Chicken Cooking

As a meat, chicken is one of the healthiest meats you can eat, as generally it has very little fat. You can, however, make it even healthier by following a few simple steps. Chicken cooking recipes often call for additional ingredients such as butter to rub over the chicken before cooking, as this results in moister meat. If you would rather not use butter because of the fat content an ideal replacement is oil, such as Olive Oil. By drizzling the oil over the chicken before cooking it will have much the same effect as butter. But bear in mind that olive oil has a low burning temperature so you might like to use oil that can withstand a higher temperature, such as groundnut oil.

You do not need to buy a whole chicken, you could buy some cuts. Chicken breasts are the most lean so buying these on their own can be a healthier option. If you are going to eat these as they are, grill them or cook them in the oven rather than frying them. For something a bit more adventurous you could try out some other chicken cooking recipes. A stir fry is a healthy option as you do not need to fry in a lot of oil, a small amount will do. Cut the chicken breasts in pieces and add some vegetables of your choice. Bean sprouts, okra, grated carrot and shredded cabbage are usual ingredients to be found in Chinese recipes. Adding a Chinese dressing afterwards adds a bit more oriental authenticity.

For more unusual chicken cooking recipes you may like to try preparing a chicken casserole. Often, other fattier meats are associated with casseroles such as beef or lamb but chicken provides a healthier alternative and can be very tasty. If on a budget a chicken casserole will feed the whole family for only a few pounds. You can put the whole chicken breasts into the casserole, or if you prefer you can dice them into smaller pieces of your choice. Place them in the pot with some vegetables, again of choice, whichever ones you like most but carrots and potatoes should feature to bulk it out. For a much more intense chicken flavour add a tin of Good Quality chicken soup into the mix too.

If you have some leftover pieces of chicken from a previously roasted chicken you can make a salad with these. Cold chicken works really well in a salad, perhaps accompanied by some crusty bread. Chicken cooking recipes often feature warm chicken in a salad, especially Caesar salads. This does not have to be the case as cold chicken works just as well. Put some shredded pieces of chicken into a bowl with some lettuce and make a dressing by combining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Drizzle this over the top and for extra indulgence add some cheese on top, this can be whatever cheese you like but flaked parmesan or some goats’ cheese works really well. Adding some croutons will provide some crunch.