Chicken can make your menu planning and cooking task easy. Everyone likes chicken so you can include it in your menu every time, even when you’re in a hurry. Poultry also cooks quickly so you don’t need to tenderize or boil it for long hours (unless you’re making a chicken stock). It also easily absorbs marinades, herbs and spices you season it with so you’re assured of the flavors that you want in a dish.
1. Chicken Recipes
Chicken can be made into a thousand and one dishes, any time of the day,
throughout the year. Chicken recipes do not have to be the same old thing every day.
This protein-rich white meat can be grilled, braised, stewed, roasted, and deep-fried. It
can be ground and formed into meatballs, burger patties, spring roll filling, meatloaf,
sprinkled on salads and pasta, mixed with vegetables, and other delicious chicken
recipes. Best of all it can be made into a delicious broth, stock and soup. The spices,
sauces and seasonings as well as the other ingredients you combine with the chicken
will produce satisfying chicken recipes for the whole family.
Chicken is delicious cooked whole or served as grilled chicken breast fillets, spiced as
buffalo chicken wings, or fried as legs or thighs. To keep them lean and low-fat, remove
the fat and the skin before cooking. Grill, bake, or roast instead of deep-frying the
chicken. The flavor profiles change from country to country, with its specialized sauces,
spice rubs, marinades, and breading. Chicken can be used as a main course, or as a
supplemental ingredient for soups, salads and casseroles.
As in meat recipes, observe safety practices when handling raw poultry. Wash knife,
chopping board, and plates that
contained the raw chicken to
avoid cross
contamination.
The Food Safety
and Inspection
Service (FSIS) of the
United States
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) has issued guidelines on
handling chicken. Cook “whole
chicken to a safe minimum
internal temperature of 165 °F
(73.9 °C) as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the
innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.”
Remember also not to overcook chicken especially the breast part, which will get dry
and flavorless. Chicken meat absorbs most flavors so marinate them in your favorite
spices (a combination or just one, like rosemary, which is perfect with chicken) when
roasting or frying. The best chicken recipes are those wherein the chicken is moist,
flavorful, cooked through and tender (but not mushy).
You’ll find the many ways with which to create your chicken masterpiece for everyday
or for special occasions. There are easy chicken recipes for the cook in a hurry. For
those who want to spend a little more care and time in their chicken, there are recipes
for fried, baked, grilled, roasted, and barbecued chicken. Put the chicken in a crock
pot or slow cooker and produce the same dishes at the end of the day. Lastly, there
are recipes for chicken casserole, chicken curry, chicken pasta, and chicken soup.