Instructions: To prepare chicken: Remove giblets package from chicken body or neck cavity. Set them aside for other use or discard. Place chicken in cold water to cover, with about 2 Tablespoons baking soda dissolved in water.

Let soak for about 15 minutes. Drain off water. Rinse chicken well, being sure to clean out the body cavity. Again place chicken in cold water to cover with 2 or 3 Tablespoons table salt dissolved in the water.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably several hours to overnight. When ready to cook, drain water from chicken. Rinse well with cold water. Then prepare chicken according to desired recipe.

Background for preparing chicken this way: My grandfather taught me to use the following technique of preparing chicken. It most definitely freshens and improves the flavor of chicken. When I first married, 54 years ago, I asked him why wash/soak the chicken in soda water. He said it "takes the barnyard taste out of it." "It freshens it." He said, "This is also an old butchers technique." As for soaking the chicken in salt water, when asked about doing this he said, "It removes blood left in the chicken." I find this to be true. We can tell the difference if we dont do these things before cooking chicken.

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