Everyone eats chicken hands - we call them fingers, or 'wings', meaning birds' hands. Like our hands and feet, they have the same number of bones but are shaped differently for doing different things. Chicken hands are long and compact and are used to swim through the sky. In contrast, chickens' toes are spread out to balance on the ground dig through mulch and even to stomp on and seize prey. Plus they have visible scales, not feathers. And they touch dirt. Nasty, right?
Wrong. Each chicken has 2 feet. They add up to more than a 10th of the weight of the whole bird. Each year ~50 billion chickens are killed and eaten by Homo sapiens on this planet. Let's say the average weight is 3lbs. That means 15 billion tons of chicken feet are presented to the human population as gifts from the planet to do with what we will. In the so-called First World, their fate is usually landfills, pet food, or are sold overseas. (In '08, US chicken tycoons sold 421,000 tons, worth 280$ million, to Chinese markets). On small farms they may be composted or fed to animals.
In many parts of the world, chicken feet, or 'paws', are eaten. All the time. And not because these people are poor or stupid enough to want to eat a dead foot that has scales or once touched dirt. (Potatoes touch dirt, and fish have scales, too.) But because they taste amazing (like chicken), and are very nutritious and healthy. Plus they're fun to eat.
They are a yummy finger food and base for soup. Next time you butcher some chickens - hang on to them! Or, if thinking of chicken paws as food or seeing one is triggering to you, the best thing to do is tweet about it and call the news to warn the others!
They are a yummy finger food and base for soup. Next time you butcher some chickens - hang on to them! Or, if thinking of chicken paws as food or seeing one is triggering to you, the best thing to do is tweet about it and call the news to warn the others!
What to do with your chicken (turkey, duck, or pig) feet. You may as well add the heads to this recipe, too. They have a good amount of meat and nutrition:
- It's easier to clean and pluck the heads and feet of birds if you leave them on the bird. Take your time to get the little feathers off their faces.
- If you're going to cook the feet and heads separately from the rest of the bird, cut them off.
- You can rinse the feet again until they look clean. You can dip them in hot water again if you want to pull the skin off, which will leave them shiny and pink. Or you can leave the skin on and enjoy the nutritional bonus it offers.
- First, we make a good amount of soup stock from the feet (+ heads). Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Add a spoon of salt, a good splash (up to a 1/4 cup) of vinegar to extract the minerals like calcium and cartilage into the stock, and whatever spices you like (onions, bay leaves, garlic, thyme, red pepper), and as many soup-infusing medicinal herbs you'd like too, such as adaptogens like reishi, astragalus, chaga, turkey tail, etc.
- Let the feet simmer, covered, for at least 2 hours, or all day, depending on how rich you want the stock to be. If the water level drops, you can always top it off. When you feel the feet falling apart when you stir them, It's done.
- Strain the broth into jars and refrigerate. A few spoons will be a good base for soups, cooked veggies and more. This broth is incredibly rich in nutrients, aspic, collagen and gelatin which nourish the immune, nervous and digestive systems, especially the gut flora to whom you owe your life. See how solid it becomes when it cools off? If you want to build strong bones and stay healthy during the winter... you'd better have some!
- Now, what to do with the feet? They're finger food! You can either go through them with your own fingers and get all the bones out, leaving the meat and tender tendons, or you can outsource this task to the eater, and roast and eat them like chicken wings, spitting out the bones as you go.
- Drizzle them with sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pepper... or olive oil, balsamic, red pepper, and thyme, depending on what continent you want to channel. Roast them in the oven @ 350 for 30 minutes or so. They'll get nice and crunchy but still be chewy. Enjoy!
