The Kitchen Novice

Nice Tips For Preparing Chicken

Chicken can be used in a great variety of ways in recipes for preparing your meals. In addition to being high in protein and low in fat and calories, chicken is readily available, fairly inexpensive and can be prepared in a variety of delicious and nutritious ways. The most affordable way to purchase a chicken is by getting a whole bird, which you can quickly season and then roast in the oven. You can also take the whole chicken and cut it apart into quarters or smaller parts.

However, for a cost of not much more per pound, you can conveniently get packages of chicken parts. Regardless of whether you buy a whole chicken or packages of pre-cut wings, breasts or thighs, make sure that you take a few safety precautions while you’re in the kitchen. Most importantly, wash your hands prior to touching the chicken, be sure your counter and utensils have been cleaned. Raw chicken can sometimes harbor harmful bacteria, so keeping your workspace clean can spread contamination to other areas.

Before you start cooking, rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Be sure to always completely cook chicken. Consuming chicken that is raw or underdone can give you a bad case of food poisoning. This is a highly unlikely scenario, but it is better to be safe than sorry. There are literally thousands of chicken recipes available in cookbooks and online, so it is unlikely you will ever run out of ideas on how to prepare chicken. From grilled chicken to chicken salad, you could make a different recipe every day of the week for years before getting tired of the flavors and textures available through different cooking methods and ingredients. One of the easiest recipes to make is grilled chicken. This can be done right on top of the stove. A delicious recipe of chicken can be prepared by adding few drops of olive oil to a few boneless chicken breasts and after that season with salt and pepper. Prepare the breasts by searing them on a hot grill surface, approximately 5 minutes per side, until their juices are transparent, not pink. The cooked meat can then be cut up and mixed with celery and mayonnaise for an easy and delicious chicken salad, sliced for sandwiches, or covered with tomato or hollandaise sauce for a quick dinner. A few other favorite chicken recipes include fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, chicken parmesan and sweet and sour chicken.

Fresh chicken freezes well, so look for sales and stock up when the price is low. Just make sure you freeze the chicken in airtight packages. To defrost, place in the refrigerator for a day or two, use your microwave’s ‘defrost’ setting, or soak in cold water. Never leave chicken to defrost on the counter! Chicken, which can often replace beef or pork in recipes, is a tasty and healthy mainstay for millions of households.

If you need to keep your food costs to a minimum, like so many of us have to nowadays, cooking chicken dishes is an excellent, low-cost solution. Try some tonight!

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