Chicken meat in salads or main courses: how to cook chicken so that the meat turns out tender and tasty

Calories and nutritional value

A chicken carcass is usually cut into several parts - legs (thighs, drumsticks), wings, back and breast. All chicken is suitable for cooking.

If you want the broth to be clear, it is best to use the breast or back. Legs and wings are suitable for richer broths. Chicken giblets also go well; soup made with this broth will be strong and fatty.

The calorie content of different parts also varies.

Fkusnofacts

- Proportions of chicken and water - 750 grams of chicken is enough for a 5-liter pan.
This will make a simple broth, not too fatty and not dietary. — Is chicken broth healthy?

Chicken broth is very useful for influenza, ARVI and colds. Light chicken broth helps remove viruses from the body, minimally loading it and being easily absorbed by it.

— Shelf life

chicken broth at room temperature - 1.5 days. Store chicken broth in the refrigerator for 5 days.

— Seasonings

for chicken broth - rosemary, dill, parsley, black peppercorns, bay leaf, celery.

— Determine the readiness of chicken broth

You can pierce the chicken with a knife - if the knife enters the chicken meat easily, the broth is ready.

— How to use chicken broth?

Chicken broth is used to make soups (
chicken, onion, minestrone, buckwheat, avocado soup
and others), salads, sauces (
chicken sauce
).

— So that the chicken broth is clear

, it is necessary to drain the first water after boiling, and remove the resulting foam during cooking. If you want a light-colored broth, you should add a peeled onion when cooking.

— Salt

chicken broth should be added at the beginning of cooking - then the broth will be rich. If the chicken is cooked for salad, then the broth should be salted 20 minutes before the end of cooking, in which case the chicken meat will be salty.

— What kind of chicken should I use for broth?

If you want a rich, fatty broth, a whole chicken (or half) or individual fatty parts of the chicken (legs, wings, thighs) will do. A soup set is perfect for medium-rich broth. For dietary chicken broth, tripe and chicken bones from legs, thighs, breasts and fillets are suitable.

- Look how easy it is to prepare

chicken jellied meat, boiled chicken salads and boiled chicken appetizers!

— The price of ingredients for cooking a 5-liter pan of chicken broth from half a chicken is 150 rubles. (average for Moscow as of June 2019). Chicken broth can also be made from chicken bones, from a soup set with the addition of chicken offal.

- Before adding to the broth, carrots and onions can be cut into several pieces and fried in a dry frying pan - then the broth will be more aromatic. You can also fry the chicken parts without oil - then the broth will be richer.

How to prepare chicken for cooking

Before boiling the carcass, you need to see what condition it is in: frozen, chilled or fresh.

Frozen chicken needs to be thawed. It is better to do this naturally, without using a microwave or placing it under warm water, as this will defrost the carcass unevenly.

After defrosting, rinse the bird with cool water, remove the remaining entrails and congealed blood. Also inspect the skin to see if there are any remaining feathers or dried skin. They should also be removed.

With chilled and fresh chicken, do the same as with defrosted chicken; before cooking, fresh chicken must be scorched and rinsed again with cool water.

Before cooking, it is better to dry the carcass a little to remove excess liquid. Tuck the legs into the cut in the skin on the belly if the chicken is cooked whole or the carcass is chopped into pieces. The latter option is best if the bird is old or has blemishes.

How to properly cook a whole chicken

If the chicken is cooked for broth, it is done as follows:

1. The prepared carcass is poured with cold water and placed on the stove.
2. Bring the water to a boil, remove the foam with a slotted spoon.
3. Add salt, pepper, onion and carrots.
4. Reduce the heat and cook until done.

For delicious boiled chicken, this is done a little differently:

1. The chicken carcass is placed in boiling water.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Add salt to taste.
4. Reduce heat and cook until tender.

Another delicious recipe for chicken broth with offal:

1. The prepared chicken carcass and well-washed heart, liver and stomach are placed in a saucepan.
2. Fill with cold water and put on fire.
3. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil.
4. The resulting foam is removed with a slotted spoon.
5. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer until done.

General principles

The main issue when cooking chicken is determining the cooking time.
At the same time, there are a number of principles, adhering to which the dish will definitely be tasty:

1. The bird can be cooked whole, or cut into pieces.
2. It is recommended to defrost frozen meat, so the heat treatment will be more uniform.
3. If there is no time to defrost, the chicken should be placed in cold water, and after boiling it will cook for 15 minutes longer.
4. For a rich broth, raw meat is placed in water and has time to impart its aroma to it. To get more juicy meat, put it in boiling water.

Young poultry cooks twice as fast. To speed up the process, tough meat can be soaked in lemon juice for an hour. You also need to take into account that when placing in a pan, the water should completely cover the chicken.

How many minutes should you cook the chicken until done?

Cooking time for chicken depends on its quality, age and integrity.

A whole chicken carcass is boiled for 25-30 minutes after the water boils. Since the meat is young, it cooks much faster.

Old chicken takes about 3 hours to cook. Broiler - about 1.5 hours, this is due to the fact that it is large. Poultry takes 1.5-2 hours to cook due to the fact that its meat is tougher, but it produces a thicker and richer broth.

Of course, chicken parts cook faster than a whole chicken. The fillet will be ready in 30-40 minutes. The readiness of the thigh and drumstick can be checked after 30-35 minutes. And the wings cook even faster - 20-25 minutes.

Cooking in a saucepan

Let's take a closer look at the cooking process.

1. First, the bird must be rinsed well with running water, seared if necessary, and placed in a suitable pan.
2. Pour enough water into the container so that the carcass is completely covered.
3. Then wait until it boils and remove the resulting foam with a slotted spoon: this way your broth will turn out transparent.
4. After the water has boiled, you can reduce the heat and leave the bird to cook under the lid.

To determine the readiness of chicken, it must be periodically pierced with a knife or fork. If you feel that the metal penetrates the meat easily, then your dish is ready.

Keep in mind that boiling chicken is not like boiling eggs, where the cooking time is known down to the minute. Cooking time is individual and depends on the size of the piece, as well as its characteristics.

For example, it may depend on the age of the chicken, whether it is home-grown or from a store, and even on what it was fed. The younger the bird, the faster it cooks and the softer its meat.

Older, country hens are more suitable for broths, and although their meat is tougher, the broth they make is rich and rich in flavor.

To make your dish more interesting, I recommend putting not only poultry in the pan, but also various vegetables and spices: carrots, onions, black pepper beans, celery. In addition, the broth should be salt and pepper.

How to cook in a slow cooker

In a slow cooker, chicken can be cooked either whole or chopped into pieces.

Recipe with a whole carcass:

1. Prepare the chicken carcass.
2. Place it in the multicooker bowl and fill it with cold water.
3. Set the “Cooking” mode for 50 minutes.
4. Check preparation periodically.
5. 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add salt, pepper, and bay leaf to the broth.

Recipe with shredded chicken:

1. Chop the carcass into pieces.
2. Place in a bowl and fill with cold water.
3. Set the cooking mode to 40 minutes.
4. Monitor the preparation.
5. 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add pepper, salt, and bay leaf to the broth.

How to cook chicken soup

To prepare the soup, we first need to boil our bird, and we will need a large amount of water. When ready, remove the chicken from the pan, separate it from the bones and finely chop it, then throw it back into the broth. Now we need to add the fried carrots and onions to the pan. Next, take and finely chop the potatoes and, of course, spices. Throw it all into the broth and cook for another 15 minutes. That's all, all you have to do is add the vermicelli and cook for another 5 minutes. The broth cooks for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

In the microwave

1. Place the chopped chicken carcass in a microwave-safe container.
2. Fill with cold water and close with a lid.
3. Some microwaves have functions with ready-made recipes. In this case, you just need to select the appropriate option and install it.
4. If the microwave is simple, without additional functions, then you need to set the maximum power and cooking time to 40 minutes.
5. Then, before the end of the cooking time (5-10 minutes), add salt, pepper, and bay leaf to the broth.

Can I cook frozen chicken and for how long?

Of course, it is better to cook from defrosted meat. Well, what if you don’t have time to wait for the chicken to defrost?! Frozen chicken can be placed in boiling water. You just have to wait longer for it to boil, and it will take longer to cook. Add another 40-45 minutes to the usual cooking time for boiled chicken.

Chicken from the freezer can be cooked without defrosting if desired.

How to steam chicken

To cook this way, you will need a double boiler or a multicooker rack.

1. Cut the carcass into pieces and add salt.
2. Pour cold water into a bowl or pan.
3. Place the chicken on the grill.
4. Put the pan on gas. If you boil in a slow cooker, you need to set the “steaming” mode for 35 minutes.
5. Make sure that all the water does not evaporate. Cook for 35-40 minutes.

This dish is considered dietary and most suitable for proper nutrition.

How and how long to cook chicken broth?

The chicken must be scorched to remove any remaining feathers, washed, cut up, or cooked whole.

You will get a delicious broth if you cook the whole chicken.

If you cook a whole chicken, make sure that all the meat is thoroughly cooked. This will take longer than, for example, boiling chicken in pieces. If the goal is to prepare a delicious broth, then it is better to take homemade or market chicken. Even if not very young. You'll just have to lengthen the cooking time, perhaps 2 hours or even longer.

How to cook in a pressure cooker

1. Rub the prepared chicken carcass with salt.
2. Place it in a pressure cooker.
3. Add a little water, you don’t need a lot, as the chicken itself will release the required amount of liquid.
4. Close the lid and place on the stove.
5. Monitor your blood pressure. As soon as it reaches the maximum level, you need to reduce the heat.
6. Leave to cook for 25-30 minutes.
7. After the time is up, remove the pan from the heat, wait for the pressure to drop, open and check for readiness.

If clear juice comes out when the thigh is punctured, the chicken is ready to eat. If the juice is red, you need to close the pressure cooker with the lid again and put it on the fire for another 3-5 minutes.

How to boil chicken deliciously?

When buying a whole bird, many housewives are faced with the fact that they do not know how to cook it and ultimately opt for baking. The carcass can be boiled, which will allow you to get a dietary, but no less tasty dish.

Ingredients:

• Chicken – 1 pc. (900 g);
• Water – 1.4 l;
• Onion – 100 g;
• Carrots – 100 g;
• Garlic – 20 g;
• Salt pepper.

Cooking method:

1. Many people are interested in the question: how long to cook chicken so that it is not dry? It all depends on the age of the bird. That is, the older she is, the more time it will take. Start with vegetables that need to be peeled and washed.
2. The carcass needs to be dismembered at the joints into separate pieces of chicken.
3. Wash them thoroughly in running water and place in a pan with warm water.
4. Bring to a boil, periodically skimming off any foam that forms.
5. When the meat is half cooked, add a whole onion and carrots, previously cut into 3 parts.
6. Cook for about 25 minutes, and then leave to cool in the broth.
7. After this, the meat can be considered ready.

For soup

It is better to choose young or soup chicken for soup. Homemade chicken is also good for a good color in the broth.

1. Place the prepared chicken in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Drain the foamy water from the pan and fill with clean cold water. Put it back on the fire.
4. After boiling, skim off any foam that appears and reduce the heat.
5. Add salt and pepper.
6. Cook until done. Strain the broth and cut up the carcass.

Another way to cook chicken broth with eggs is shown in the video.

Which part of the chicken is best to make broth from?

The most healthy and dietary broth is obtained from chicken giblets, and these are the legs, the upper part of the wings, the neck, the head with a scallop, the stomach, and the liver.

True, it is better not to use liver for broth; it imparts a specific bitter taste and changes the color of the broth.

A delicious broth is made from chicken giblets.

Some people like to cook broth from chicken breasts, some prefer to choose meat with bones, so that they can later savor it with cartilage. It all depends on personal tastes and desires.

How to cut a carcass into pieces for cooking: legs, wings, thigh, drumstick

Before cooking, the chicken is cut up. First, the carcass is prepared as described above. Then the last joint of the wing and the tips of the legs are trimmed; nothing else is needed if the carcass is cooked whole.

If the carcass needs to be cut, the legs are separated, cutting at the joint into drumstick and thigh. Next, the wings are cut off. The breast and back are separated by cutting along the sides and near the throat.

In addition, you can cut the breast into fillets and bones yourself. To do this, first remove the skin from the breast. Then, using a sharp knife, the flesh is separated from the breast bone and ribs.

How to store boiled chicken

After boiling chicken, there are often pieces left that are not eaten immediately. It is best to store them in broth. This way they will not dry out and become weathered. You can use special containers for storing in the refrigerator. They are closed with a lid, which also prevents drying out.

As a last resort, if it is not possible to store as indicated above, the leftovers are put on a plate and put into a bag. This method is not advisable, as the meat may become steamy and suffocate. There is no need to put boiled chicken in the freezer. There it freezes and the taste deteriorates.

It is better to reheat in the same broth or in the microwave.

Chicken meat is very healthy for any adult. It and its broths are recommended after operations and illnesses. This means that even doctors consider this product safe. But you need to buy poultry from trusted producers and farmers.