How to cook chicken: a step by step recipe with a photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Today, poultry meat is available to almost all segments of the population. What could be easier than boiling chicken? But this, unfortunately, is not possible for every housewife.

In the article, we will consider how to cook chicken, how long it takes, find out possible cooking methods to make the dish not only tasty, but also he althy.

Product preparation

Chickens are delivered chilled to store shelves or markets. As a rule, unpacked carcasses are placed in boxes, which are placed in warehouses.

Therefore, before you cook the chicken, it must be pre-processed. Below is an example algorithm.

At the first stage, the bird is thawed. It is best to do this in the refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding 6 degrees. If the carcass is poorly cleaned of feathers, you can resort to using tweezers or simply scorch the surface.

1. In the latter case, the carcass must be wiped dry with a paper towel. Afterstretch it over the gas burner, taking the legs on one side and the head or neck on the other. You need to singe very quickly so that the subcutaneous fat does not start to melt.
2. At the next stage, the carcass is gutted. For this, a heart, lungs and other offal are taken out of it, which will be useful in further preparation. Pull the goiter through the hole in the neck area. The intestines and goiter are thrown out. The gallbladder, which is located near the liver, must be taken out very carefully. If it bursts, the taste of meat will be hopelessly spoiled. The heart must be carefully freed from blood clots. To do this, rinse it under running water. Cut the ventricle into halves and turn inside out in order to clean as much as possible of food debris. Rinse and remove the inner thick shell, which remains very tough even after processing.
3. Next, cut off the lower parts of the legs, shorten the wings to the first joint. Then the carcass is washed well under running water, especially from the inside. To dry it, it must be briefly sent to the oven.
4. In case of whole carcass cooking, it must be folded compactly. To do this, we fill the legs into the “pocket” made on the abdomen with a knife.

If you don't need a whole chicken to make soup, then it's better to cut it up and send a part to the freezer.

Mistakes that housewives make when preparing poultry

Before you cook the chicken, it must be properly prepared, otherwise you will get a tasteless dish. Let's see why.

Manywomen, in order not to wait until the carcass is thawed in the refrigerator, try to speed up this process with water or a microwave oven. Neither method is suitable.

• In the case of water, the meat will absorb the liquid and lose its flavor.
• If you defrost chicken in the microwave, the protein may curdle. This will cause the chicken meat to remain tough even after a long cooking time.

The second mistake many make during evisceration is to carelessly take out the liver. Thus, the gallbladder can burst right in the carcass, which will make the meat very bitter.

When using an old bird, do not boil it whole. It will take a lot of time, in addition, it is not always possible to get rid of its inherent rigidity. It is better to cut the carcass of an old bird into pieces.

Methods of butchering

In order to boil a chicken until cooked, especially when it comes to an old carcass, it is more expedient to cut it correctly.

How to do this most quickly, consider below.

First you need to separate the legs. Turn the prepared carcass on its back and stretch the paws in different directions. Carefully cut the skin, continuing to cut until the knife rests on the bone. Set it aside and use your hands to twist the paw to the other side. Scroll until the limb detaches from the torso

• Next, use a knife to separate the thigh from the lower leg.
• In the same way on the shoulder jointseparate the wings.
• Now you need to detach the back from the breast. This can be done with an ordinary knife or culinary scissors. In the second case, the manipulation will be especially successful.
• Cut the carcass into four parts along the ridge, rinse each part under running water.
• Those pieces of poultry that are not used, immediately wrap in cooking paper and send to the freezer.

How to cook chicken properly

Often, housewives argue about what water to put the chicken in during the cooking process. Some argue that in the cold, others prefer boiling water. Ironically, both sides are right.

The fact is that you can cook in the two listed ways, the main thing is to understand for what purposes this is done.

1. If you decide to cook a rich aromatic chicken broth, then, of course, it is better to lower the meat into cold water.
2. When preparing a salad with boiled chicken or a savory snack with poultry, the meat is dipped in hot water. In this case, it will retain the maximum amount of nutrients.

Cook the whole bird

To boil a delicious whole chicken, put the legs in the "pocket" and fill the bird with cold water.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat. It is not necessary that the water boil, otherwise all the dirt will sink down. Remove the foam with a slotted spoon until the water is completely clear.

Carrots, peel onions. Cut in half and send to the pan. S alt and pepper. For flavoradd a few dried bay leaves and 5 black peppercorns.

How long to cook the chicken depends on which carcass you use.

If it's chicken, 20 minutes is enough. A young bird requires 60 minutes to cook, while an older chicken requires a minimum of 3 hours.

To check whether the meat is cooked, pierce it with a fork in the thickest part of the skin.

Uzbek chicken

Sliced chicken is used for this. The algorithm is as follows:

• S alt and pepper the meat.
• Peel the onion, finely chop and put on the bottom of the container. Next we send black peppercorns.
• Pour 3 liters of water and bring to a boil.
• When the water boils, lower the chicken pieces. Bring to a boil again, remove the foam and reduce the heat.
• At the end of cooking, add finely chopped fresh herbs and bay leaf.

How long to boil the chicken depends on what size pieces are used. Half an hour is enough for a chicken, about an hour and a half for an adult chicken.

The readiness of the product is checked with a fork. After you can get the bird, cool and serve.

How to cook chicken for broth

The prepared carcass is cut into pieces and sent to the pan. It is necessary to fill the bird with cold water.

Important! The pan should not be put on fire immediately - it is better to send it to a cool place for at least half an hour. This is necessary in order toso that the meat secretes the juice.

• Then put it on the fire and bring to a boil. The lid does not need to be closed.
• When the water boils, remove the foam, reduce the heat, cover the pot with a lid and cook the meat for one to two hours.
• In this case, the answer to the question of how much to cook the chicken until cooked depends on the age of the bird. Therefore, you should check this point during the cooking process.
• Peel the onion, carrot and parsley root, cut into several pieces and add to the pan after half an hour.
• S alt and black pepper are added at the end.
• When the broth is ready, strain it through cheesecloth.
• Sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs before serving.

Poultry cooking time

And yet, how long does it take to cook a chicken? It depends not only on the age of the carcass, but also on the purpose of cooking.

An hour and a half is enough to cook chicken soup. A whole carcass in a slow cooker on the "Extinguishing" mode can be boiled in one hour. Cut into pieces, it will be ready in half an hour.

If you are cooking chicken for jelly, the minimum cooking time is 4 hours.

How long to cook chicken for soup? As mentioned above, this will take as much time as it takes to make poultry broth.

Useful tips for housewives

1. If you do not know how to determine the age of a bird, pay attention to the breast. In an old individual, it will be hard, in a young one it will look like cartilage.
2. There is no difference between a rooster and a chickenlabor. In the male, the skin is thin, bluish in color. Chicken skin is light and much thicker.
3. When preparing a well-fed carcass, it should never be washed, as water will significantly impair the taste of the bird. Use a paper towel to clean the surface, but it is best to preheat the oven and send the carcass for a few minutes.
4. In order for the chicken to turn out as tasty as possible, during cooking it is taken out of the broth, s alted and returned back to the pan.
5. To prepare the broth, water must first be poured in the required volume. Do not add water during the process - this will spoil the taste of the broth. It is also not recommended to s alt the broth in several stages.
6. Experts advise putting all spices at the end of cooking.
7. To make the broth light, it should be boiled over low heat, periodically removing the foam. Failure to do so will result in a cloudy liquid.