Chicken Recipies

Chicken is unlike many other meats which can be undercooked. When cooking any chicken dish you must make sure that the chicken is cooked right through before consumption.

A popular way to do this is to use the skewer test. Insert a clean skewer into the meat and if the juices run clear this is a sure sign that the chicken is cooked. Continue cooking if any of the juice has a red or pink color.

Failure to cook a chicken properly can result in Samonella and Campylobacter, two bacterial types of food poisoning. With symptoms such as stomach cramps, diarrheoa, nausea, making sure that the chicken in not under cooked is a top priority. But by using the simple skewer test you will be able to enjoy thousands of CHICKEN RECIPIES and not worry!

I have to admit I love cooking and am constantly improving. I am always looking for new and easy recipies to prepare for my family with chicken usually the main focus in over half of the dishes I serve.

Many CHICKEN RECIPIES require you to make chicken stock (for sauces, gravies and soups) and until recently I had been doing this with a stock cube. BIG mistake.

After I came accross this very simple recipie for chicken stock I haven't looked back. It makes each chicken dish even more flavorsome!

CHICKEN STOCK RECIPIE

If you are a fan of roast chicken then the easiest way to make stock is by using the giblets, carcass and leftovers from a roast chicken that you have just eaten. Put them in a saucepan of water with the ingredients listed below:

2 Medium Onions, chopped
2 Sticks Celery, chopped
3-4 Sprig Parsley
6 Peppercorns

Simmer slowly for 2 hours. Season with salt at the end once the volume has reduced.

Strain through a fine sieve. Once cool place in the refrigerator where it will keep for about 3 days.

Everyone loves a roast chicken family dinner. But is creating the perfect roast chicken simple? Follow this simple roast CHICKEN RECIPIE and added to some lovely vegtables and a delicious gravy will make the perfect roast dinner.

Ingredients

* 1(5lb) chicken or turkey, fresh or frozen, thawed
* salt & fresh ground pepper
* 1/4 cup butter, softened

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400f degrees.

2.Rinse chicken inside and out with cold running water.

3.Dry thouroughly inside and out with paper towel.

4.Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper inside the cavity and all over the outside.

5.Place chicken in a roaster.

6.If required, loosely pack the stuffing mix (see following recipie) into the main cavity and any left into the neck cavity foulding the skin over it.

7.Take a length of kitchen string and tie the ends of the legs as close together as possible.

8.Rub the butter all over the outside of the chicken making sure to cover the whole outside surface.

9.Take two lengths of aluminum foil, place one piece over the chicken lengthwise, take the other piece and place it sideways over the first piece.

10.Tuck the foil tightly to the chicken so it is touching the bottom of the roaster but not under the bird.

11.If the bird is not completely covered (except for the underside) Use a third piece to finish covering.

12.Place the roaster on the middle rack of the oven and roast at 400f degrees for 15 minutes.

13.Reduce the heat after 15 minutes to 350f degrees and roast for approaximately 2 hours.

14.At about 2 hours, carefully lift the aluminum foil and poke the chiken with a fork, if the juice runs clear, remove the foil and roast a further 30 minutes to brown the skin to golden.

15.If the juice is not yet clear, roast a little longer and check again.

16.Once the chicken is well browned, remove to platter, cover with foil and let rest.

Stuffing Mix

Although you can use a chicken stuffing mix if you want to really go tradtional use the following chicken stuffing recipie to stuff the chicken.

Ingredients

* 1 tsp large fresh sage leaves, chopped
* 225g Onions, chopped
* 40g butter
* 1 tbsp Parsley, chopped
* 75g white breadcrumbs
* 1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method

First melt the butter in a small heavy-based saucepan, then add the onions and cook them for about 6 minutes or until they are transparent. Next add the herbs, breadcrumbs and seasoning, stirring well to combine everything.

A firm favourite with families (especially mine!) chicken casserole is a tasty CHICKEN RECIPIE that is also easy to prepare.

Ingredients

* 1tbsp olive oil
* 1 onion, halved and finely sliced
* 2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
* 2 celery sticks, thickly sliced
* 605g pack chicken thigh fillets, without skin
* 1tbsp plain flour
* 500g new potatoes, quartered
* leaves from 2 rosemary and 2 thyme sprigs
* 600ml stock, made from a stock cube (or, for even more taste, follow the recipie for chicken stock)
* 2tbsp cornflour
* Crusty wholegrain or seeded bread to serve

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/ Gas 3. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the carrots and celery and stir so they are all coated in oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes.

2 Toss the chicken in the flour, add to the pan and cook until lightly browned. Then add the potatoes, rosemary, thyme and stock. Heat until simmering, cover and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

3 Mix the cornflour with four tablespoons of water to make a paste. Stir into the casserole and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with big hunks of bread.

SERVES: 4

This recipie is the recipie that I use for me and my family. I have tried a few others but this one is really simple to follow, requires low cost ingredients, is healthier than most casserole recipies and most importantly is by far the most tasty!

Some CHICKEN RECIPIES require you to use a whole chicken whilst others only require parts of a chicken, usually the breasts and thighs.

You can purchase fresh chicken breasts and thighs but if you are going to cook a few CHICKEN RECIPIES then it is less expensive to buy a whole chicken and cut off the parts that you need. With the remaining carcass of the chicken you can make a chicken stock using the recipie above.

So with so many uses but only one chicken how do we go about cutting up a whole chicken?

Before you start a word of warning. It may be difficult to do the first time but after you've had a few goes it will become second nature!

1. Place the chicken breastbone-side up on a clean, flat cutting surface.

2. Use a standard, sharp kitchen knife to slice off the wing joints. The wings can be set aside and reserved for stock. One breast and leg is removed at a time. Follow steps 3 through 9 to remove the breasts and legs.

3. Make a shallow incision running along one side of the breastplate.

4. Deepen the incision by slicing into the chicken toward the rib cage. Pull the meat away from the rib cage as you slice down. As you progress further into the bird, slide the knife off of the rib cage repeatedly to ensure that you are removing any meat attached to the rib cage.

5. Your knife will come to a point, just underneath the wishbone, where the wing joint meets the rib cage. The wing joint cartilage is soft enough to slice through easily. Slice completely through the joint, stopping only when your knife reaches the cutting surface. At this point, the breast is almost completely off the bird.

6. Slice through the skin that runs from the tail end of the bird to the point where the leg meets the breast.

7. The breast should come off of the bird with little effort. Pull the breast outwards, away from the bird, being careful not to rip or tear the flesh. You may need to slice through some still-attached skin to remove the breast.

8. Cut through the leg joint until you reach the point where the leg bone meets the body. This joint can be difficult to cut through, so stop cutting when you reach bone. Don't try to cut through the leg bone.

9. Grasp the leg and pull it behind the bird, pressing your fingers into the back of the joint until the joint pops loose. You will feel the bone pop out of the socket. Remove the leg by cutting in and around the joint. Keep cutting until you have freed the leg from the body. Now, turn the bird around and remove the other breast and leg the same way, following steps 3 through 9.

This advice is taken from ALLRECIPES>COM who have many tasty CHICKEN RECIPIES for you to try.

There are many different recipies for chicken curry and finding one usually depends on how spicy a curry you like.

A great chicken curry recipie if you are cooking for a family would be quite a mild curry. If you are serving for older children or just yourself you can always add a few chilli's to spice it up a bit!

I particularly like this recipie as it is a mild curry, easy to prepare and taste just like a take away!

Ingredients

* 2tbsp sunflower oil
* 2 onions, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 tsp ground ginger
* 1 tsp turmeric
* 2tsp mild/hot curry powder
* 4 chicken breasts
* 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
* 150g Natural Yoghurt
* 2tsp garam masala
* Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1 Heat half the oil in a large pan, add the onions and fry until soft and golden. Add the garlic and spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Tip out onto plate.

2 Cut the chicken into large pieces. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and brown the chicken. Add the onion mixture and cook for 1 minute to coat chicken. Add the tomatoes, stir and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3 Stir in flour to thicken and the garam masala and yoghurt and gently heat through. Chop the coriander and sprinkle over.

Serves: 4

This is a great recipie and is so simple you can get the kids involved too!