Best ways to cook chicken

[ChocolateMunchBunch]

I’ve just started eating chicken again (had an intolerance then just went off it for years). Im
so out of practice I don’t know how best to prepare it.

What are your favourite ways to cook it and what do you prefer (whole, breast, drumstick etc)?

I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a whole chicken in my life and I’m the only one who will eat it - how long would it keep once cooked?

I did a breast in the oven tonight and must’ve left it a little long as it was slightly dry. I’ve put the other one in the freezer and I also bought a bag of drumsticks so need to decide how many to keep fresh v freeze.

I’ll only be cooking it for me and I’m following a low carb approach so looking for ideas for ways to have it hot and keep for lunches etc.

Please hit me up with your recommendations!

Chicken thigh fillets - marinate in yogurt, Lemon, garlic and shawarma spices (I use cumin, paprika, chilli, salt , pepper but you can buy good premaid
ones)

air fry, pan fry or roast and serve with rice and salad or in wraps -
delicious!

I hardly ever use breast these days - so dry!!

I'd cook a whole roast chicken then use that for different dishes. There's a million things you could make.

Fajitas
Curry
Chicken pot pie
Cesar salad
Tandoori chicken
Chicken sandwiches or wraps
Kebabs

The schwama above is good (we don't do the yoghurt stage), abd use boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
As are thighs or drumsticks in a casserole, or just roasted with flavoring - skin on snd bone in for these.

We do buy chicken breast, but generally cut ut up very small for stir fries or wraps.

Raw chicken usually takes WAY less time to than the packets say to cook through. Obviously you must make sure they are cooked, but cut one open about 10 mins before suggested.

So versatile:

pot roast whole with leek, chorizo and cider. Ten use left overs to make a rissotto
boneless thighs in Arrabita sauce with Parmesan dumplings
breast make pasta sauce, pad Thai, curry

I could go on. Get the good food app there are literally thousands of recipes.

If you want really juicy chicken, my favourite is ‘no peek chicken’. I like to think I invented this (ha!) but I probably didn’t. 😂

You need a frying pan or wok with a secure glass lid. Season chicken breasts (with whatever you fancy - salt, garlic or my favourite, Nando’s rub). Heat up the pan with little bit of olive oil. Quickly sear both sides of the chicken and then put the lid on. Turn it down to the lowest heat and leave it for 20 mins. After 20 mins, turn off the heat and leave it for another 20 mins. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid to have a look or a poke - that’s why it’s called ‘no peek chicken’.

At the end you should have perfectly cooked through, juicy chicken breasts. The only time this might not work is if the breasts are particularly big - just flatten them a bit before you cook.

Defo my favourite and easiest way to cook chicken.

That sounds delicious; thanks.

I did wonder whether an air fryer would be worth getting for chicken and other meat.

Flatten chicken breasts before cooking, put between clingfilm or grease proof paper and bash lightly with the bottom of a jar or rolling pin. They’ll cook in minutes and not be dry.

For a whole chicken I use my slow cooker.

Switch on the slow cooker, lift the lid, put the chicken in, pop the lid back on and forget it for 4-6 hours.

The skin doesn't go crispy but the chicken is moist.

Take the chicken out and take off the wings, legs and breasts - eat one of these with whatever.

Put the other chicken pieces in ziplock bags and freeze, you can cook from frozen in the oven or air fryer.

Now pick over the bones, these 'bits' of chicken can be used for sandwiches or curries. \Use now or freeze.

Now put the carcass back in the slow cooker with an onion, a few herbs, salt and pepper - add boiling water. This will turn in to stock, drain through a sieve to get rid of the bones. I tend to use the stock for a French style onion soup.

Thanks @bumphousebump, haven’t tried they ever but will give it ago.

thanks @sashh that’s really helpful, appreciate you taking the time to run through all that. Will be experimenting!

Oh gosh I missed all those other replies- thanks everyone for all the ideas!

A chicken breast cooked in the oven with no sauce/marinade will be very dry. I usually use breasts for slicing and frying in a pan to make fajitas or a stir fry.

Agree that chicken thighs have far more flavour and are juicier than breast. If I'm cooking chicken breast in something in a sauce like curry or casserole etc I'll add the chopped breast into the sauce raw and let it cook through. It tastes much better (to me!) than browning it or cooking it first and then adding it.
i always use my airfryer (unless it's a large whole chicken) and I tend to loosely wrap in foil to keep the juiciness.

We like to use chicken legs, less than £3 usually for 3/4 legs as my kids prefer the dark meat to breast. We made fake Nando’s the other night, chicken legs marinated in peri peri rub cooked in the oven then peri peri sauce poured over for the last 10 mins, Mexican rice, sweet potato chips and sweetcorn.

I prefer to use breast for currys, fajhitas, stir fry’s etc as I’m a bit squeamish with thighs and it puts me off eating the dish.

Chicken breast, wrapped in bacon cooked for a bit then bbq sauce and cheese over the top is good.

Cook some pasta , Chop chicken breast and fry with a bit of garlic, salt, pepper, add garlic and herb soft cheese loosened with some pasta water and add spinach to the chicken towards the end, mixed through the pasta and sprinkled with Parmesan is delicious.

This is the best way I’ve ever cooked a chicken. Do make sure you put the seasoning under the skin, it’s what keeps it moist and gives it flavour, and do make the coconut milk gravy. I could drink it by the mug full.

It’s perfect for low carb and you can easily eat a whole chicken in 3-4 days with lots of veg if you are just cooking for you.

https://www.recipetineats.com/fragrant-coconut-pot-roasted-chicken-feel-good-food-cookbook-by-valli-little/

This is great if you are having a hard day. Skinless boneless chicken, billing, streaky bacon.

Get some skinless boneless chicken, put it on cling film and then another clingfilm on top. Bash the entire thing with rolling pin, the chicken will become thinner but double in size width wise. Season with salt and pepper (you can add other herbs / spices but I find S and P enough).

place your filling in the middle, wrap in the chicken and bacon. I find it easier to lay out the bacon, put the chicken on top and then the filling, roll the whole thing up.

Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 mins. Depending on the filling you might be better to put in a dish rather than on a baking sheet.

Possible fillings:

Made up packet of stuffing
Cheese - mozzarella works well
Cheese with mango chutney or mustard. Warning the mango chutney will be white hot when you take it out of the oven.

Just experiment

Another one

Sticky chicken wings.

Chicken wings tend to be cheap. You want the skin on. You have to use a knife to cut them at the 'elbow' and 'wrist.

You are not going to use the tips so bin or freeze to make stock later.

In a bowl mix orange juice, salt pepper, honey, a little chilli powder if you like. Add the chicken wings tot he bowl and make sure all surfaces are covered. Leave for an hour or two or overnight in the fridge.

When you come back to them coat them again they can be grilled - but you will need to clen the grill afterwards, on a BB or in the oven in a dish. You can add more of the juice/honey mix as you cook.

A chicken breast dropped into boiling water with a little onion, fresh or dried thyme and celery of lovage according to season, then simmered at low heat for 20-25 minutes, is excellent for chicken salads. It was also a traditional invalid food.

The liquor makes excellent stock - freeze if you don't need it immediately.

A whole roast chicken is a thing of joy. Turn the oven on to 180 and let it heat up. Cut a lemon in half and pop in the chicken cavity, soften some butter and massage into the skin all over, grind some black pepper over top. Sit the chicken in a roasting pan on a bed of carrots, onion and celery sliced up - this will give excellent gravy when the chicken is cooked.

Put the chicken in the oven and turn the heat down to 160, roast for an hour and 20 mins (for a 2kg chicken) and let it rest for 20 mins wrapped in foil with a clean tea towel over the top.

Best chicken ever. Roast chicken one night, chicken for sandwiches for lunch, chicken leek and mushroom pie, chicken stir fry. You can also freeze roast chicken for later use.

So many ways but for cooking in the oven I’d start with a whole skin on thighs with mini potatoes, cubed butternut squash, whole garlic cloves, red pepper and cubed courgette, a little oil, dried oregano and a little smoked paprika, toss around to coat then cook for 35-40 minutes until the meat and potatoes are almost cooked through, spoon over 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning and 1 tbsp honey, toss about and return to the oven for 5 minutes. 1 pan so less washing up!

I use chicken thigh fillets to make many dishes eg fajitas, pasta (with creme fraiche, sun dried tomatoes, oregano, garlic, shallots and tarragon), curries etc

Some brilliant suggestions on here.

But if you can’t be bothered making a full on meal and you are cooking whole breasts in the oven as a ‘lazy’ dinner, put them in a roasting bag with some seasoning to keep them moist.

If you're cooking for one then a whole roast chicken will be way too much. I'd always go with thighs over breast (bone in or out). For a really quick meal I just bake some thighs with herbs from the garden (thyme, rosemary and oregano) and a bit of salt, olive oil and lemon juice. 30 minutes.

But the best way of all is a traditional stew - so simple, really cheap and filling.

chicken legs, drumsticks or thighs, skin on and bone in
small swede peeled and cubes
3-4 carrots sliced
2 onions chopped roughly
1 leek sliced
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 tbsp herbs de Provence
1-2 parsnips chopped into equal sized pieces
2 tbsp pearl barley
3-4 chicken stock cubes eg Kallo though supermarket own brand work

brown the meat, add the onions and leeks and soften, add the carrots and garlic then cover with boiling water add the stock cubes and remaining vegetables plus herbs and pearl barley, bring to boil then simmer for 45 minutes when you can add dumplings if desired (6oz flour, 2 oz suet, 1 tsp dried sage, water to mix, make into balls) and simmer in the stew 10-15 minutes turning once)

The veg prep takes no longer than the meat browning so it is an efficient use of time, I then make the dumplings whilst sautéing the onions and leeks. It reheats well in the microwave or on hob and freezes, so ideal for when you want to take meals to people. You can make it “posher” by using organic meat, homemade stock etc but I just pick everything up at Lidl and it comes in at £1 a head for a modest portion, £1.50 for a large including mashed potatoes (I don’t normally have mash if having dumplings) add steamed cabbage as a side for extra nutrition and to make it go even further. Old fashioned cookery at its tastiest (plus garlic, always add garlic to everything )

I put a whole breast in the oven, olive oil and salt and cracked pepper on it, 180 degrees for about 25 mins, comes out perfect really.