Chicken is absolutely delicious, and it is also one of the best meats you can choose. Partly it does not have as much impact on the environment as many other types of meat have and partly it has a very good nutritional value but a little fat and a lot of protein.
Cooking chicken can be a bit tricky and because it absolutely must not be raw, it is easy to instead get a little dry. Below you can read about some basic rules when it comes to chicken.
Never let it unfreeze at room temperature
Thawing chicken at room temperature increases the risk of salmonella or other outbreaks of bad bacteria. Instead, you can remove the chicken the day before and leave it thawed in the refrigerator.
Never rinse raw chicken
For some reason you may think it feels smart to rinse raw chicken under the tap, you should definitely not. When you rinse chicken, the bacteria that cause food shedding will spread in all possible directions and only a few are required for you to become ill.
Store the chicken properly
Keep the chicken separate from other foods. This way you avoid bacteria from a raw chicken spreading to, for example, a salad or something else that should be eaten without being heated first.
Store cooked chicken
If you are going to save leftovers from your pre-cooked chicken, you need to cool them down immediately after they are steamed off. Big pieces should also be divided into smaller ones – then the cooling goes faster.
Use a thermometer stick!
By keeping track of the chicken’s internal temperature, you avoid cooking it for too long or too short. The result? A tender and juicy chicken, instead of a dry and boring!
No thermometer? You can also use a swab or fork and cut it up in the thickest part. If the juice that comes out is clear then the chicken is ready to be eaten, the juice is pink should be cooked for a while longer.
Wipe the chicken!
Wipe the chicken off with a plain paper towel before cooking. You avoid inadvertent cooking and get easier to a lovely roasting surface.
Do not mix the utensils!
Avoid using the same cooking utensils for raw and cooked chicken as bacteria from the raw chicken can be transferred to the cooked. It can also be good to have a separate chopping board for chicken.