Selecting Chicken and making broiler chickens taste much better

I thought I'd quickly explain how you should select chicken at the market, since I just talked about pork and trichinosis. Unlike other meat products, chicken is the animal that you're most likely to pick up a bug (E. Coli... Salmonella...) from. While I've been know to eat raw-ish (!) chicken at certain Japanese restaurants I trust, I wouldn't do that with a store-bought bird. Now that I've sufficiently scared you off...

There are three things to look for when selecting chicken parts. The fresher the chicken, the better the flavor, and the less the risk of getting sick.

a) how it looks through the plastic
b) how firm the meat feels
c) whether there are drippings in the tray

Simple enough. The chicken should look fresh and bright colored when you've look at it. It should be slightly shiny. The "slightly" is important here, since old chicken is very shiny. When felt, the meat should feel firm to the touch. If it feels mushy, it's a sign of meat that's aged. You really shouldn't buy chicken in a package that has drippings collecting in it. If you see that, it's been at least 2 days since the chicken was fabricated or more. Still, given the possibility that the product was repackaged (common practice), look and feel the meat if you can. If you don't feel that it's fresh, move on... there are plenty of other things that you can get.

The best policy here though, is to get to know a butcher or poultry purveyor that you trust. Even the butchers at most supermarkets will be happy to help you out if you ask them nicely.

If you've read this far, I'll share a trick to make the average supermarket broiler chicken taste and have a firmer chewier texture much more like a full-flavored free-range bird. The secret is salt and plain yogurt.

1) rub your chicken pieces well with Kosher salt.
2) place in the fridge on a plate sprinkle a bit of sake or white wine, then cover with another plate and weight it down. leave for 2-3 hours, and wipe off excess moisture with a paper towel.
3) place chicken in a covered container with enough plain yogurt to just cover the pieces. let marinate for at least 3 hours. In this state, the chicken can be held for 1-2 days (salt and yogurt increase the shelf-life of the chicken)
4) when ready to cook, simply rinse the chicken under cold water, and dry well and cook as usual.