How To Cook And Bake My Chicken

My Crumbled Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe

2013-04-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Cordon Bleu, contrary to popular belief, originated from Switzerland. A Swiss cookbook in 1949 has a recipe of a schnitzel filled with cheese which may be the inspiration for the cordon bleu variations. The term Cordon Bleu is French (that’s where most of the confusion comes from) meaning “Blue Ribbon.” Not related to the dish but there is a school in Paris, France (a very beautiful place by the way) called Le Cordon Bleu which happens to be the biggest hospitality school in the world.

Here is my home made Crumbled Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe :

A little tip:

The baking time for the dish may take around 30 minutes, which is a lot of free time. Instead of wasting your precious time, why not play in online websites like Partypoker.fr. In Partypoker, you can meet different kinds of people all over the world. You might even play against Frenchmen David Benyamine and Bertrand Grospellier, just some of the best professional poker players today. Did I also mention the amount of money you can win in the game? Just don’t get too hooked though, you might forget the dish you are cooking, which in this case is a very tasty Crumbled Chicken Cordon Bleu.
To serve 2 persons

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (free range and removed skin)
2 slices Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese
1 large slice ham
1 tablespoon mixed herbs (dried)
1 packet breadcrumbs (dried golden) or panko
1 egg (beaten)
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Oil

Method:
1. To start off, preheat the oven in 180 C temperatures.
2. Cut chicken breasts lengthways and open the cuts slightly on the chopping board.
3. Slice the cheese and the ham, and place them inside the chicken after.
4. Fold and secure the cuts with toothpicks.
5. In a bowl, place some breadcrumbs with pepper, salt and herbs.
6. Dip the chicken into the flour, covering each piece properly. Remove the excess by shaking it off.
7. Place the chicken on beaten eggs and drain it after to remove the excess.
8. Press the chicken into the breadcrumb mix that you have prepared earlier.
9. Do the same with the other chicken breast.
10. You can repeat the process for extra crunch, if desired.
11. Place the chicken inside the fridge, and let them sit there for 10 minutes.
12. Place butter on a non-stick frying pan, and heat it over medium temp.
13. Place the chicken into pan for 5 minutes until all sides are brown. Make sure do not burn the bread crumbs in the process.
14. Prepare a pan or dish; transfer the chicken pieces into the pan and place in the preheated oven.
15. Bake the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes. It is important to secure the chicken properly to prevent the cheese from leaking.
Feed your hunger with this ultra-delicieux Crumbled Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Mediterranean Style Marinated Chicken Wings Grilled With Rosemary And Thyme

2013-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

As you probably have noticed, I actually love chicken which is why I made this blog, Also I love Herbes de Provence, and more particularly rosemary and thyme. So today I decided to share with you my recipe of Chicken Wings baked with rosemary.
Theses wing have nothing to do with the wings you may know as Ranch style wings, Buffalo wings, or Tex-mex wings… those wings are full of the Mediterranean spirit, a mix of Italian and Provencal recipe.

My Mediterranean Style Marinated Chicken Wings Grilled With Herbs Recipe:

Take a day of preparation (because of the marinade) but it is cooked very quickly (about 16 minutes grilling), perfect for receiving friends, or just for watching a football game or a movie :)

VERY IMPORTANT: The recipe that we are talking about here needs a 24h marinade; it is the key of the amazing tasting.

I recommend you to prepare it the evening and let if marinate overnight and cook it the evening to the following day (if served at dinner)

Recipe of my Mediterranean style marinated chicken wings with rosemary and thyme:

To serve 4/5 persons.

Ingredients:

4 pounds / 2kg chicken wings and/or drumettes
1 cup / 15 cl / 5 fl oz of lemon juice
8 Tablespoon of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of dry oregano
1 tablespoon of dry thyme
4 springs of fresh rosemary, stripped and chopped
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
Salt

Method:

1) Chop your fresh rosemary the size you desire (some like it very small, some other don’t care about having bits )

2) Chop your garlic cloves,
Nb: When chopping garlic always remove the green part inside, it is bad for digestion.

3) Put the chicken drumettes in a Tupperware (or like) dish or a big freezer zip lock bag. (in the photo above a zip lock bag is used.)

4) In a large measuring cup, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.

5) Pour the marinade mixture over the wings into the dish or bag.

6) If using a Tupperware dish just close the lid. If using zip, push as much air out from the zip lock bag and seal. Put the bag flat in a pan or dish (as a precaution in case it leaks)

7) Position the special marinade in the refrigerator and let it marinate for 24 hours turning the bag, in the Tupperware mix the marinade with a spoon occasionally.

8) 24 hours later, remove the marinade from the refrigerator and let to sit out for around half an hour.

9) Meanwhile, place a grill pan on your grill and preheat your grill to as hot as it gets. It also works with an oven with a grill mode.
Nb: you can also cook the chicken wings on the barbecue.

10) Drain the excess marinade from the meat.

11) Put the chicken on the grill and cook for about 7-8 minutes per side or until the skin is brown and crispy.

Enjoy your delicious chicken wings, I usually serve it with a nice salad and some cherry tomatoes.

Don't hesitate to comment, and share your cooking experience with this recipe or similar recipe.

How To Cook Home-made Chicken Nuggets / Recipe n°2

2013-02-07T03:22:00.000-08:00

Hello, I want to share with you a second recipe to cook some very tasty home made chicken nuggets. This recipe is a little bit different as the first I shared, but still easy to cook at home.

Remember, the key to have the best chicken nuggets is simple : use quality ingredients !

This nuggets recipe take about 30 minutes to prepare + cook.

Makes 4 servings

Here is the link to my first recipe to cook homemade chicken nuggets.

so let's call this new chicken nugget recipe : Martin's Home-made Chicken Nuggets n°2 :)

Ingredients :

About 1,5 pounds (750g) boneless white-meat chicken (breasts, cutlets, or tenders), pounded to uniform thickness if necessary, blotted dry.
1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs, preferably fresh (page 876), or panko for dredging
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 / 2 teaspoon cayenne
Peanut or neutral oil, like grape seed or corn, for deep frying the nuggets.

Method:

1) Heat the oven to 200°F. Cut the meat into 2-inch pieces. Set out the flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs on plates or shallow bowls next to each other. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper, and the cayenne.

2) Dredge the chicken, a few pieces at a time, in the flour, then dip in the egg, then dredge in the bread crumbs. Put the breaded chicken pieces on a baking sheet and, when it’s all breaded, transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 10 minutes and up to 3 hours. (At this point, you may freeze the MarkNuggets in zipper bags or wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a month.)

3) Put at least 2 inches oil in a deep pan on the stove over medium-high heat; bring to 350°F. When hot, turn the heat up a bit and add a few chicken pieces, regulating the heat so that there is a good constant sizzle but no burning. Cook in batches as necessary, making sure not to crowd the pan.

4) Turn the chicken pieces as they brown. The total cooking time should be 4 minutes or less. As each piece is done, transfer it to an ovenproof platter and put the platter in the oven. Serve as soon as all the pieces are cooked with sauce for dipping.

...And bonus :

Some alternative tips to spice up this homemade chicken nuggets recipe, and make it exotic :p

Cornmeal Chicken Nuggets : Substitute cornmeal for the bread crumbs.

Coconut Chicken MarkNuggets : Excellent with Cilantro-Mint Chutney : Substitute 1 cup shredded coconut for half the bread crumbs.

Super-Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken Breasts with Curry : Omit the eggs and bread crumbs; instead of the cayenne, use 1 tablespoon of any curry powder or other spice mixture. Rub the chicken all over with a tablespoon of rice or cider vinegar; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the spice mixture; and rub again. Whisk the flour with about 1 / 2 cup warm water to make a paste about as thick as yogurt. Heat about 1 / 4 inch of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken in the batter and pan-fry in batches as described above.

How to Bake Easy Lovely Chicken Breasts

2013-01-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Chicken breasts can be tender and delicious without causing harm to your health. A skinless chicken breast without needlessly added fat is low in fat and high in protein. The best part is that where baked chicken breasts are concerned, you do not have to sacrifice good taste in order to eat a healthy meal.

Using a sensible amount of garlic and spices and with the appropriate treatment, you will be able to bake chicken breasts that are delicious, juicy and best of all, healthy.

Here are my cooking instructions for my Easy Chicken Breasts recipe:

Pour two containers of low fat sour cream in a large enough bowl so that you can effortlessly immerse the chicken breasts and set them aside, do the same thing again but with bread crumbs this time.

Use cold tap water to wash the meat, put them on a dry, clean countertop or a cutting board and then pat them dry with paper towels or napkins.

Use the mallet to tap lightly on each breast, ensuring not to pound on them too hard because the mallet will cause the meat to tear.

Immerse each chicken breast into low fat sour cream, turning them until they are coated completely.

Put each breast back into the bread crumbs, until they are covered completely and then put them on a heated pan.

Sprinkle onion powder and garlic over each piece of chicken; the onion powder and garlic are completely optional. The onion powder can be used more liberally but the garlic powder can be overpowering if you use too much.

Cover up the pan with foil or a lid and put it in the oven. It should take no longer than 45 minutes to an hour to cook the chicken breast. You may be required to flip the chicken breasts once to make sure both sides are brown.

Check your chicken breast to see if they are browned on the top, after about 30 minutes. If so, flip over the chicken breasts.

Use a meat fork to prick the breasts to find out if they are done. If the juices are clear, they are finished. A knife can also be used to cut into the chicken. When the meat is white and, the chicken breasts are done.

Take baked chicken breasts from the pan and put them on a large plate or serving platter. They can be eaten by themselves or served with potato wedges, steamed vegetables or any side dish of your choice.

Now you can enjoy your lovely home made chicken breasts :)

Don't hesitate to send us your feedback about this easy chicken breasts recipe.

How To Bake A Perfect Roast Chicken In Your Oven

2013-01-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hello, I want to share with you my easy way to cook a perfect roasted chicken in your oven.

INGREDIENTS:

2,25 kg / 5 lb free-range chicken
55 g / 2 oz Butter -or- 40 ml / 1,3 fl oz Olive oil
2 table spoon of chopped fresh lemon thyme
1 clove of garlic
1 lemon, quartered
125 ml / 4 fl oz white wine
salt and pepper
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, to garnish

Cooking Method:

1) Preheat the oven to a high temperature, 220°c / 425°f / or Gas Mark 7

2) Wipe the chicken well with kitchen paper, inside and out, and place it in a roasting tin.

N.B: You can serve your roast chicken with carrots or potatoes cut in medium sized pieces, simply roasted along with your bird, in the same roasting tin, it taste great with the meat juices.

3) Place the butter -or- olive oil in a bowl and soften with a fork, then mix in the herbs and season with salt and pepper.

4) Butter/oil your poultry all-over with the herbs and butter/oil inside and out, and place the lemon pieces and the garlic clove inside the body cavity. Pour the white wine over the chicken. Now your roast is ready to place in your oven.

5) Roast in the centre of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. After those 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 190°c / 375°f / Gas Mark 5 and continue to roast for a further 1h1/4 (1h 15min), basting frequently.

Cover with foil if the skin begins to brown too much.

If the tin dries out, add a little more wine or water.

6) Test that the chicken is cooked by piercing the thickest part of the leg with a sharp knife or skewer and making sure that the juices run clear.

Then remove from your oven.

7) Remove the chicken from the roasting tin and place it on a previously warmed serving plate.

Cover your chicken with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

8) Place the roasting tin on the hob over a low heat and bubble the pan juices gently until they have reduced and are thick and glossy. Season with salt and pepper.

9) Serve the meat with the pan juices and scatter with the thyme sprigs.

You can find some items you need to bake a perfect roast chicken here in My List of Must-Have Utensils & Tool to Bake Your Chicken

You can have your roast chicken with a Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon red wine or the same white wine you cooked it with, personally I recommend Chardonnay with roast chicken.

Now you can enjoy your succulent home baked roast chicken.

Please do not hesitate to leave a comment. How did you find this recipe on how to cook the perfect oven roasted chicken? Any tips are always welcome :)

Simple Crispy Skin Chicken Breast Recipe

2012-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

Today I want to share with you one of the easiest chicken breasts cooking recipe.

Often, recipes will ask for using chicken breast skin off, this is, of course for health reasons which I fully endorse, but is entirely unnecessary. The skin provides protection for the soft, tender meat, while at the same time basting the breast with its own fat adds flavour. Therefore, my suggestion for the health conscious is to cook your chicken breast with the skin on and remove the skin once cooked, then pat the breast meat dry using paper towel to remove excess fat and oil.

My Crispy Skin Chicken Breast Recipe

To serve 4,

Ingredients you need:

4 chicken breast fillets, skin on.
Salt and pepper.
2 tablespoons olive oil.
Sauté pan or frying pan with an oven-proof handle and baking tray.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C / 390°F .

2. Season the skin of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the oil in a pan over medium/high heat. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down. Cook until skin is well browned. Do not turn over, but place in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breasts.

4. Serve immediately with vegetables or rice with curry sauce for example. (Soon I will publish some article about what to cook with your poultry)

* The reason for not turning the meat in the pan and browning the other side is so it doesn’t break or rupture the surface of the flesh and allow moisture to escape. As soon as it comes out of the oven, turn the chicken over so the skin stays crispy.

I hope you will enjoy this easy chicken breast to cooking recipe, as usual do not hesitate to leave a comment about your experience with this chicken recipe :)

Chicken and Poultry Grill/Bake/Roast/Cook time Chart

2012-04-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

Risk-less temperature grilling times for grilled chicken and turkey recipes.

How do we know when the meat is cooked? Just because the skin has browned doesn't necessarily mean that the meat is cooked. Here are some of my top tips to ensure the perfect cooking time for your bird :

Chicken, turkey breasts and turkey tenderloins are taken out of the oven once they have reached a temperature of 170°c ; whole chickens and turkeys at 180°c as shown in the chart.
Strips are done when juices run clear. Ground chicken or turkey patties are cooked at 165°c.
For direct grilling, turn meat halfway through grilling time.

Security Tip: If grilling on a barbecue please make certain that any fat dripping through goes into a foil tray so no flame ups occur. Allways use sugarless sauces as sugar will burn.

When frying, grilling or roasting chicken, move out pieces as they get done to avoid overcooking while finishing other pieces. White meat and smaller sized pieces, such as breasts and wings, will get done more rapidly than dark meat pieces, such as legs and thighs. For a quick test of doneness when roasting a chicken, hold on to the leg, move it around, and side to side. The leg should move easily at the joint if it is done. Be sure to use other methods for checking doneness also!

Here is the chicken/turkey cooking chart:

CUT	WEIGHT OR THICKNESS	HEAT	COOKING TIME (MINUTES PER POUND)
Chicken
Broiler/Fryer, Whole	3 to 4 lbs.	Medium/Indirect	1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours
Roaster, Whole	5 to 6 lbs.	Medium/Indirect	1-3/4 to 2-1/4 hours
Meaty Bone-In Pieces, Breast Halves, Legs, Quarters	1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lbs.	Medium/Indirect or Medium/Direct	40 to 50 minutes 35 to 45 minutes
Bone-In Thighs, Drumsticks, Wings	3 to 7 oz.each	Medium-Low/Direct or Medium/Indirect	15 to 30 minutes 20 to 30 minutes
Breast Halves, Boneless	6 oz. each	Medium/Direct	10 to 15 minutes
Kebabs	1-in. cubes	Medium/Direct	10 to 15 minutes
Cornish Game Hens	1-1/2 to 2 lbs.	Medium/Indirect	45 to 60 minutes
Turkey
Whole, Unstuffed	8 to 11 lbs. 12 to 16 lbs.	Medium/Indirect Medium/Indirect	2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours
Breast (Bone-In)	4 to 5 lbs.	Medium/Indirect	1-1/2 to 2 hours
Breast (Boneless)	1-1/4 to 1-3/4 lbs.	Medium/Indirect	1 to 1-1/4 hours
Tenderloins	8 oz.	Medium/Direct	15 to 20 minutes
Drumsticks or Thighs	1/2 to 1-1/2 lbs.	Medium/Indirect	45 to 75 minutes
Patty	4 oz. and 1/2 in.	Medium/Direct	10 to 12 minutes

Don't hesitate to comment on this post, and tell us which way you prefer your poultry :)

The Way of Cooking Healthy Chicken : Doneness and Safety

2012-04-08T02:56:00.004-07:00

Here I want to tell you about Chicken Doneness and Safety,

The absolute safety of food can never be assured, and mass production and wide distribution makes under-cooking any food somewhat risky.

But among poultry products is a special case, because sampling estimates that up to 25 percent, maybe even more, of supermarket birds contain the potentially harmful bacteria salmonella.

Salmonella is killed by cooking chicken until it is fully done. You can reliably judge this in two ways: The easiest and surest is to use an instant-read thermometer; poke it into the breast in two or three places (don’t touch the bone), then into the thigh (again, avoiding the bone), and, finally, if you’re cooking a whole bird, into the joint between the thigh and lower leg. I recommend an internal temperature of 165°F in all these places.

An instant-read thermometer for meat is a very usefull tools for cooking, specially for birds and pork.

Here is an example of good quality therm :

You can find this item here in My List of Must-Have Utensils & Tool to Cook Your Chicken

Like all meat, though, chicken continues to cook after you take it off the heat. And from a flavor standpoint, you don’t want to overcook; it’s unusual for overcooked chicken to be anything but dry and chewy. On the other hand, of course you want to make your chicken safe.
So here’s my compromise: To avoid overcooking, I remove chicken when the temperature is below the “safe”level and let the chicken rest for 5 or 10 minutes before serving—basically the time it takes to serve it. And I’ve never had a problem.

If you want chicken that tastes its best, pull it off the heat at 155°F; if you care about chicken that’s absolutely safe, take it off the heat at 165°F. If you want some sort of balance between the two, remove the bird at around 160°F.(This is less of an issue with chicken parts, which cook quickly and almost inevitably to 165°F, than it is with whole chicken, where some parts cook faster than others.)

You can also check for doneness visually by making as mall cut in any section, right down to the bone; a tinge of pink is acceptable (again, because the meat will finish cooking completely by the time you get it to the table),but you should see no red whatsoever. Again, if you want to be really sure, wait until the meat is white at the bone.
When the chicken is done, don’t let it touch marinades or anything else that came into contact with it before cooking (unless, in the case of marinades, you boil them while you’re cooking the chicken).

I hope my tips will help you to enjoy your favourite meat, safely and healthy cooked :)

If you want to share your personal experience with chicken cooking, please leave a comment !

Bake Chicken : Recommended Utensils, Kitchenware & Baking Tools You Must Have

2012-04-02T02:55:00.002-07:00

Since I started sharing baking recipes and tips with you, I never mentioned too much the utensils and tools I am using to prepare and bake my chicken in my home kitchen.

Here is a list of some my essential "Must have" utensils and tools to use when you bake chicken.

I put the links to amazon so you can order them if you don't already have it at home. I recommend amazon because they are simply the best and most reliable home equipment sellers on the internet, and they ship your item very quickly (perfect if you have a chicken to bake waiting in your refrigerator :p )
The products in grey are the more useful for me, and the first tools I bought for myself.

Recommended Utensils & Baking Tools You Must Have to bake chicken perfectly

Metallic Non-Stick Roast 'N Broil Pan with Non-Stick Rack, 13 by 9 by 2-1/4-Inch

this is the baking rack I use since 2 years so far, absolutely a must have if the chicken roast is one of your favourite meal. And this rack also works for other meat to roast :p

Baking Tin Half Sheet, 13 by 18 by 1 Inch

I bought this exact baking tin on Amazon, very useful, and the product is good quality, easy to wash.

10.5-Inch Stainless Steel and Walnut Roast Fork

Another Must Have ! I think the fork is one of the first baking utensil you need to have, very useful to check doneness while baking, to move the chicken into the oven, to cut the bird when baked, and of course to serve it :)

Accurate Quick-Read Thermometer for meat

This tool is very useful when you want to have your chicken baked just perfect. This accessory allows you to check the temperature of the chicken meat while cooking, very important for hygiene safety and taste purposes.

Quick Read LCD Matrix Thermometer Fork

this little this a 2in1 multi function fork that also shows you the temperature of your meat on a little LCD screen.

6-Inch Flex Chicken Boning Knife with Fibrox Handle

This is the knife I use to cut my chicken. this knife is specially designed to carve chicken. Very sharp, its dimensions makes it very easy to penetrate between the bones and flesh.

Cuisinart Electric Knife

This electric knife is perfect if you want to cut easily your meat, makes you carving a whole chicken very quickly without effort. Also this particular product is well designed and look good in my kitchen :)

This is a selection of utensils and tools you must have if you bake chicken regularly in you kitchen, I hope this will help you to fulfil your needs.

Do not hesitate to drop a comment about theses utensils and to propose more items to add in this list.

How To Cook / Bake The Easiest Roast Chicken

2012-03-20T16:30:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone,

If you want to cook a proper and very simple roast chicken at home, if you don't have the time or all the ingredients to bake a complicated roast chicken, here is my easy recipe on how to cook a quick and simple chicken roasted in a oven.

This is the most simple recipe for a roasted chicken I could come up with. Once this basic method is mastered, many ingredients can be added to enhance the roast, such as other spices or dry herbs added to the outside and stuffing on the inside.

My easiest roast chicken recipe :

You will need : roasting dish, paper towel, carving knife and tongs.

Ingredients:

(To serve 4 people)

1 x 1.8 kg/4 lbs chicken
salt
olive oil

Method:

1. Rinse the chicken in cold water washing inside and out, and remove any deposits of fat in the cavity. Pat dry with paper towel. This step is very important.

2. Sprinkle the skin with salt, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes. see hints and tips.

3. Remove the plastic wrap, pat dry again, rub with olive oil and lightly season with salt a second time.

4. Place in a preheated 180ºC / 360°F oven for 1 hour. The meat is ready when the juices in the leg joint run clear; if the juices are still a bit pink, roast for another 10 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and rest for 15 minutes before carving.

You can find some items you need to bake a roast chicken here in My List of Must-Have Utensils & Tool to Cook Your Chicken

My Hints & Tips for this easy roast chicken:

* The idea of rinsing and patting dry the chicken is to remove any blood and to increase the crispness of the skin. Salting the skin and resting the chicken also increases the crispy skin by drawing out moisture.

* Stuffing the cavity with cut lemon, herbs and flavours like garlic and ginger can add to the flavour, but in my experience it is almost undetectable for an everyday roast. I would suggest filling the cavity with a basic stuffing to add value to the meal.

* Trussing a chicken is a more advanced technique and one worth looking into if roast chicken is something you think you may do often.

The idea is that it holds the wings and legs close to the body of the chicken, which in turn helps the bird keep moist as well as making it a good-looking roast. It is a method that needs to be shown to understand and if you are keen, might I suggest going to your local butcher and have them show you how it is done.

* Should the skin be browning too soon, lower the temperature or cover with foil to finish off. Perhaps the thermometer in your oven is broken.

* Try roasting the chicken slightly elevated from the base of the roasting pan. Use a trivet or small cake rack covered with a piece of baking paper. This will allow the heat to circulate around the roast, evenly browning all over.

* While resting, gather the juices at the base of the pan and pour them over the chicken. Or pour the juices into a small saucepan, add 1 cup chicken stock or white wine or water. Bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper and thicken with 1 teaspoon cornflour mixed with 1 teaspoon cold water. Stir into the sauce as it boils.

* To make a simple stuffing : place 6–8 slices fresh bread (crust removed and diced) in a bowl with 1 cup milk.

Stand for 20 minutes for the bread to absorb the milk.

Mix with salt and pepper and any flavours—herbs and spice—that you have handy.

Any combination of crispy fried bacon, sautéed onion and garlic, or dried fruits can be mixed into the soft bread mixture.

I hope you will cook a beautiful roast chicken thanks to this recipe and tips :)

Please leave a comment to tell me about your personal experience with this easy chicken roast recipe.

Easy Exotic Chicken Recipe : Apricot Chicken

2012-02-22T12:38:00.002-08:00

Long time since I have posted a new chicken recipe :)

Today I want to share with you a brand new recipe to cook your chicken. I like this recipe because it is very easy to cook and it has got a little exotic taste, reminding me some lovely taste of Moroccan food.

Apricot Chicken

this recipe serves 4 persons

Ingredients:

8 chicken thigh fillets
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
40 g packet french onion soup
425 g can apricot nectar

You will need :

cutting board
cook’s knife
bowl
sauté or frying pan
tongs
wooden spoon

Cooking Method:

1. Trim the thigh fillets of any excess fat then season with salt and pepper. over medium heat, cook the chicken in the oil for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

2. Mix the packet soup and the apricot nectar in a bowl; pour over the meat when browned on both sides. if the pan has a lid, cover and reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 15 minutes. if there is no lid, cover with foil and bake in the oven at 180ºc for 15 minutes.

3. serve immediately with salad, rice or vegetables.

My hints and tips :

* It is recommended to use chicken thigh fillets for this dish as they stay moist and tender with the extra cooking time. With chicken breast, there is always the possibility of overcooking the meat and making it dry and chewy.

* The above recipe is as basic as it could get. To make this dish more exciting while still keeping the name, try replacing the apricot nectar with 200 g apricot chutney, 8 dried apricots (quartered) and 250 ml chicken stock. Replace the packet onion soup by frying 2 garlic cloves (chopped) and 1 small onion (diced) in 2 tablespoons olive oil. The sauce can be thickened by dusting the chicken pieces in plain flour before browning.

* For gluten-intolerance, follow the previous tip, then, instead of dusting in plain flour before browning, use a gluten-free flour..

* Sometimes apricot chicken is cooked with canned apricots as well as the apricot nectar; this is, of course, a personal choice and if so desired add a can of apricot halves to the mixture

* Whole chicken pieces on the bone can be used, like chicken drumsticks. If this were to happen, extend the cooking time by 15 minutes and keep an eye on the sauce as it may dry out with the extra cooking time. Keep it saucy by adding ¼ cup water or chicken stock every 10–15 minutes.

* For extra kick, add 1 bird’s eye chilli (sliced thinly) to the sauce before it goes onto the chicken.

* For extra flavour, once the chicken has been browned, add 100 ml white wine to the pan, reduce by half, and then add the sauce mixture.

* Alternatives to apricots in this recipe include dry or canned peaches or mangoes, and peach or mango nectar.

* If microwaving this dish (or any poultry dish) and the skin is still intact, the skin will need to be pierced with a skewer in several spots to allow the steam to escape to avoid the chicken ‘popping’ and splattering in the microwave oven.

* Serve with mashed potato, steamed rice or couscous.

How To Cook Poultry : Useful Tips for Cooking Duck, Chicken, Turkey, Birds...

2012-01-23T04:04:00.002-08:00

How To Cook Poultry : Basic Tips

Poultry meat can be broken into three categories: red meat, white meat and giblets, each of which is treated differently when cooked, baked, grilled, or whatever is your preferred method, in this article I give you my advices to cook the most common types of poultry :)

The ‘red’ meat is the working muscles of the bird, the legs and wings, which produce
a tough, fibrous, dark meat better suited to long, slow cooking (although nothing like the
cooking times required for tough red meat from beef or lamb). Having said that, leg meat
with sinew and gristle removed is tender enough to stir-fry, sauté, barbecue or bake to
shred for sandwiches. The red meat is considered to have more flavour than the white meat—the source of many arguments over the drumstick of a roasted bird.

The ‘white’ meat is the breast of the bird. In chicken and turkey, it is white and
delicate; it must be cooked through, but overcooking will render it dry and tough. The
‘white’ meat of game birds isn’t really considered white meat at all and can be treated like
a beef steak, in that it is best served rare to medium rare. (Asking for the breast of game
to be cooked well done in a restaurant is frowned upon as much as a well-done steak.)

Giblets are the heart, liver and gizzards of poultry. Often sautéed, grilled, fried or
used to make gravy, they can also be steamed or simmered and then ground into a stuffing.
When chicken and turkey—whether whole or as pieces—are cooked perfectly, the juices
will run clear rather than cloudy-white or pink.

As chicken and turkey are soft proteins, they prefer gentle rather than fierce cooking
methods. This allows the proteins to set rather than having them contract too fast and force
out valuable juices.

Skin off versus skin on?

The skin tends to be the fattiest part of poultry so does little for the waistline, which is why it is often recommended to buy skinless chicken breasts. On the other hand, the skin is poultry’s built-in basting mechanism. So, although it takes a little more self-control, I recommend that you buy chicken breast and cook it with the skin on, letting the fat from the skin render, basting the lean white meat beneath, then remove the skin before eating the succulent meat. (This method doesn’t work with poaching and steaming.)

Cooking a whole bird

Preparation— remove any bits and fat left inside the carcass. Rinse in cold running water
and then pat dry, inside and out, with a lint-free towel (paper towel, especially cheap
ones, can leave paper fibres on the meat). If stuffing the cavity, remember not to pack it in
too tight because the mixture expands as it cooks.

Cooking times— when roasting whole birds, the breast will cook faster than the legs. (If
you want to avoid this, try packing a stuffing between the breast skin and breast or cutting
2–3 lines into the leg muscles to allow heat to penetrate.) And a stuffed bird will take
a little longer than one without stuffing because it takes longer for the heat to penetrate
to the centre. Allow 2 minutes resting time per kilogram before you carve the beast, and
remove the wishbone for easy carving. (Hang the wishbone out to dry for the kids to fight
over—the smart child will have figured out that whoever keeps their little finger above their
opponent’s will always win.)

Types of poultry

Battery hen is a term for a practice that will one day end. This barbaric method of
supplying eggs to meet high demand is appalling, and you need only witness the conditions
under which these eggs have been produced to change the way you eat. Once these chickens are deemed useless as productive layers (their lifespan is no more than 18 months), they are transported, bruised and broken-boned, to a slaughterhouse, where their calcium-deficient,
toxin-infused, pathetic excuse for a carcass is transformed into food such as pies, loaves,
soups, pet food and other chicken by-products that conceal the true state of the battery
chickens’ flesh and miserable lives. That’s why you should buy only certified free-range or
organic eggs—and here endeth the lesson.

Boiler hen (or stewing hen in the US) is a tough-fleshed hen reserved for stocks, pies, broth and—if desperate—picked over for chicken salad or sandwiches. Not for roasting, the
hen needs to be cooked or boiled for several hours. The flavour of boiler chicken is strong and the flesh firm, making for an ideal stock.

Broiler hen is a US term for a meat-producing hen (as opposed to an egg-producing one); also marketed as ‘fryers’. A broiler’s genetic make-up means it is inappropriate as an egg layer. The broiler is slaughtered at about 6–7 weeks.

Capon is a surgically neutered rooster, slaughtered at 10–12 weeks. It has a heavier carcass than ordinary chicken, yielding lighter, generous amounts of white flesh and is sold
particularly for roasting.

Cockscomb is the often red, fleshy excrescence found on the head of roosters and other poultry. It is traditionally served in France as a garnish or a small entrée.

Not likely to make a comeback because of their scarcity apart from anything else—you’ll have more fun with a bag of parson’s nose.

Corn-fed chicken is a label that is occasionally abused. In many cases, it has been shown that no more than 50 per cent of the hens’ feed has included corn or maize during the fattening stage. The best corn-fed chickens are also free-range, fed on a diet of corn and
corn gluten meal (70 per cent) and soy bean meal (15–20 per cent) with the remainder made up of salts, vitamins and minerals. The resulting chicken is plump, meaty and has a yellow tinge, not just on the skin, but also to the flesh. This yellow pigmentation is derived from the natural yellow colouring in corn called ‘xanthophyll’.

Duck in most Western countries is still the meat we go out for. Due to a high fat-to-meat ratio and the expense compared to chicken, duck has struggled to adorn domestic kitchen tables. Duck is processed from 6–15 weeks of age, depending on the breed. Most duck available to the public is the Pekin or Peking duck (this is the name of the breed as well
as the famous dish). For a stronger game flavour, try to source the big-scented Muscovy duck. Duck’s web (the membrane between its webbed toes) is up there with chicken feet and cockscomb when it comes to challenging ingredients.

Free-range chicken is a marketing term that should be broken into two groups for the
consumer. For a chicken to be free-range, at least half its life must be spent outside.
‘Traditional free-range’ requires greater access to outside living, fewer chickens in the space and a higher minimum age at slaughter. Then there is ‘free-range total freedom’: similar to traditional but with no restrictions to daytime open-air living. Be rightfully suspicious of labels such as ‘farm fresh’ and ‘country fresh’; these do not guarantee free-range conditions.

Game bird is generally what you enjoy on your travels through Europe, and is not quite
the same elsewhere. These are wild birds such as grouse, woodcock, partridge, guinea fowl,
snipe and pheasant. Some species, especially quail and pheasant, are now being farmed. When buying quality game birds, look for these points: the beak should break easily, the breast plumage ought to be soft and the breast plump, and the quill feathers (those close to the body) should be pointed, not rounded. Most game birds are hung before cooking to mature and tenderise the meat and develop flavour. Hanging is a matter of taste, however, as some people find that hung or ‘high’ meat has an overly strong gamey smell and flavour. Game meat sold in supermarkets usually has a milder flavour. Quail are too small and gain nothing from hanging, so consume immediately. When cooking game birds, follow a good recipe. Keep ‘medium-rare’ in mind and you’re off to a good start: The lean meat from game birds (including flightless birds such as emus and ostrich) can be dry and nasty if overcooked.

Goose usually only appears, if ever, at the Christmas table alongside many other meats.
Geese are processed at about 20 weeks old and usually only two or three times a year (young geese or gosling are favoured over mature birds as their meat is more tender). The flavour is similar to duck, although wild geese are gamier. Roasting goose is similar to cooking duck, as geese also store plenty of fat under the skin. Season the goose inside and out with sea salt and pepper. Roast at 210°C for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 180°C and cook for a further 30 minutes per kilogram or 45 minutes per kilo if stuffed. Drain the fat every 20 minutes. When cooled, you can store the fat in the fridge for future use in roasts or casseroles.

Grain-fed chicken is fed on a blend of wheat, corn and sometimes barley, which makes up
about 70 per cent of its feed. The other 30 per cent is made up of mainly protein, such as
soy bean or occasionally canola or fish meal, as well as vitamins and minerals.

Male chicken refers to one of the thousands of millions of those cute, fluffy new chickens that were unfortunate enough to be hatched at a commercial egg farm. No sentiment is wasted on these ‘useless’ animals which are either ground up while still alive for fertiliser, gassed or suffocated in bags or containers. This information may have little to do with your cooking, but it will give you something to mull over next time you order sunny-
side-up.

Poussin is a chicken that is slaughtered at 21–28 days old. These young chickens are usually reserved for grilling or roasting and can be served as an individual portion.
Spatchcock is another word for poussin that can also describe a method in which it is cooked—butterflied and grilled—which is both quick and easy.
Pullet is a female chicken under 12 months old. (After that she becomes known as a hen.)

Turkey, like Santa Claus, is recognised only once a year in many countries, with the
exception of the US. Turkey is processed from 4 weeks–10 months old. If cooked properly,
turkey yields succulent, tasty white meat, just as good hot as it is cold. The problem
lies in the fact that unlike, say, roast lamb, that gets a workout several times a year,
turkey is rarely cooked, and the inexperienced cook is scared into overcooking it, thereby
rendering the meat drier than a salted pretzel. Turkey, like chicken, prefers gentle cooking
and its juices will run clear when cooked. Here’s a very rough guide to times for the first-
time turkey roaster: try 30–35 minutes per kg (no stuffing) or 40–45 minutes per kg (with
stuffing) at 170°C. See How to Cook Poultry and Cooking a Whole Bird.
Young roaster is a US term for a broiler-style chicken, generally older and heavier than a broiler, slaughtered at around 10 weeks.

This blog is mainly about chicken cooking recipes, techniques and tips, but I will also publish some other poultry cooking recipes in the future.

Please tell us by commenting about which bird do you prefer and I will publish a recipe to cook you favorite poultry :)

How To Cook Homemade Chicken Nuggets : My Chicken Nuggets Recipe

2012-01-19T10:23:00.002-08:00

Hello,

I noticed that the previous article showing how to cook chicken nuggets had some success, that is why I want to share another recipe to help you to make chicken nuggets at home, in a oven.

This is my very personal recipe to make chicken nuggets in your oven, I use it a lot to cook some nuggets as appetizers for friends, or as a main course with salad. This recipe teaches you to make chicken nuggets that goes great on greens, and it is healthier than fried in tons of oil :)

This is a very easy chicken nuggets recipe to make at home, I like to use it when I have some free time to make a lot of nuggets and then freeze it in zipper bags to save a nice quick meal whenever I want. No need to buy crappy jumbo chicken nuggets giant pack at the supermarket :)

Recipe for : Martin's Homemade Chicken Nuggets

To serve 4
Cooking time : About 30 minutes

Ingredients:

About 1,5 pounds boneless white meat chicken (breasts, cutlets, or tenders), pounded to uniform thickness if necessary, blotted dry
1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs, preferably fresh, or panko for dredging
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Peanut , olive or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for deep frying

Method:

1) Heat the oven to 200°F / 95°C. Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces. Set out the flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs on plates or shallow bowls next to each other. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper, and the cayenne.

2) Dredge the meat, a few pieces at a time, in the flour, then dip in the egg, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. Put the breaded chicken pieces on a baking sheet and, when it’s all breaded, transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 10 minutes and up to 3 hours. (At this point, you may freeze the nuggets in zipper bags or wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a month.)

3) Put at least 2 inches oil in a deep pan on the stove over medium-high heat; bring to 350°F / 175°C. When hot, turn the heat up a bit and add a few chicken pieces, regulating the heat so that there is a good constant sizzle but no burning. Cook in batches as necessary, making sure not to crowd the pan.

4) Turn the chicken nuggets pieces as they brown. The total cooking time should be 4 minutes or less. As each piece is done, transfer it to an oven proof platter and put the platter in the oven. Serve as soon as all the nuggets are cooked with sauce for dipping.

If you want to do make a lot of chicken nuggets to freeze them, just bake them just for 3 minutes, make sure they do not get brown. When you want to eat it, you can defrost it and just put the chicken nuggets you want to eat in the oven to 350°F / 175°C during 1 minute, and have a nice quick meal.

I also make some variants of this chicken nuggets recipe :

Martin's Cornmeal Chicken Nuggets.

Substitute cornmeal for the bread crumbs.

Martin's Coconut Chicken Nuggets.

Substitute 1 cup shredded coconut for half the bread crumbs.

Super-Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken Breasts with Curry.

Omit the eggs and bread crumbs; instead of the cayenne, use 1 tablespoon of any curry powder or other spice mixture. Rub the chicken all over with a tablespoon of rice or cider vinegar; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the spice mixture; and rub again. Whisk the flour with about 1/2 cup warm water to make a paste about as thick as yogurt. Heat about 1/4 inch of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken in the batter and pan-fry in batches as described above.

Do not hesitate to leave a comment about you experience with making chicken nuggets in your oven :)

Simple & Good Christmas Recipe : Roast Turkey Buffet

2011-12-23T02:00:00.002-08:00

Hello poultry lovers!

As we are approaching Christmas, I want to post another simple and great Christmas turkey recipe for theses who haven’t decided what they are going to cook for Christmas dinner and how to cook it properly to have a perfect dish for this very special occasion :)

So here is my Roast Turkey Buffet recipe, for me, this is one of the best classic poultry recipes that you must know how to cook for the people you love.

Christmas Recipe : The Roast Turkey Buffet

This roast recipe serves about 8 persons.

Ingredients:

1 turkey buffet (approximately 3.5 kg)
olive oil
salt and pepper
500 g rindless bacon rashers
You will need:
A cutting board
Cook’s knife
Weight measure
Roasting tray

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

2. Use paper towel to pat the turkey breast dry inside and out. rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a roasting tray and lay the bacon rashers over the breast, then roast in the oven for 45 minutes.

3. Remove the bacon, baste the turkey with pan juices and cook for a further 45 minutes, basting at least 3 more times.

4. Allow 30 minutes cooking time per kilogram, therefore a 3.5-kg buffet will take approximately 1¾ hours. Always test with a skewer, making sure the juices run clear after inserting and removing the skewer.

5. When cooked, remove, cover with foil and rest for 15–30 minutes (depending on size) before carving. Resting time ensures the juices settle throughout the meat, leaving the entire breast moist and tender.

My personal cooking hints and tips:

* The turkey buffet is the first choice of chefs as it can provide large quantities of moist, white turkey meat and little wastage. Although turkey drumsticks may appear to be succulent, they are tougher and chewier than their chicken equivalents.

* Depending on numbers, about 400 g raw weight per person should do. This means for 8 people you will be looking at a buffet breast around 3–3.5 kg.

* If serving at Christmas, allow for the fact that several other meats are usually served at the Christmas table and that leftover turkey meat is a prized item over the following few days.

* 50 g butter for basting may be substituted for olive oil.

* If there are not enough cooking juices to baste, sprinkle with hot water.

* Remove the turkey from the fridge to allow ample time for it to reach room temperature before cooking.

* Never cook a partially thawed bird; the bird may appear cooked through, but if the internal flesh has not reached 75ºC, dangerous micro-organisms may have survived.

* When roasting meats, a wise investment is a digital meat thermometer (probe) which is inserted into the thickest part of the meat and away from any fat or bones (which have a higher temperature reading while cooking) as it goes into the oven and stays there the entire time the meat is roasted.

* Cook fresh poultry within 2 or 3 days of purchasing.

* If ample cooking juices remain once the turkey has been cooked, use to baste roast vegetables for added flavor.

* Leftover turkey is ideal for sandwiches and salads the next day. I will soon give you my recipe to make a ‘Chef’s -chicken or turkey- Salad’ with chicken / turkey leftover.

I Hope you will enjoy this recipe, do not hesitate to share your experience by commenting :)

I wish to everyone a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2012 !

Top Christmas Recipe: Roast Turkey (or Duck) With Cherry Sauce

2011-12-20T03:53:00.002-08:00

This is a perfect poultry recipe to cook for Christmas dinner!

You can also cook this recipe with ducks, but I prefer to make it with turkey because it is more traditional and a low level of saturated fat, more healthy J

You can also cook turkey / duck in orange sauce using the same method (see my personal cooking hints and tips in the end of this recipe)

Ok, here is what I consider one of the best Christmas roast recipe:
Roast Turkey (or Duck) With Cherry Sauce

This roasted turkey recipe Serves 6/8 persons

Ingredients:

-    3 x size 15 (1.5 kg) turkeys, rinsed, necks and wing tips removed
-       2 brown onions, skin on and roughly chopped
-       2 carrots, washed and roughly chopped
-       2 celery sticks, washed and roughly chopped
-       zest of 1 orange
-       1 teaspoon butter
-       250 ml white wine (chardonnay)
-       250 ml reduced brown turkey stock (optional, see my hints and tips)
-       500 g fresh cherries, pitted, crushed and chopped roughly
-       sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
-       2 tablespoons cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

You will need :

-       cutting board
-       cook’s knife
-       weight
-       spoon and liquid measures
-       large stock pot
-       saucepan
-       large roasting tray

Method:

1. There are two ways to begin this dish. One is to place the turkeys on the chopped vegetables, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 180°c for 1½ hours. My method is to place the turkeys in a pot with the necks and wing tips, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes (this removes fat and impurities, and is the beginning of a turkey stock). Then i transfer the turkey to the tray of vegetables and brown in the oven at 200°c for 45 minutes. Choose the method that best suits you, either way I tend to do this job the day before I serve the final dish.

2. Sauté the orange zest in the butter, add the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and reduce by one-quarter.

3. Add the cherries with any juices, season with salt and pepper and thicken with the corn flour paste.

Method cont. :

4. If the turkey is pre-roasted, then it gives you the chance to remove most of the bones. To do this, cut the turkeys in half lengthways; remove the breast bones and thigh bones, leaving only the wing bones and the drumstick bones intact. (These excess bones then go into the stock.)

5. Reheat the turkey in the oven at 200ºC for 10 minutes. Slice and serve coated with the sauce. Serve with asparagus and baked potato in cream.

My personal cooking hints and tips:

* For the stock : the best way to make use of the water the turkeys have simmered in is to continue to simmer it while roasting the turkeys.

When the turkeys have cooked, remove them from the tray of vegetables and continue to roast the vegetables until brown all over, then add these to the stock to add colour. When the turkeys have cooled, remove the bones as mentioned in the method, add the bones to the stock, continue to simmer for 2–3 hours, then strain the stock.

Place the strained stock back on the heat and simmer until reduced to 1 litre. It is important that from the beginning, any fat and impurities that float to the top are removed with a ladle; this is done to avoid making the stock cloudy and soapy tasting.

* For turkey in orange sauce : use the same method but replace the cherries in the sauce with the juice of 6 oranges and the zest of 3 oranges. The wine and turkey stock stay the same, as does thickening with cornflour.

* When thickening with cornflour, remember to add small amounts at a time, bringing the sauce back to the boil between each addition until the right consistency is reached.

How To Cook Turkey : Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

2011-11-13T08:44:00.002-08:00

My Turkey meatloaf recipe

As I said previously, this blog is called "How To Cook My Chicken" but I won't give you just chicken cooking resources, I will also give some recipe to cook poultry in general.

You can cook this recipe with turkey or chicken, but turkey meatloaf is one of my favourite dish, specially during winter season. This poultry meatloaf is very easy to cook and it is a low-fat, low-carb and high-protein dish.

Turkey meatloaf

This recipe usually serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
450g/1lb minced turkey (or chicken)
50g/2oz fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
50g/2oz pine nuts
12 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
75ml/3fl oz milk
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.

- Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, green pepper and garlic,
and sweat over a low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the
vegetables are just softened.

- Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

- Put the minced turkey in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture and all the
remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly.

- Transfer to a 21 x 11cm/8 x 4in loaf tin, packing down firmly. Bake in
the oven for 1 hour until golden brown. Serve hot.

I like to serve my turkey or chicken meatloaf it with spinach and mashed potatoes :)

enjoy!

How To Make Healthy Low-Fat Tender Chicken Nuggets : Easy Recipe Video

2011-11-06T02:15:00.002-08:00

Yesterday I found this great video that teach us how to make healthy low-fat chicken tenders or nuggets.

The key tips to cook those healthy chicken nuggets is:
NOT TO FRY IT, you have to BAKE IT in you home oven, at temperature 375°F or 200°C.

My personal tip is to use a olive oil spray, because olive oil is full of good fat (not saturated fat), a lot healthier than other oils.

I liked this video because it makes this recipe very easy to do at home,

Hope you will enjoy it :)

Video : Quick Recipe How To Make Low-Fat Chicken Tenders

How To Cook Chicken Meat

2011-10-20T15:25:00.002-07:00

In this article I give you a list of all my favourite techniques to cook chicken meat, but this is not only for chicken meat, almost all of these instructions can be used to cook other type of poultry meat :)

My main meat preparation and cooking tips :

Bring meat to room temperature before cooking. Meat to be roasted, pan-grilled or barbecued should be left out of the fridge for a period of time (30 minutes to 1½ hours) to reach room temperature. This reduces the core temperature and the overall cooking time of the meat.

Rest grilled or roasted meat after cooking. When raw meat hits the pan or oven, it

begins to contract, and as it cooks and contracts, the juices (blood) are forced to the

centre of the meat. If you cut into it immediately it is cooked, the juices will still be

concentrated in the centre. Allowing the meat to rest and cool a little, relaxes the meat

fibres and lets the juices redistribute evenly throughout the meat. The more juices, the more

flavour and tenderness. The larger the cut of meat, the longer the resting time required.

Rest the average steak in a warm place for 5–10 minutes, and a large roast for up to 1 hour

covered in foil. (Braised or stewed meats do not need to be rested.)

Frying or grilling

Remember ‘hot’ when exposing meat to a pan or grill top; a continual sizzling sound should
always be present. Brown the meat on both sides in a hot pan then adjust the heat to finish,
but be careful not to drop the heat so much that the meat starts to stew. It is sometimes
recommended that thick-cut steaks be finished in a hot oven. This practice helps those who
are in the habit of turning their meat 50 times to stop it from burning before it is cooked,
but is really only suitable for those who enjoy cremating their food.

Sealing meat to lock in the juices

New research shows that it is in fact a fallacy that moisture is retained by sealing meat
(see also Braising). However, browning the meat before finishing the cooking enhances its
flavour and texture: it adds a delicious crust that contrasts satisfyingly with a rare
centre.

to salt or not to salt?

When anything with a water content, whether meat, fruit or vegetables, comes into contact
with salt, the salt will begin to draw out the water. The amount of salt and the time the
food is exposed to it will determine the extraction rate of moisture. So a steak that is
salted and left to sit while the pan heats up will lose valuable juices, while a steak that
is salted after it is cooked misses the point, as the meat has already been sealed. The best
option is to season the meat with salt just before it hits the pan, ready to be sealed.
This way the salt cooks onto the meat, enhancing the flavour of the cut, without drawing out
valuable juices. Watch as crystal salt flakes caramelise on the surface of the meat when
exposed to a hot pan.

Roasting

Having the meat boned then netted or trussed by the butcher is recommended to hold plain or filled roast cuts in an even shape while roasting, portioning and carving. Season the joint
with salt and pepper, spice rubs or pastes or chopped herbs.Seal or brown very lean cuts of meat (beef, veal or lamb) before roasting.

Pre-sealing a roast in a hot pan improves colour and flavour, particularly when using small, very lean beef or lamb cuts that need only a short amount of cooking.
Sealing a joint before moving it to the oven forms a crust and cooks on the seasonings,
and allows the oven to be kept on a lower temperature (160°C).
A digital meat thermometer (probe) is a wise investment if you roast a lot of red meat.
Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, away from any fat or bones (which
have a higher temperature reading while cooking), as it goes into the oven and leave it
there the entire time the meat is roasted. Depending on how you like your meat cooked, the
core temperature will let you know when to remove the roast. This is as close to foolproof
as you can get. Core temperatures for doneness are: 45°C = rare; 55°C = medium-rare; 65°C = medium; 75–80°C = well to very well done. Also take into account that while the meat is resting, it is in fact still cooking and the core temperature can rise by another 2°C for a
small roast to 8°C for a large joint of meat.
If a thermometer is not available then the old ‘time by weight’ method will do just
fine. Allow 30 minutes for every 500 g. For example, 1½ hours for a leg of lamb that weighs
1.5 kg.

Crumbing or breading

Never add salt to meat before crumbing. It will draw out the moisture and make the crumbs
turn soggy. Instead, season the egg mixture and the flour with salt and pepper.
To add flavour to the meat, you can stuff it or marinate it (remember to pat dry with
paper towel before crumbing). To add flavour to bread crumbs, rub in freshly crushed garlic
(2 teaspoons crushed garlic for every 500 g bread crumbs will get you started) or add
freshly ground black pepper and torn or roughly shredded flat-leaf parsley. Your homemade
parmigiana will never taste the same again.

Braising

For most braised dishes, the cut of meat is first dredged in flour then pan-fried. The flour
acts as a thickening agent as well as adding colour to the sauce. The purpose of this is not
to lock in the juices, as braising meat may take several hours in which time any juices that
were ‘locked in’ have well and truly escaped into the braising liquor. Never assume that the
longer meat braises the better off it will be. Meat can overbraise to the point where it
falls off the bone or turns into mush. Depending on the type, size and cut of meat, stick to
the requested time limit, check for done-ness, then give or take time after checking.

Pot roasting

Resist adding too much liquid or the pot roast will become a stew.

Problem solving
* Steak curls as it cooks? Some cuts have a tough membrane attached to the meat that when exposed to heat causes the cut of meat to curl or twist, making the opposite side near
impossible to brown evenly. Simply place small incisions at intervals in the membrane,
making sure the cut goes through to the meat.

* Is the steak done? When pressed with a finger, a cooked steak will feel different (softer,
firmer, springier) depending on how well it is done. The professional cook learns by
experience to tell a rare from a medium-rare steak, but for domestic cooks who don’t cook
hundreds of steaks a year, telling the difference can be difficult. A good way to learn is to make a small incision in one side of the steak and look to see how done it is. (Remember to
serve with the cut side down.) Of course, the sealed surface area has now been cut, allowing
valuable juices to escape. So once the incision has been made, also press the meat with a
finger and remember what that pressure feels like. Soon you will be able to tell what a rare
steak feels like without having to cut into it.

* Undercooked one person’s steak? Slice it in two (lengthways) and place back in the pan
for another minute or so; now you have two steaks.

* Undercooked roast? As you usually don’t discover it’s undercooked until you’ve started
carving, placing it back in the oven is not an option. The best thing to do is slice the
meat a bit thicker and finish cooking each piece as a steak.

* Burnt a casserole, stew or soup? Don’t stir it! Plonk the pot immediately into a sink of
cold water to stop the cooking. This is an important step. Then lift out the ingredients
without disturbing the bottom of the pot, and place in a fresh pot or dish. Taste the food
to assess whether the burnt flavour has permeated the liquid and if so, by how much. If it’s
really bad, the bin is the only option. If it tastes only slightly burnt, try masking the
flavour with a sauce such as Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce or tomato paste, or with
other strong flavours such as garlic, chilli or onion (sautéed first in a separate pan) or
spices (dry-roasted first).

I hope you will cook perfect chicken meat, beef or any meat thanks to these little tips. Please share a review or your personal cooking tips by commenting this article.

How To Make Homemade Mc Donalds Chicken Nuggets With Easy Secret Process and Simple Ingredients

2011-10-08T08:48:00.002-07:00

Yeah, I know what you are thinking, this is "just another fake recipe blog that claims to know how to recreate genuine Mc Donalds chicken Mc Nuggets".

What I will show you is a very easy recipe to cook homemade chicken nuggets that are very similar to the chicken nuggets from Mc Donalds, with easy-to-find ingredients.

No matter how you try to spy on Mc Donalds to find all the secrets ingredients they use to make their chicken nuggets, you will never find all of them :)

This is the problem for the people that are struggling to find the secret recipe of all famous chain restaurants, they spend most of their time focused on the ingredient, but what about the process ?

My Personal Recipe : How To Make Homemade Mc Donalds Chicken Nuggets

Yeah, for me, the key secret to recreate the Mc Donalds chicken nuggets is to copy their process before finding the ingredients.

Here is my key secret on how to make Mc Donalds chicken nuggets : you have to blend the meat to reproduce the texture of reconstituted chicken nuggets like Mc Donalds.

This is my list of ingredients to make it taste like the famous Mc Donalds nuggets,

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts fillets (boneless and skinless)
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 teaspoon of Parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon of Oregano
1/4 teaspoon of Onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2 Eggs, beaten
1 Cup of Flour
About 1.5 Cups of Sunflower seed oil for frying

Method:

Heat oil in a heavy-duty skillet on medium-high heat while preparing the chicken nuggets – it should be ready to work with once half of your nuggets are ready to go in.

Cube chicken and place in a food processor. Blend chicken until it has all been taken apart and is a fine paste. Remove to a bowl and add salt, parsley, oregano, onion powder, and pepper, and combine well.

Pour out flour on a plate and have your beaten eggs in a small bowl ready to work with.

Roll the chicken paste mixture into balls, like ping pong sized balls.

Roll the ball in flour, then in egg, and then in flour again. Then, press the ball down to make a nugget. and shape it as you want, be gentle with your nugget :) .

Then set nuggets aside.

To see if the oil is ready just put a small piece of bread, if it brown in 20 to 30 seconds it Ok. however, its too hot or not enough.

Place some nugget into the hot oil, but keep I mind that they must not touch or they are going to stick together. Fry until the bottoms are golden, turn and fry until the other side is golden. Will take about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove to a towel-lined plate (to catch any excess oil).

Serve with honey of honey mustard (1 Tablespoon of honey + 1 teaspoon of mustard) or spicy honey mustard (1 Tablespoon of honey + 1 teaspoon of mustard + a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce), or ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Asian sweet chili sauce.

Hints and Tips:

Don't make it too dense: You may be able to avoid this by making them small like the Mc Donalds' ones. do not squeeze the ball to much when shaping the nuggets.

Chicken Kiev - Cook A Classic Kiev Style Filled Chicken Breasts

2011-09-20T10:54:00.002-07:00

How easy would it be to buy those nasty excuses for chicken Kiev from the freezer section of the supermarket? But the satisfaction for a young or inexperienced cook to make their own is very gratifying, and there’s much personal satisfaction whenever they triumph over a dish, whether it’s chicken Kiev or another recipe.

All the difference of an home cooked chicken Kiev is in the quality of the meat and the taste of the butter filling, and there is a reeeaal difference believe me!

So if you want to try to cook a good chicken breast kiev at home just follow this recipe.

My Tips:

You will need : cutting board, cook’s knife, weight, spoon, cup and liquid measures, several bowls, a frying pan and spatula.

One of the main dangers of this dish is burning the breadcrumbs on the outside before the inside is cooked. Therefore, it is worth paying a great deal of attention to this stage of the cooking to ensure a successful result.

The uncooked Kievs could be frozen for another day. In which case, defrost overnight in the refrigerator, and then re-roll in bread crumbs before cooking to help guarantee a crunchy outside.

Ingredients:

To Serves 4

4 chicken breast fillets
3 eggs
¼ cup milk or water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoons ground black pepper
½ cup flour
1 cup dried bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying (about 1 litre / 34 Fl. oz), I always prefer olive oil.

For the butter filling:

185 g butter, softened
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest

Method:

1. For the butter filling—combine the butter with all the ingredients, mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into 4 rolls. Refrigerate until very firm.

2. Place each chicken breast between a sheet of baking paper and pound, using a meat mallet or rolling pin, to about 1.5 cm thick; be careful not to ‘break’ the chicken—if it does tear, fold part of the chicken over the torn area. Wrap and refrigerate until seasoned butter is cold and hard.

3. When the butter is firm, place 1 piece on each chicken breast, fold in edges of chicken and roll to encase butter completely.

4. In a small bowl, beat eggs with milk or water. In a shallow dish, mix together the salt, pepper and flour. Place the bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Dip the chicken rolls in the seasoned flour, then the egg mixture, then the crumbs. Repeat by dipping in the egg mixture again then the bread crumbs. Place in a shallow dish, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Method cont.

5. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium–high heat. When the oil is hot, deep-fry the chicken rolls for about 3 minutes, then roll over and continue to fry for another 3 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Do not have the oil too hot or the breadcrumbs will brown too quickly before the chicken is cooked through.

6. Drain on paper towels, serve with lemon wedges.

Enjoy you homemade kiev and don't forget to share you experience by commenting this article :)

How To Cook Simply The Best Homemade Chicken Nuggets

2011-09-10T11:51:00.003-07:00

Why bother to cook you own Chicken Nuggets, when you can get them ready made and fast?

Chicken is typically well-liked by the majority of kids (and grown-ups :D ) they especially seem to enjoy it when it is coated with breadcrumbs. If you are worried about the additives and preservatives in pre-packaged or processed food, you may want to prepare chicken nuggets yourself, for those times when your kids insist on having comfort food.

My homemade chicken nuggets recipe:

It does not take that long to prepare, just about 10 minutes or so, however chicken nuggets will turn out crispier if they are placed in the fridge to dry out for a little while before frying. The drying phase can take place up to a couple of hours before cooking. After the drying phase, the actual cooking time is extremely fast. The breadcrumbs’ quality makes a difference in the outcome of the nuggets; slightly dry, fresh breadcrumbs will certainly enhance the quality of the nuggets.

You can also use crushed potato chips, and mix it with the breadcrumbs to have very crispy chicken nuggets, I think using potato chips will add too much fat but you can always do as you want. You can use crisps of any flavour, even if some articles and videos on the internet mentions that it is better with Onion Cream potato chips.

Here is my personal chicken nuggets recipe,

Ingredients:

1lb / 450g Chicken breast fillets

¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 handfuls of breadcrumbs
1 cup of crushed potato chips (optional)
1oz/30g plain flour
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon mixed chicken spice (optional)

These amounts are a rough estimate, reduce or increase them depending on the amount of chicken you are going to cook. I use this recipe to serve 3 or 2 if very hungry.

Slice the meat into small, bite sized pieces.

Get four plates or bowls. The first bowl will be used for the flour which would have been sieved and blended with a pinch of salt, pepper and chicken spice. The second bowl is to be used for the egg, which would have been beaten and mixed with a half tablespoon of vegetable oil or water and pinch of salt. The third bowl is for the breadcrumbs and the last one is for the finished nuggets.

Immerse each piece of meat in the blended flour and turn it until it is fully coated, the excess must be shaken off.

Then dip it into the egg and finally coat it with the breadcrumbs/crushed chips. Then lay it to dry on the plate. When all the pieces have been coated place the uncovered plate in the fridge and allow the pieces to crisp and dry out a bit. An hour or two will get you the best results.

To fry, heat about 3 tablespoons of vegetable or sunflower oil in a big frying pan. When the oil has been sufficiently heated (2 minutes) place all the nuggets that will fit comfortably.

Turn them over when they become golden. When both sides have been cooked, place them on paper napkin or sheets of hand towel to drain off the excess oil. They can be eaten as soon all of them are cooked; they better when hot.

I love to have it with green bean, barbecue sauce and honey mustard.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment and share your experience of making chicken nugget at home :)

---

Here is an interesting 5 min video that shows you how to cook chicken nuggets at home with crushed potato chips, with easy preparation and cooking :