How much to cook a whole chicken: cooking time and features, cooking methods

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

Many recipes begin with the words: "Cut the boiled chicken into salad oblong pieces …". Or even like this: "Fry the blanched chicken …". Perhaps God's cooks believe that the average person is already born with the knowledge of how and how much to cook a whole chicken. But it's not. Moreover, there are many ways to boil chicken. This can be done in an ordinary saucepan, or you can connect modern kitchen appliances to the case. A double boiler, for example, is convenient because during cooking, nutrients do not pass from meat into water. And here you need to take into account what dish we plan to make from chicken. Bouillon? Then both the cooking method and the time spent on the process will be different. If in the future we bake or fry the chicken, then it is blanched or stewed before that. This takes very little time. In a word, in this article we will pay attention to the ways of cooking chicken, and especially the whole carcass.

Broilers and Poultry

It's no secret that the taste of a dish depends on the quality of its ingredients. Many housewives, wanting to cook chicken, go to the supermarket for it. But they sell poultry products there. To make the chickens grow up faster, they are fed with special feed, hormones and antibiotics. Of course, all these not entirely useful substances “settle” in meat and, as a result, in our bodies. The poor chickens, in their very short lives, have not even seen daylight and are constantly under stress. This directly affects the quality of broiler meat. But in appearance, these chickens are fat and juicy, with a white skin. They cook for a short time. True, the broth from them turns out to be tasteless.

Home chickens are sold in the markets. They do not look as spectacular as broilers: less fat, with yellowish pimply skin. But they ate natural food. Poultry is good for broth. The answer to the question of how much to cook a whole chicken also depends on its age. Young chickens cook faster, older birds take longer. It is believed that the most delicious boiled meat is from a rooster. It is wiry, it takes a long time to cook, but the broth from it is very he althy and rich. In European cuisine, poulards and capons are also used - castrated chickens and roosters, whose meat is especially tender. But in our open spaces you will not find a bird of this kind.

Blanching, poaching, boiling

Now let's look at ways to cook chicken with hot water. Blanching is not allowedcalled cooking in the truest sense of the word. The French came up with this culinary technique. It consists in the quick treatment with boiling water (steam or hot vegetable oil) of products - meat, vegetables, almonds. This technique allows you to "seal" the juices inside the chicken. It is used when you plan to fry or bake meat in the future. The chicken is dipped in boiling water. When the water begins to gurgle again, the meat is taken out. It remains raw, only brightens. Therefore, the technique is called "blanching", from the French word blanchir - "bleach".

Simmering is a short cooking in a small amount of water, milk or in your own juice. The chicken is dipped in a cold liquid and cooked under the lid. Reception allows you to get juice, which can then be used for sauce. How long to cook a whole chicken in the "poach" mode? It depends on the size of the bird. You should not look at the clock, but regularly look into the saucepan. The released juice will show that the meat has simmered enough.

And finally, the actual cooking. We will pay special attention to this method of heat treatment of meat.

Water: what should it be?

Before we get into the question of "how long to cook a whole chicken until cooked", let's deal with the beginning of the culinary process. In what water to put the carcass - cold or hot? The answer to this question depends on what you are going to do with the chicken next. If you fry, bake, use for salads - throw in boiling water. From the high temperature, the blood will immediately clot and remain inside the fibers. Therefore, the meat will be madejuicy and tasty. But if you want to cook a delicious, rich, fragrant broth, put the bird only in cold water. As the meat heats up, it will release fat and other substances to the liquid. Therefore, the soup will be delicious.

How long does it take to cook a whole chicken in a broth pot?

From the above information, it becomes clear that the methods of heat treatment of meat with hot water depend on the dish being prepared. So, option one: broth. Pour the gutted carcass with cold water. We put the pot on the fire. What should it be? Many cooks believe that at the beginning of cooking, the flame must be made strong. But as soon as the water reaches a boil, the fire should be reduced to low. It is necessary to remove the "noise" - the released blood. If this is not done, the broth will turn out cloudy, with an unpleasant odor. Then the roots for the soup are laid in the pan - onions, parsley, carrots and celery. How long to cook a whole chicken after boiling? It also depends on the size and age of the bird. Broilers will be ready in 60 minutes. Homemade chicken is cooked for about two hours. A wiry rooster will take 30 minutes more time. It should be said that meat after prolonged processing becomes less tasty, although edible. Therefore, the thought of too economical housewives “I’ll cook the broth, and then I’ll make Kiev cutlets from the same chicken” is a bad idea.

How to cook aspic

For this dish the mostthe rooster comes up. There are a lot of gelling substances in its meat, which is what is required for the curd to solidify. But you can cook a dish from homemade chicken. True, then you have to add a little edible gelatin to the broth. We begin to prepare the jelly in the same way as the broth. Pour the carcass with cold water, after boiling, reduce the heat and remove the foam. The only difference is how long it takes to cook a whole chicken for jelly. Three hours, no less! It is necessary that the meat is boiled so much that it itself falls off the bones and crumbles into fibers. Jellied rooster is cooked for five hours.

How long does it take to cook a whole chicken for other dishes

It happens that we need ready-made meat. Many dietary dishes are made from boiled chicken. It is also added to salads, such as, for example, Caesar. So that the meat does not convey its taste and aroma to the liquid in which it will be cooked, it is placed in boiling water. Does this increase the cooking time? As soon as we place the chicken in the pot, the water will stop boiling. Soon she will start gurgling again. We must turn off the noise, reduce the heat and cover the pot. After 15 minutes, s alt the water, add aromatic roots, bay leaf and other spices. Cooking time depends on the size and age of the chicken. On average, the process will take about an hour.

How to tell if a chicken is cooked?

To make sure the bird is ready, you need to pierce the meat with a fork in the thickest part of the carcass, in the shin area. The tip should go in easily. If it comes out of the holejuice, not ichor, so it's ready. As you can see, chronometers will not help us much in the matter of cooking chicken. Too many factors to consider. Even the size of the pot and the amount of water can speed up or slow down the process. If you are in a hurry and want to cook the chicken quickly, cut the carcass into pieces. Quarters will cook in half an hour (for broilers) and 45 minutes (for poultry).

Cooking with kitchen helpers

To make our work easier, we will connect modern technology to the cooking business. How long to cook a whole chicken in the microwave? Only 20 minutes at full power. But in the middle of the process, you should turn the carcass. In the multicooker, the whole bird cooks for an hour in the "Extinguishing" mode. It turns out very he althy meat, which was processed with steam, not water. But the process of cooking chicken in this unit will take 45 minutes. Meat can be served from the pressure cooker in 20 minutes.