Chris and Sarah Hescheles live in Boyne City and have been members of Bluestem Farm since Fall 2014. In the winter, you'll find them serving the snowsports public as members of the volunteer Boyne Mountain National Ski Patrol. They enjoy cooking healthy meals fresh from the farm. 

Crock Pot Chicken & Gravy with Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

Whole Bluestem Farm Chicken
Multiple Bluestem Farm root veggies
Chicken Rub (recipe below)
Brussel sprouts
Bacon Fat (or butter)
Onion

Prep & Cooking Chicken

Fully defrost chicken
Remove gizzards & neck (place in Ziploc bag for later)
Dry chicken
Massage chicken with rub
Prepare crock pot by spraying with EVOO
Cut and place multiple root veggies in bottom of crock pot
Place chicken on root veggies
Secure lid on crock pot
Turn to high
Cook until chicken reaches temperature recommended by USDA (approx. 4.5 hours on high, 6 hours on low
Remove chicken from crock pot and place on dish
Cover with aluminum foil and let stand while prepare gravy (recipe below)

Chicken Rub

3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons parsley
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Stir, mix all together

Gravy (dinner) & Chicken Soup (leftover gravy)

Leave root veggies in crock pot
Stick blend
Add approximately 1 quart of stock (recipe below), bringing gravy to thickness desired
After all have finished eating, add additional chicken stock to the gravy and all remaining chicken bringing to a consistency good for your taste in soup. Package and save for another day.

Brussels Sprouts

Cut Brussels sprouts off stalk and the larger ones in half
Heat cast iron skillet
Once to temperature, add bacon fat (or butter)
Place Brussels sprouts face down in skillet
Cook to your liking

Chicken Stock

After enjoying chicken, remove any remaining meat from the carcass
Place carcass in crock pot
Add left over veggie remnants (ie, carrot tops, broccoli stalks, Brussels sprout stalk), onion chopped into quarters, dash of salt, tablespoon of whole peppercorns, any other spices to taste
Fill crock to top with water
Secure lid
Turn on crock pot to low
Let simmer all day long stirring occasionally
Strain out veggies and chicken carcass
Put stock into jars and freeze