Five things to do with a BBQ chook

We all know how hard it is to get something on the table in the evening unless you're a super-organised menu planner and can handle anything that pops up, unlike me. I've usually got the evening meal pretty well covered if I can cook it in the slow cooker or prep in the morning but sometimes a good old barbecued hot chicken from the supermarket is a good standby.



We also know how lovely an organic chicken tastes and how good it is for you but we have to cook and stuff that and besides, they're up around the $20 mark from the supermarket whereas a smaller cooked one is around the $10 mark (sometimes marked down at certain times of the day).

Here's 5 things I like to do with a barbecued chicken, when I just can't be bothered, have run out of time or ideas or can happen to be at the supermarket when they've marked the chickens down.



1.  Roast Chicken Dinner

This is the most obvious choice for a quick easy dinner. You can prep the vegies way ahead of time. Try my Best Ever Crunchy Roast Potatoes and peel some carrots or check the freezer for any frozen vegies you'll be able to get on in a flash. A quick gravy out of gravy powder and 1 teaspoon of chicken stock powder and dinner's done. Reheat the chicken as per the instructions on the packaging.



2.  Curry in a Hurry

There's probably not a house in Australia that doesn't own a tin of Keen's Curry Powder. Even though I love to cook a traditional Indian curry, roasting and grinding my own spices, I'll always have the old tin of Keen's on standby for one of those make-do curries or for flavouring other dishes.

1 medium onion, finely diced
2 tbs butter
2 tbs plain flour
300ml milk or chicken stock
1 tsp curry powder (or more to taste)
chicken meat cut into bite sized pieces
steamed or boiled vegies like potato, carrot, beans/peas, brocolli, cauliflower
steamed or boiled rice to serve

Fry finely diced onion in melted butter, add curry powder then flour. Stir in flour to create a roux. Add milk or chicken stock. Keep stirring until thickened. Add chicken meat and vegies. Serve with boiled rice.




3.  Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I buy a barbecued chicken especially for these and they're great for lunch or a quick easy dinner. Rice paper is available from the Asian section of the supermarket and they're good to have in the pantry for occasions like this. They keep for ages.

rice paper
chicken meat
julienned vegetables like carrot, celery, capsicum, cucumber
avocado, optional
fresh coriander, if you have it (I keep a tube of coriander puree in the fridge)
fresh mint or 1 tbs mint sauce
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
cooked rice vermicelli or other noodles

Prepare noodles according to directions. Combine all ingredients except rice paper. Soak a piece of rice paper, one at a time in a shallow dish of water. Spoon onto rice paper a couple tablespoons of chicken/vegetable/herb mixture. Roll rice paper, folding in ends as you go. Arrange on a plate. Serve with a dipping sauce of sweet chilli sauce or soy sauce.

4.  Chicken Pie

There's a number of ways you can do this. If you've got a pie maker (like me) you can make individual pies using supermarket bought puff pastry. Alternatively, you could make the pie filling (exactly the same as the Curry Chicken recipe above, omitting the curry powder or including it if you like) using the meat and any pre-cooked vegies and/or mushrooms and place in a pie dish and top with puff pastry. You could also make a pie crust using any of the methods on Ellen's Kitchen's web site. I've made pie crusts from leftover boiled rice and cracker crumbs. Let your imagination go wild.

5.  Chicken Soup/Stock

With all that chicken meat used up, save the carcass for a Chicken Soup. Cover with water and boil with onion, celery, carrot, salt and pepper and thyme for about 2 hours. Strain and add any leftover chicken meat, vegies like potato, carrot, onions, celery, corn kernels or creamed corn and egg noodles. You could also save the stock for another time, storing in 500ml serves in ziplock bags in the freezer to flavour other dishes.

There's heaps more ideas like toasted chicken sandwiches/paninis, using the meat in a stir fry with vegies and rice, making a simple white sauce and add the chicken meat and vegies serving with cooked pasta, quiches. The possibilities are endless and it's sort of a night off for the chief cook.