Black Chicken

I was putting a chicken and a duck in the crockpot this morning to roast for supper, and told the boy who happened to be in the kitchen, “I’m cooking a purple chicken and a wild duck!”  He laughed and reminded me about a Mexican who once bought some chickens from us.  When we lived in Michigan we sold a lot of old laying hens to Mexicans–they liked them better than fryers and bought a lot from us live to butcher themselves.  This particular man wanted a white chicken, and we happened to have one that was covered with white feathers.  Now, it so happens that some white chickens (I think Silkie bantams) happen to have purplish skin, and the meat and even the organs are quite dark.  This man took the chicken home and killed and plucked it, but the next day he was back complaining about the “black chicken.”  His exact words were, “We eat cat, and we eat dog, but we don’t eat black chicken!”  I think we gave him a different chicken, and we’ve been chuckling about it ever since.

By the way, this is a great way to use a tougher chicken, like an old laying hen.  My sister-in-law discovered this method by accident, and I now do it a lot.  Simply put one or two chickens in the crockpot with no water and turn on high for 6-10 hours, till they are fully cooked.  Delicious and tender!  I take off the breast meat when we’re ready to eat, and the drumsticks and thighs, then add water to the pot and cook again to make broth from what’s left.