Saturday, February 7, 2009

The Easiest Chicken Recipes for Novice Cooks

By KC Kudra

A lot of people are nervous about cooking chicken recipes and it is true that you need to take care when handling raw chicken. There is nothing to worry about though, as long as you follow basic hygiene rules, such as cleaning all the surfaces touched by raw chicken and washing your hands after handling any raw poultry.

Make sure chicken is cooked all the way through and there are no pink bits inside. Finally, store raw chicken in the refrigerator, wrapped and not touching anything else. Keep it on the bottom shelf so that if any juices drip, they will not drip on to another food. If you follow these basic chicken-handling rules, there is no reason not to start making a few wonderful easy chicken recipes!

Chicken is a definite health food. It is low in fat and most people enjoy the flavor. Deep fried chicken might not be as healthy as chicken baked in tomato sauce or grilled chicken salad for example but the great thing about chicken is that it is versatile and you can vary your chicken recipes because there are so many to choose from there is almost an endless supply. Chicken is also inexpensive and easy to cook once you know how.

Easy Chicken Dishes to Start With

If you have never cooked chicken before, a good dish to start off with will be something using boneless chicken pieces. Boneless chicken recipes are very simple and you can make a great meal by slicing some chicken breasts and vegetables and stir-frying them together before adding some sauce. Meals like this are quick to make, as well as easy.

Baked chicken recipes are usually not complicated either and you can brown a boneless chicken breast, pour over a can of soup or some sauce, and bake it until it is done. Grilled chicken recipes and poached chicken recipes are equally simple unless you have to make a complicated marinade or sauce. As long as your chicken cooks for the right amount of time at the right temperature, it should come out juicy and tender.

Undercooked chicken, which is pink inside, is dangerous to eat because of the risk of salmonella and overcooked chicken is stringy and dry. The best way to see if your chicken is cooked is to cut into it at the thickest part to see if the meat is white all the way through and the juices are clear. If so, the chicken is ready.

As you become more comfortable with making chicken dishes, you might like to have a go at some trickier chicken recipes. The crockpot chicken recipes you used to find daunting will now be a breeze as you attempt new variations of chicken dishes.

You can also have a go at new ways to cook chicken, such as making a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings, once you are comfortable with the handling of chicken and cooking easy chicken recipes.

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