cooking chicken?

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I want to start getting into cooking chicken, but I feel like I’ve had so many problems with undercooked or overcook chicken, and can never find the right way to cook it. Do most people use air fryer or oven.? what kind of chicken do you guys buy and how long do you cook it for? How do you know if it’s done?

chris_in_cal

Step #1 Look inside yourself and figure out if you are truly a person who enjoys cooking.

Step #2 Filter all the responses here based on if the person seems to be into it, or just wants a means to an ends.


I don't get much out of cooking chicken. I was skeptical but thighs really do taste better. But I still usually cook breasts because it just feels more simple.

acpgee

Buy yourself an instant read meat thermometer. Mine is a couple of years old but I paid about $10 on amazon. Stick it in the thickest part of the meat but not touching a bone. Chicken is safe to eat at 72C. Try not to let the internal temperature get a lot higher than that if you don't want overcooked chicken. You might want to stick the probe in several places.

To do a whole roast chicken with breast and legs done at the same time spatchcock it. In the normal roasting position, if legs are done, breasts are overdone. Spatchcocking takes advantage of the fact that a conventional oven is hotter on the perimeter (where the legs are) than in the centre (where the breasts are). It also cuts down on cooking time for roast chicken.

Spatchcocking means cutting down one side of the backbone with a sturdy pair of scissors. You might have to tear a bit with your hands near where the thigh meets the backbone. Spread out the carcass skin side up on your oven tray and press down on the breast to flatten it. You will hear a crack. Season both skin side and interior side with salt and pepper and pop into a 200C oven. Depending on the size of the chicken it will take 25 to 45 minutes. Start testing with you thermometer in the thickest part of the high after 25 minutes.

If you are trying recipes with chicken parts, legs are more forgiving the breasts, which are dry when overcooked.

Corina1143

I'm a very lazy cook. Preheat oven to 400 to 425. Toss chicken legs in a bowl with olive oil. Lay on a big baking sheet. If you cover it with parchment paper first, cleanups a cinch. Im a lazy cleaner upper, too. Season. Bake 20 minutes. Turn them over. Back in oven 15 minutes. Stick a fork in one. If blood runs out, put them back in. If clear juice runs out, it's done. If nothing comes out, you may have cooked them a bit too long. (Kind of depends on the size, your oven, shiny pan vs dark pan, etc)
Acpgee is right. Legs are most easy to cook. Thighs next. When I cook breasts, it's always a moist method or they get too dry. (Slather them in butter or oil. Bake covered. Or put them in a casserole with water or sauce or broth).

neanderthin

Well, if your a novice cook, and suspect you are, then an instant read thermometer is your friend, it takes the guessing out of it, which seems to be your main issue and therefore a thermometer is kind of mandatory if you decide to try and cook other proteins.

bootheaimee8436

+1 for an instant read thermometer. It's great for all meats and I use it most for chicken and fish since it's harder to tell sometimes if it's done and I'd rather not overcook it. For chicken I use the oven a lot - mostly breast meat for me and drumsticks for my kids. We do a lot of sheet pan meals with chicken, veggies, and potatoes.

us1kitty2013

I boil 2 or 3 chicken breast and shred it, then I make different meals out of it chicken w/onions and peppers season how you like, for fajitas or orange ginger chicken or stir fry w/veggies and soy sauce and season for an asian meal, i throw some in for a southwest or tortilla soup.

reneerobertsphotography

If you cut up your chicken into cubes and put in the air fryer you generally will never go wrong

TracyL963

When I want the meat for salads, tacos or burritos I use a crockpot. Throw some skinless, boneless chicken meat in the crockpot. Add a packet of taco (or fajita) seasoning and a cup of salsa. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Shred using 2 forks.

Railgrl

Depends on what I’m making but bone-in skin-on breasts are a great staple. Can be used shredded in soups, sandwiches, burritos, salads. I discard the skin after cooking but it helps keep the meat from drying out. Toss them in a 350 degree oven and check them after 30 or 35 minutes. If they’re not 160F then put them back in for 5 minutes or so.

I like to check the temp earlier and put it back in if it needs more time vs overcooking.

yirara

I prepare chicken in so many ways: Small pieces fried in a wok/pan, chicken thighs or breast cooked in convection/microwave oven (small cuts on the top help a bit, also for more surface area for marinade), thrown whole breast or thigh, or in pieces into a soup or stew and cooked to bits, chicken mince balls, put chicken breast in ziplock bag and microwave for a bit then make shredded chicken from it once cooled and fry in pan after marinating, I might also have cooked a whole chicken once or twice. I think a stir fry with chicken breast chunks might be the easiest. It's nearly impossible to undercook, really.

acpgee

Since a lot of people think cooking chicken breasts in a stir fry is easy, let me share a super simple recipe I tried recently, to replicate a street food dish (chicken with garlic and pepper) I ate on my last holiday in Thailand. You will need some special condiments like fish sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauce that can be bought in any asian grocer or online. Oyster sauce will be in the Chinese section, and the fish sauce in the Vietnamese or Thai section. Forgive me if instructions are condescending but I am writing for a cook who is an absolute beginner. This meal is made in the 20 minutes it takes to cook some rice.
If you are cooking rice from scratch, put on the rice first. You could also cook quinoa from scratch, which like rice, takes 20 minutes. If this is too much work you can buy frozen rice at the supermarket and thaw in the microwave but this is more expensive. Other instant starches that go well with stir fries are instant couscous and instant polenta (=instant grits).
Once the rice is on, wash and slice cucumber and set aside. In Thailand, garlic pepper chicken would be served with plain cucumber, but add some salad dressing if you like. Ready made asian roast sesame dressing goes really well. You can find that in the Japanese section of the asian grocer.
Once the side salad is ready, cut up the chicken into thin slices against the grain (ie cuts through the short side of the breast). Cutting against the grain improves tenderness. Count on 125g (a quarter lb) per adult. For the rest of this recipe I give quantities for 4 people using 500g of chicken breast. Sprinkle a heaped teaspoon of cornstarch over the chicken peices and mix well to distribute so that every piece has a light coat.
For 4 people peel 8 cloves of garlic. Do this by smashing separated cloves between a cutting board and the counter which makes the peel slip off easily. Roughly chop either in a food processor or by hand.
Get your stir fry sauces out on the counter. If you are nervous about having to work quickly while stir frying mix together 1 tablespoon each of so and fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and a teaspoon of sugar in advance. Also out measure a teaspoon of either black or white ground pepper.
In a small sauce pan measure out a tablespoon or two of neutral vegetable oil. Drop in the garlic and turn up the heat to medium-low. Fry until lightly golden. Be careful not to over fry as garlic continues to cook once off the heat and burnt garlic is bitter and you will need to do this step again. Strain the garlic through a mesh sieve so that the oil drips into a wok or sautee pan. Set the sieve with garlic aside. Heat up the wok to high and toss in the chicken and pepper. Use 2 spatulas to separate the chicken, which will want to stick together. Once the pieces are all separated and most of the pink colour is gone throw in the stir fry sauces and sugar, continuing to stir. The sauces are added last so that a crust can form on the chicken which makes it tastes fried rather than boiled. The cornstarch on the surface of the chicken will thicken the sauce. Stir in a tablespoon or two of water if the sauce is getting too thick. Cut into a piece of chicken to test that it is not pink inside (otherwise stir fry another minute). Stir in the reserved fried garlic. You can reserve a little garlic to top the chicken when serving.
Serve with rice and cucumber. In the photo I added a little chive for colour.

lakegirl57

The air fryer is my best friend. I like to roast a whole chicken. I buy inexpensive small whole chickens for my husband and I. Season it anyway you want, inside and out. Mrs. Dashes seasonings are great and there are some similar to rotisserie spices. Preheat the air fryer to 400. Put about a cup of water in pan then put the chick in the pan breast side down and cook for about 30 mins. Check the internal temp. Turn the chick over and roast until it reaches temp. Depending on the size of it I check the temp every 10 mins. It's always tender, juicy and tasty. The water helps to steam the chicken to keep it moist and the skin will crisp up because its near the top element.

Leo_King84

I'm not one for cooking, it just has to be done.

I've recently discovered basting, it's pretty great.

Throw chicken in some sort of cooking tray thingy, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cut a few slices of butter and stick on top and chuck into a pre heated oven. Mines fan assisted so it's about 170, add 20 degrees for non fan. Timing is based on weight, the ones I buy are around 1.5-1.6kg and it tells you how long to cook them for on packet. I tend to go for around 100 minutes and baste every 25 minutes. Literally take it out the oven, tilt to one side, use a spoon or baster to scoop the juices up and drip them over the chicken. If there's not much juice add more butter.