, I’m sure they’ll have some chicken you can order.” The self-proclaimed elite eaters pass over the chicken entrée because they wonder why anyone would choose a common rock when faced with a choice of precious stones. This is why, when I think my friends might be heading down the slippery slope of snobbery, I love to watch their faces when I choose chicken.
In truth, chicken is king. Seriously, can you imagine a world without it? I challenge omnivores to find a week when they didn’t consume chicken in one form or another. Besides being the universal yardstick for the flavor of all things (“tastes like chicken”), the bird plays the role of prime protein in countless cuisines all over the planet. Instead of thinking of chicken as pedestrian, we should be celebrating its versatility—it can be satisfying as both a vehicle for a star chef’s signature sauce and as a bucket of crispy fried goodness.
The domestic chicken we know today is believed to have descended from the jungle fowl of India and Southeast Asia. Like so many things, chickens date back at least to the ancient Egyptians, who perfected a method of mass incubation, hatching thousands of eggs at once. Trade routes and travelers helped deliver domestic poultry to the growing world. Because they are so easy to raise, adaptable to all types of climates, and prolific progenitors, it’s not hard to see how chickens came to feed the world.
For many cultures, the chicken is more than just a food source. During Hindu cremation ceremonies, a chicken tethered by a leg acts as a channel for any evil spirits that might be in attendance. Ancient Greeks considered roosters to be god-like in their valor, and the Romans used hens as oracles by feeding them a special grain cake. If the birds reacted noisily, the omen was bad, if they ate the cake greedily, it was good.
If ever there were a question concerning the culinary merits of chicken, consider this: Why would France, one of the most food-centric countries in the world, use the Gallic rooster as its national emblem? On these shores, our most familiar chicken emblem may be that of Harland Sanders’ bucket of Original Recipe, but as anyone responsible for six or seven family meals a week well knows, chicken is a home cook’s best friend.
The IQF (individually quick frozen) breast may be one of the most popular ways to buy chicken. Bags of easily thawed, tender white meat have probably done more for the average American cook than any other product. Those who venture into more intensive cooking can always take on a whole bird. The capon, for instance, is a castrated rooster that has more white meat and a higher fat content than other types of chickens; this makes its meat extremely tender and flavorful (it is also among the largest birds, weighing from six to nine pounds). Roasters are young hens, about four months old, ranging from three to five pounds. Two- to five-pound broiler/fryers are the most commonly sold whole chicken.
Of course, the industrialization of meat processing is one of the reasons why chicken has become so cheap and easy to get anywhere, at any time. Some disgusting common practices used by large chicken factories, like haphazard electrocution or bacteria-rich water baths, have come to light in recent years, causing unease among people who love to eat chicken. As a result, the market for fresh, naturally raised and processed chicken has been gaining momentum to the point at which even massive companies like Gold n’ Plump now attempt to trade on their wholesome qualities. More important, small producers like Lori Callister and her Farm in the City at the Midtown Global Market have found an audience for flavorful, naturally grown chickens. After choosing your bird, you can curry it and cook it in a tagine; throw it in a stir-fry in the manner of General Tso; or grill it on a skewer with a tangy Thai marinade. Maybe you are what you eat, or maybe you are what kind of chicken you make for the night. It’s often said that even a professional cook’s skills are best judged by sampling his hard-cooked eggs and roasted chicken. Creating simple, flavorful elegance from something so common seems the antithesis of pedestrian—surely this achievement should be heralded by people, even food snobs, the world over?