Question: What can I do with a bunch of chicken?

You are at the market and you see a 'bunch of chicken' on sale and you buy it. You're being smart economically but the question is now what to do with all this wonderful protein?

Let's back up a bit.

Before you go to the store, do a little planning. Markets usually have meats for sale in bulk. Chicken thighs, legs and breasts are often sold in bigger packages that lower the price per pound a bit. If the bones and skins are still on - the savings can be even a little more significant.

Before you go to the store, plan on spending about 30 -45 minutes when you get home prepping whatever you are buying. Here's a note to self - don't go shopping an hour before you are going to be a starving maniac. Shop on a Sunday morning when you can relax, think and prep without it bumping up against work or hunger.

So this is what I've done over the years -
I like to buy thigh meat. When I've needed to save money, I've bought bone/skin intact thighs in big family saving packages. Thigh meat is dark meat - juicy and flavorful. I rarely buy breast meat unless its included in a cut up fryer. Boneless, skinless breast meat is available everywhere - even frozen in big bags - but it costs a lot more money. You can de-bone your own but why bother when the thighs are just waiting for you to get busy and put a meal on the table?

Add to the grocery list - 2-3 lemons, a big fat head of garlic, a couple bottles of beer, a small jar of Cajun seasoning blend, and a bottle of teriyaki sauce. Oh - and either some plastic containers or Ziploc bags.

Bring the big family pack of chicken thighs home - with the other things you've bought at the store.
Find your containers or lay out about 2-3 Ziploc bags. If you want the skin off, take it off now. I'd try it both ways. Leaving the skin on can often create very tasty results.

Put 4-5 pieces of chicken in each bag.

In one of the bags add: a sliced up lemon, two or three cut up cloves of garlic, half a beer, a 1/2 to 1tsp. of salt (more or less depending on your salt cravings), some black pepper and 2 tsp. of the Cajun mix. Seal the bag. Now you have chicken marinating. Refrigerate for at least three hours or put it in the freezer for later in the week. Either throw on the grill or broil in the oven.

In the other bag of chicken add some more crushed garlic, 1/2 a lemon, a little more beer and about half the bottle of teriyaki glaze. Seal the bag and again - either pop it into the freezer or let it marinade for a few hours. Teriyaki has sugar in it and burns relatively easy so make sure to keep an eye on it when grilling, broiling or in a sauté pan.

If you have even more chicken - put the plain chicken left in a Ziploc and freeze. Even a couple pieces can be perfect for adding to a pasta dish or stir-fry.

Note on cooking either marinated meat:
My preferred way to cook either of these is on a grill. Even in the winter.

Oven broilers vary but you have control by where you put the rack in the oven. Middle, upper oven usually works well. Line a cookie sheet or other pan with foil, coat the foil with some oil spray (or a little olive oil), lay out your meat and give it a try. You'll get a little smoke but keep an eye on the process, turning the chicken as it cooks. If everything seems to be too hot, too smoky - drop the rack down another notch.

If you want to use the stove top and a sauté pan:
With the lemon marinated chicken - heat up some olive oil in the pan on medium high heat so that you see a shimmer of heat coming off the pan. Add the chicken  - but only so much that none of the chicken touches. Have some foil handy to act as a back splash for sizzling oil and spices. Let the chicken cook on each side enough to brown - which it will do much quicker if you have left room around each piece of chicken. Either cook thoroughly while browning (medium high heat) or remove pieces while still not done and proceed as outlined below. Either way, remove finished pieces and add into the pan any chicken not cooked yet.
This is messy and fast. Turn the venting fan on - open a window. ...

If the chicken was only browned but not totally cooked - add them all back to pan, throw in some beer/stock/wine along with a couple garlic cloves and any extra lemon slices, put a lid on the pan and let simmer for about ten minutes. Check the chicken and when almost done cooking, leave the lid off, raise the heat a bit and let most of the liquid boil away.

With the teriyaki marinated chicken - same thing except you can also sauté up half an onion, some carrot slices or other vegies too. Sauté the vegetables, remove from pan when getting soft, cook up the chicken using the method above but when you put it all back in pan, add the vegies, a little more teriyaki sauce and let simmer over a lower heat until chicken is done. Add a little water/beer/wine/stock if it is drying out too fast.  You should have some tasty burned places along with some succulent chicken.

Ultimately, the trick to buying meat in bulk is to prep it out in a couple different ways and have something in the freezer just waiting for you to pull it out later in the week. And, to be honest, I think its worth considering not concerning yourself over a few cents in savings when cooking for one. Most meat comes packaged to make a couple of servings. Either marinade above will work  - cook it up and then keep the leftovers for dinner later in the week.