What Are the Best Ways to Cook Chicken?

Chicken is an incredibly versatile meat. You can prepare it in many different ways to create a countless number of delicious meals.

Here’s a quick overview of how to cook chicken in Williamsport, PA. Which method sounds the most delicious to you at the moment?

• Roasted: Roasting a whole chicken is not just delicious—it’s also pretty easy to do. It requires very little preparation; you’ll typically want to rub it with some herbs and butter or oil, but otherwise there’s very little required other than simply getting the chicken out of its packaging and onto a roasting pan. Just make sure you don’t cook it for too long!
• Baked: Yes, there is a difference between roasting and baking chicken. Roasting a chicken refers to cooking the chicken in its entirety, while baked chicken is prepared with individual parts, such as thighs, breasts, drumsticks or wings. Baked chicken is also often prepared with seasoned flour before cooking to add a light breading, something you would not do when roasting a chicken.
• Poached: You can poach individual chicken breasts or an entire chicken. This results in a low-fat, juicy bird and also creates a delicious broth you can use for other recipes later on, including soups, sauces and much more.
• Fried: When frying a chicken (or individual parts of the chicken), it is important to make sure the oil temperature remains between 325 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Dip the chicken in a simple batter or seasoned flour to help seal in the moisture, then let it fry.
• Braised: Braising is a great method of cooking chicken that is cheaper and/or not as tender. It will result in meat that practically falls off the bone. It’s a great method of cooking a nice, comfort-food kind of meal.
• Grilled: Grilling breasts, thighs or drumsticks is relatively simple, but you can also grill the entire bird if you wish. No matter which method you use, it is important to keep the bird off direct heat, especially on a charcoal grill. The problem with grilling is that if you’re not careful, you can easily dry out the meat by cooking at too high of a temperature for too long, so letting it go “low and slow” will give you the best results.
• Broiled: When broiling chicken, you can split the bird open around the backbone or simply halve it, flattening out the chicken to help it cook faster under the broiler. Broiling involves cooking very fast at very high heat, so you need to make sure there’s not as much thickness—otherwise, it won’t cook all the way through.
• Smoked: Smoking chicken is a great alternative to roasting or grilling. It takes a lot longer, but you’ll get an extremely rich-tasting meat, and any rub you use on it will soak deeper into the bird.

For more information about some of the best ways of cooking chicken in Williamsport, PA, or to stock up for your next big dinner, we encourage you to contact Tony’s Delicatessen & Fresh Meats today.

Categorised in: Chicken

This post was written by Writer