How To: The Chicken Dance

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November 11, 2025

Don't worry... I'm not planning to teach a crazy dance. The current generation has enough of their own crazy dances without my help.

I am talking about the choreography for how to use a whole chicken every week. When I take a whole chicken (or two, for my family of 5) and use every bit of it to nourish my family each week, it not only feels like a carefully planned and choreographed dance, but it makes me want to dance like a little kid. We need more of that feeling in our lives, don't you think?

If you're here, I'm sure you know the benefits of grass-fed, free-range, non-GMO, pastured, "beyond organic" chicken. Don't be fooled by tag words big ag uses to generate imagery of peaceful chickens living out their days surrounded by sunshine and fresh air...

Phrases like "All Natural", "Naturally Raised", "Antibiotic Free", and even "Free Range" can mean wonderful things. But when applied to industrially raised chicken, those labels don't actually mean you're eating clean nourishing chicken. (Joel and Dr. Sina McCullough talk about this in their book Beyond Labels. If you've never read it, I HIGHLY recommend it!)

All of that to say, the ONLY chickens I recommend using are those grown by dedicated, earth-stewarding, sustainable farms like Polyface.

The best practice is to begin by thawing your chicken in your refrigerator for at least a day before you plan to cook it.

Thawing the bird this way allows you to season it before cooking and ensures the best flavor.

Before placing your chicken in a pot, use a paper towel to pat the bird dry. This lets the spices penetrate the meat and results in a more robust flavor.

I season my chicken (you can rub seasonings into or even under the skin) with salt and pepper, and then choose one or two more spices like garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, oregano, or thyme. An easy option is to keep pre-mixed seasoning mixes on hand. We offer several options that are GREAT for using on busy days.

You can cook the bird in the crock pot, Instant Pot, or in the oven.

In most cases, roasting the whole bird in the oven gives the best flavor and texture. My family's personal favorite way to cook whole chickens is in an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.

Whatever method you use to cook your birds, I always recommend placing chickens breast-side down. This ensures the white meat doesn't dry out as it cooks, but stays moist and juicy!

In the oven, plan to cook your chicken at 350 for about 20 minutes per pound. Use a meat thermometer to check that your chicken reaches at least 165 degrees. A longer cook-time (at a lower oven temperature, if desired) and higher internal bird-temperature will result in a more tender chicken. Let your bird rest 10-15 minutes before you cut into it. This allows the juices to redistribute and locks them in for tastier chicken.

On the day you cook your bird, enjoy the mouthwatering flavor by serving it whole.

My husband and I both enjoy the dark meat most, so we eat the thighs on the first night. My 5 and 3 year-olds always request "bone meat", so they usually eat the legs. Now that my family is growing, we usually cook 2 chickens at a time so that we have more left over after our first meal.

After dinner, I pick whatever is left off the bone and store the bones and the chicken in separate containers overnight. The bones and whatever juice cooked off the chicken will be used tomorrow for making bone broth.

From a 4-pound chicken, you can expect 4-6 cups of boneless, skinless chicken (total). One of my chickens was around 5 pounds, and you can see in the photo that I ended up with around 8 cups!

If you want, you can freeze your shredded chicken to use later. Most recipes call for 2 cups of shredded or cubed chicken, so keep that in mind if you decide to freeze it. It's a good idea to freeze it in 2-cup containers.

Joel's wife, Teresa, once showed me her secret for cubing chicken.

When deboning, she separates the chicken into large chunks. Then, with a clean, sharp pair of kitchen scissors, she simply cuts it up into cubes of any size she wants! I've tried it, and these easy chicken cubes make the BEST white chilis, soups, or chicken salad you can imagine!

Since it will easily keep in a sealed container in your refrigerator for up to 7 days, you can spread your chicken meals out and alternate with another protein source some nights, or plan for easy homemade lunches.

Here are some of our favorite ways to use this now boneless, skinless chicken:

Chicken chili
Chicken pot pie
Thai chicken curry
Any casserole that calls for chicken
Homemade pizza
Chicken salad
Chicken enchiladas
Chicken Fajitas
Asian stir fry

We want our chickens to be more than just a nourishing meal — we want them to bring people together. Not tucked away in the freezer, but roasted, shared, and enjoyed around a full table with good company and laughter.

So tell me — do you have a favorite way to prepare a whole chicken? Share your recipes, stories, and those little traditions that make a meal feel like home.

Here’s to gathering often, eating well, and savoring every bite together.

Hannah

chicken

cooking

Recipe

Speaking the Unspeakable

All of us encounter taboo topics, going where angels fear to tread, and speaking the unspeakable. These cliches capture the dialogue land mines we tend to avoid because most of us have a bias toward self-preservation. Today, I'm going into that space because we've had a flurry of agriculture activity in the news. From President Trump's executive order in favor of regenerative agriculture to the opposite elevating the herbicide glyphosate to national security status to last week's decision to import below-market value lean ground beef product to then musing about reducing regulations on farmers processing their animals, we've seen all sorts of perceptions bandied about. Without getting into the politics of any of these things, here is the unspeakable truth: bad farming exists and good farming exists. There, I said it. The conventional cultural perspective is that farmers are farmers and farming is farming. It's an "all for one," and "one for all" Disney idea that all farming and farmers are in this together. To be fully transparent, as recently as a couple of months ago I used the term "bad farmers" and "good farmers." An astute and charitable friend pulled me aside to critique those phrases and suggest I only use "good farming" and "bad farming" in order to honor to not bag people. Fair enough. I'm now using only "bad farming" and "good farming." The reason this matters is because for decades now, nearly all government subsidies, grants, insurance, and incentives have gone to bad farming. This is why, for all the billions of annual federal expenditures, farms keep going downhill economically, ecologically, and emotionally. Of all the controversial things I've said about farming, by far and away the one that receives the most pushback is when I say bad farming exists. The conventional industrial complex hates the idea. Stink up the neighborhood? "We're just farmers." Pollute the groundwater? "We're just farmers." Dead zone the size of Rhode Island in the Gulf of Mexico due to chemical runoff in the Mississippi? "We're just farmers." With no distinction allowed in the discussion, farming that destroys soil, pollutes the water, desertifies the landscape, produces pathogen-laden food, and disrespects animal behavior gets to ride the emotional equity coat-tails of good farming. As a culture, we should defund bad farming, both publicly and privately. Farm protocols that destroy pollinators, view wildlife as inherently detrimental, and care not a whit about earthworm health are absolutely a national liability whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not. What are the traits of good farming? Here are some: 1. Build healthy soil. 2. Honor and respect biology, both plants and animals. 3. Prohibit poisons. 4. Increase pollinators. 5. Build immunological function. 6. Increase landscape hydration. 7. Smell good. 8. Look beautiful. 9. Operated by happy people. 10. Interact positively with neighbors. These are principles we try to honor every day here at Polyface, and your patronage enables us to continue pursuing these objectives. The fact that our farm has a 24/7/365 open door policy for anyone to come at anytime from anywhere to see anything unannounced confirms a transparency persona that leads to trust. If you haven't taken us up on this visit invitation, please do. When you look at the above list and think about what most people think about a farm environment, you won't find a single one of those items at a conventional chemical industrial outfit. That's sad but it's also tragic. It matters how a farm operates. It matters how animals get treated. It matters whether the farmer is happy or frustrated. Farming protocols determine these elements; hence, bad farming and good farming. The term regenerative farming is long and hard and not comprehensive. Why don't we just change the verbiage and call it good farming? I'm not embarrassed or afraid to say I practice good farming. And you should not be afraid to say you patronize good farming. Our farm family is indeed in this together, and it's all about good farming, good food. Don't apologize for saying you buy food from good farming instead of bad farming. Talk about a conversation starter. Boy howdy. That'll turn some heads. But you might just educate someone. Speaking the unspeakable is often the first step to waking folks up who are asleep at the wheel. Look in your refrigerator. Look in the pantry. What items come from good farming and which ones come from bad farming? Go ahead; make the distinction. And dare bad farming to defend itself. Speaking the unspeakable often leads to someone trying to defend the indefensible. Thank you for being the change we all want to see.

How To: The Chicken Dance

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