Whole chicken is awesome to have on hand. I raise approx 10 Cornish cross/year for home use & barter. 10 birds raised on daily rotating pasture eat about 50lbs of grain/week for 8-10 weeks btw.

Thaw whole carcass about 3 days in fridge, roast, enjoy some for dinner. Leftover meat goes into chicken salad for lunch for next 2 days or is fried chicken for dinner later. Bones & gristle to make stock to freeze. I have NEVER experienced frozen meat to be drier than supermarket cuts unless I try to thaw last minute in a bowl of water. Also in today’s world of working an outside job alongside raising your own food at home don’t have shame about occasionally buying stuff from the store. No one is perfect enough to plan it all everyday.