5 things you absolutely should not do when cooking chicken

If you’re anything like me you’re a major fan of eating chicken.

I could eat chicken every day, but it’s only recently that I’ve learnt how to cook it properly so that it’s juicy and tasty.

I used to always avoid buying chicken because I found it diificult to cook the right way. Sometimes it would still be pink inside and other times it would be too dry.

But after receiving some expert culinary advice from a chef, I cook chicken almost every day all on my own, and boy it’s delicious.

There are so many good recipes to choose from on the internet, and chicken is also a healthier and cheaper alternative to red meat.

Now, I want to pass on my “chicken cooking knowledge” with all of you guys. So, just follow these five simple tricks and I can assure you that you will never have to eat dry chicken again.

1. Defrosting at room temperature.

Forget what people have told you in the past — you should never defrost chicken at room temperature.

Instead, take the frozen chicken out of the freezer the night before eating it and defrost it in the refrigerator. This reduces any risk of salmonella and/or any other outbreaks of bacteria.

2. Too many or too little spices?

Chicken is very mild in flavor; therefore, it is important to season it with great spices and herbs.

Salt and pepper are essential, but there are numerous other flavors you can add when cooking chicken. For chicken breasts or thighs, I would recommend marinating with a mixture of soy sauce, honey and garlic. The result is delicious.

3. Flipping it.

If you’re frying chicken on a pan, it’s important to let the chicken fry properly without flipping it too much. This way it will get a nice and crispy golden surface.

Another tip is to never cover more than two thirds of the chicken when frying. What happens when you do that is that it cools it down and you end up boiling the chicken instead of frying it.

4. The rule about removing skin and bones before cooking.

This is also wrong! The skin and bones of a chicken enhance the overall taste — most chicken broths are made using only bones and skin.

While bones are great for bringing taste to soups and broths, the skin is great to leave on a chicken when roasting it in the oven. The skin is usually what makes the chicken juicy, so even if you don’t like the skin, peel it off after it’s cooked.

5. Do thermometers actually work?

Yes, they do! As we know, chicken can easily dry up when cooking. Therefore it’s very handy to use a thermometer.

In fact, it will be almost impossible to fail with one.

The inner temperature of a chicken breast should be 140°F, whereas chicken thighs need an inner temperature of almost 170° F due the meat being a bit darker.

When cooking a whole chicken in the oven, it’s best to carve the breasts out and remove them once they have reached their temperature and then leave the thighs and rest of chicken to finish cooking. This way you won’t end up dry chicken breasts!