þriðjudagur, 30. júlí 2013

How to Really Cook Chicken



The great thing about cooking chicken is that it's just so versatile. There are so many different ways to cook this delicious poultry meat regardless of where in the world you may be. The Caribbean people love to cook a Jerk Chicken which makes chicken crispy, often barbecued and marinated seasonings of thyme, ginger, berries and hot peppers. In the Indian sub-continent you'll find chicken cooked as a hot spicy Tandoori recipe with most restaurants double cooking the meat to give it that extra bit of succulent flavouring.

But how do you really cook chicken so that it tastes just the way it should? Cooking chicken is easy because it does not require much in the way of time to roast, fry, grill or barbecue. It will certainly be cooked long before your red meats like a leg of lamb, thick steaks or beef joints. Better still chicken has great nutritional value such as the high amounts of proteins (particularly in the breast) and generally a lot lower in fat than most other meats.

Chicken must never be eaten rare or raw and the cutting board you should use must be thoroughly washed and cleaned before placing your chicken on it ready for preparing. Preferably you should buy your chicken from a butchers or a farmers' market where you'll find out if the chicken was able to roam free rather cooped up in a small battery cubicle. Don't forget the better the welfare and standard of life that chicken had, the better it will taste.

Chicken should be removed from the fridge at least 45 minutes before cooking and once in the oven it must be loosely covered in tin foil. The tray you use must be deep enough to contain any juices that will inevitably flow out of the chicken during cooking. A chicken tastes best when roasted in the oven at gas mark 6 (200c). Check the weight of your chicken and cook for 30 minutes for every half a kilo (500g) then add an extra 20 minutes to your cooking time. So a huge 2kg bird will take two hours and 20 minutes.

If you are cooking wings, drumsticks and thighs then barbecue or grill these instead. If you are cooking diced chicken then put it in the frying pan and stir-fry while adding some marinade and olive oil. Before serving always check there is no pink and that a knife glides easily through the meat.

Also check out http://chickenprepare.com/ for more info on How To Cook Chicken