You Can Actually Use The Bones From A Rotisserie Chicken, According To Nyesha Arrington - Exclusive
A rotisserie chicken is one of the easiest proteins to grab at the grocery store when you are in a time crunch (especially since the price of a rotisserie chicken at Costco remains the same). Throw the chicken on a plate alongside some steamed veggies and quick oven-roasted potatoes, and you have a whole hearty meal in front of you. The problem with rotisserie chickens, though, is they have the potential to garner a significant amount of food waste. Not everyone enjoys both dark meat and light meat — and if you don't eat the chicken in its entirety after three to four days in the fridge, the remainder of the food will end up in the trash can.
According to celebrity chef Nyesha Arrington, there is one way to reduce food waste from your weekly rotisserie chickens. In an exclusive sit-down interview with Tasting Table at the Sun Wine & Food Fest, hosted by Mohegan Sun, the "Next Level Chef" judge revealed her best culinary sustainability tips, like how to make the bones of a rotisserie chicken into a chicken stock. Besides the fact that it's a pretty creative way to reduce environmental waste, it's a pretty simple kitchen hack too.
Boil the bones into a chicken stock
How do you make chicken stock with the bones from a rotisserie chicken? The answer is simple. "I always save the bones and put them in the freezer, and then I boil it all and make a chicken stock," Nyesha Arrington proudly told Tasting Table. "[When] I actually make a stock, I freeze it into ice [cube] trays because I'm a single girl, so it's like, do I need to pull out a whole five quarts of chicken stock?" The sustainability chef answered, "No, but maybe I need two ice cubes of it, and I can make a quick pan sauce with it." Let's just say what we are all thinking — this idea is pure genius.
Beyond doing this with a rotisserie chicken, you can also use a similar technique with beef bones. Tasting Table's homemade bone broth cold remedy recipe will get you through a bitter winter or a cozy night in and save you some added cooking time. Arrington has a plethora of innovative culinary ideas that reduce food waste, such as using the skin of a salmon to make a version of chips. Work smarter in the kitchen, not harder!
Season 2 of "Next Level Chef" premieres on Fox on February 12, after the Super Bowl. For more information about the Sun Wine & Food Fest, visit Mohegan Sun's website. And keep up with Nyesha Arrington's latest projects on her Instagram page.