Thinking about eating chicken tonight? Then there is some to think about. Here are 8 mistakes you don’t want to make when cooking chicken.
Chicken is one of the most common dishes. It is useful, delicious and easy to make with a large number of recipes.
But at the same time, many people don’t know how to prepare chicken properly, just because there are many mistakes that are easy to make.
Here is a list of 8 common mistakes that you do not want to make when cooking chicken. But you also get tips on how to succeed in the kitchen.
Too much chicken in the pan
It can easily happen that you want to be efficient and cook a bit too many chicken pieces at one and the same time in the frying pan. The only problem is that the temperature then drops, and you risk getting boiled chicken instead. So preferably cover no more than two-thirds of the pan.
You ignore the thermometer
Dry chicken is not fun. But it is also not very fun to eat chicken that is undercooked because there is a great risk that you will get sick. The best way to keep track of the temperature is by using a thermometer. Bone-free parts should preferably have an inside temperature of 70-72 ° C if the temperature is measured where the part is at its thickest. For whole chicken or those parts with bones, it is about 82 ° C that applies, and then the temperature in the middle is measured.
If you still ignore the thermometer, you can take a sample stick and stick it in, for example, the fillet. If the juice that comes out is still pink, the meat needs more time in the oven.
You are neglecting hygiene and are at risk of becoming seriously ill
Raw chicken can make you really sick, and unfortunately, not many bacteria are required to cause serious illness. Therefore, to avoid infection, it is very important not to spread bad bacteria. Therefore, be sure to clean the knives and cutting boards carefully after cutting the chicken. And you, avoid a chopping board in wood. Also, wash both your hands and your sink carefully. If you use a dishcloth to wipe away any juice that has dropped from the chicken, you should throw the cloth afterward. Use paper towels instead.
You splash water when doing the dishes
It is good that you wash plates, cutting boards, knives and other things that you have used in connection with the preparation of the raw chicken. But think about it an extra time before washing. For example, minimize splashes when rinsing utensils that have been in contact with the chicken. If you wash by hand, it can be good to wash with moderate pressure. Don’t forget to let the utensils dry properly, the bacteria also die from dehydration.
It is good to wash the machine, as long as it is is warm enough, minimum of 70 degrees.
You forget that chicken parts have different cooking methods and time
It is easy to treat the chicken as raw material when it is actually “several” different. The parts of the chicken need different care. For example, the legged portions can go directly into the oven while the fillets are best served by getting a quick color in the frying pan first. The time and temperature of the oven also depend on which part of the chicken is to be cooked. To avoid drying the chicken, do your best to keep the oven at 200 ° C for parts with legs and 175 ° C for fillets. Then use a thermometer.
You store the chicken wrong
Try to keep chicken separate from other foods, for example in the refrigerator. This way you avoid bacteria from a raw chicken spreading to, for example, a salad or something else that is eaten without being heated up first.
You un-freeze the chicken at room temperature
To reduce the risk of bacterial outbreaks, do not defrost frozen chicken at room temperature. Instead, place the chicken on a platter in the fridge in the evening and it is thawed when it is time to cook dinner the next day. Another good way is to thaw in cold water. Just put the chicken package (or if you freeze yourself, in a resealable bag) in a bowl. A 500-gram chicken is defrosted in one hour. Change water after half the time.
You forget that chicken shrinks
The risk is that there will be less chicken for dinner than you had planned for, as the chicken will shrink and lose a lot of weight. This is mainly because the frozen chicken contains water, sometimes very large quantities. The whole thing obviously varies between different brands. But too much water may be a sign that the chicken is not of the highest quality.