Of all the meat we eat in the UK, chicken makes up over half – so preparing it well is a skill useful to every home cook. Our food team share their failsafe techniques for whole chicken, breasts and thighs, with simple recipes that will rock your world
CHICKEN 101: GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT
BUY A BETTER BIRD The difference between a chicken that’s been intensively farmed and one that’s free-range and corn-fed is like night and day. We love (and used) Sutton Hoo chickens for these recipes, but there are many good suppliers out there producing chicken packed with flavour.
IF YOU’RE FRYING, DON’T USE A NON-STICK PAN
Stainless steel or cast-iron gives the intense, even heat you need for a proper sear and crisp skin. The meat will naturally release when it’s ready to be flipped (see our pan feature on p60).
REST THE CHICKEN AFTER IT’S COOKED
A roast chicken needs at least 20 minutes, while even a breast or thigh benefits from a few minutes’ rest. If you whip it from the pan and tuck in, it’ll quickly dry out on the plate.
IF YOU HAVE A THERMOMETER, USE IT
Taking out the guesswork ensures perfectly cooked chicken every time. Cooked chicken is 74°C at its thickest part, but bear in mind that the temperature will creep up by a few degrees during the resting stage, as the residual heat continues to cook the meat. Take your chicken out of the pan when it’s at about 70°C, wait 5 minutes, then check it again.
“Thighs are the most flavourful cut of the chicken, thanks to fat and hard-working muscles. While breasts are lean and uniform, thighs are a tasty combination of muscle, fat and collagen that’s found closer to the bone – which is where the meat seems to taste best. I do, however, find eating bone-in chicken annoying at times. It can be tricky to get at every bit of meat without using your hands – and it takes a while to cook. Luckily, there’s a simple solution…”
DEBONE IT
A boned, skin-on chicken thigh is a rare find these days – it’s more often a choice between bone-in, skin-on thighs or skinless and boneless. A kind butcher will bone thighs for you, but it’s easy to do at home (and you get more meat – and skin! – for your money compared with buying fillets). It also means you have plenty of bones to stash in the freezer for stock. To bone a thigh, cut along each side of the bone,
