Cooking Chicken Tips
The Basics For Cooking Chicken Successfully
There are so many ways for cooking chicken which makes it extremely versatile and very popular. Here are some great chicken cooking tips:
- To get a crispy roast chicken skin: Place the washed chicken in the refridgerator uncovered for 2 hours. The cold air will dry the skin out and it'll be tasty and crisp when roasted. For more tips see Roast Chicken Recipe Ideas
- Chicken breast fillets will dry out and toughen when overcooked, Brush with a little oil or marinade before cooking to keep them tender.
- Chicken pieces such as legs, thighs and breasts with bone and skin need a longer cooking time to allow the heat to penetrate to the centre of the piece. To see if the pieces are cooked, pierce with a skewer. If the juces run clear then the chicken is done.If the juices are pink then more cooking time is needed.
- Avoid serving barbecued chicken that's blackened on the outside and rare on the inside. Rare chicken may have bacteria present. To ensure that the chicken from your barbecue is done properly, you can precook it before marinading and barbecuing.
- If you are cooking a chicken stew, chicken casserole or chicken pieces in a sauce, it's best to brown your chicken first. This seals in all the juices an improves the flavour. Heat a little oil in a pan and brown a few chicken pieces at a time. Avoid crowding the pan as the temperature will drop and the juices will flow out instead. Carry on to cook as directed by the recipe
- How To Poach a Chicken Breast : Place chicken breast in a saucepan, add a few pieces of onion, celery, carrot, salt and some peppercoens. Pour over enough hot water to almost cover the chicken. You can also use a bit of wine for delicious flavour. Bring to the simmer, then cover and slowly simmer for 25 minutes and the chicken is tender. You can use the liquid as a stock. A whole fresh chicken can be poached in the same way but leave it for about 35 minutes. Take the meat from the bones.
- Pan-Frying Chicken This is best for small, tender chicken pieces. Heat oil or butter or both in a heavy-based pan and add the chicken pieces. Brown each side and then cover the pan to cook through or cook according to the recipe. If you are pan-frying chicken pieces with a bone in then brown theflesh-side first as the side that cooks first looks the best when serving.
- When recipes call for a chicken stock, it's far more rewarding to use homemade chicken stock. Here's a great
homemade chicken stock recipe.
Useful Cooking Terms and Definitions to help you if you need specific cooking terms explained.
General Cooking Tips This makes interesting reading - like what ingredients can be substituted for others, how to get better flavor from your cooking, stop bacon curling up when frying.....
Buying Chicken Guide
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