Culinary chicken cuestion

[Boobinator]

Yesterday I was making some improvised chicken-dish that had some vegetables and stew with it. I poured in what I felt was buckets of spices into it, but the chicken still ended up pretty mediocre.

I enjoy cooking quite a lot but know very little - but from what I've heard chicken can be quite hard to flavorize (is that a word? well you get what I mean). It doesn't matter how much spices you use cause they just end up lying there ******* you off, or floating around in the stew.

So can any good cook (or maybe a professional) help me on this one. How do I flavorize chicken meat?

 

[Hot Mega]

Yesterday I was making some improvised chicken-dish that had some vegetables and stew with it. I poured in what I felt was buckets of spices into it, but the chicken still ended up pretty mediocre.

I enjoy cooking quite a lot but know very little - but from what I've heard chicken can be quite hard to flavorize (is that a word? well you get what I mean). It doesn't matter how much spices you use cause they just end up lying there ******* you off, or floating around in the stew.

So can any good cook (or maybe a professional) help me on this one. How do I flavorize chicken meat?

Generally steaming food allows flavors to remain intact while boiling food ironically allows flavors to escape with steam.

I would say just off the top of my head the timing of when you added spices and what types of spices you added might have been the problem.

Depending on the what type of dish you're making you might want to create some stock first by pre cooking the chicken with the seasoning then building your stew off of the reduction. :2 cents:

 

[Jagger69]

It needs to be marinaded. I make a Pollo Cubano dish that is incredible but you need to marinade the chicken in Moho Criollo (available at any decent supermarket....Goya brand is typical) for 3-4 days before cooking. It's to die for with some black beans and either plantains or yuca. Yum....I'm getting hungry!

You can do the same thing with lots of tasty marinades. Look around at your local supermarket and see what strikes your fancy.

 

[No_Man]

Sous vide (pronounced: "soo vee"). Its a French technique in which you slow-cook the chicken by sealing it and the spices into a plastic bag and then cooking it in hot water. I've never tried it myself, but my ******-in-law does it occasionally and the results are amazing. Lots of directions around the Internet if you're interested in experimenting.

 

[Petra]

To be honest, I cook with chicken the most of all the meats. I have found steaming and BBQing chicken yields the best flavor. Next is pan frying and the last is cooking it in something. One thing you want to make sure to do is brown the chicken before cooking it in something (unless it's going to be slow cooked) so the moisture and flavor is locked in.

Marinades and rubs also add great flavor. The longer on the chicken, the better the taste. And if you're cooking a whole breast, making X's in the breast so the marinade/rub can get into the breast does wonders.

 

[SonOfSparda]

I can't say i know alot on cooking but the quality of chicken used is definately a factor. The cheaper water injected chicken always has less taste even if you marinade it well or season it, free range stuff really changes the taste alot costs a little more but worth it for the taste (and ethical chicken rearing).

Usually when i cook chicken it's with salad, just chop a fillet up into little nuggets cover it in some spice and hot sauce mix it up leave it for 10 minutes and fry it up in a pan. If its in the oven put tin foil over it slow cook it with the marinade then take the tin foil off to brown the outside and seal it all in.

 

[Boobinator]

Had no idea there were this many (five) amateur cooks on the FO board, rep to you all for such great replies

I'm still a novice it seems, but it's nevertheless fun to cook - definitely one of my favorite "hobbies". Especially when other people enjoy it and praise you, such an ego-boost
The cleaning up I could live without though...

A further question: do you have any ideas to share on more specific recipes with chicken? Like certain spices (or what Jagger suggested, marinades), side dishes or similar.

Personally I like curry and pepper together. I usually fry the chicken on high temperature until it gets some color, then put on vegetables, spices and finally some cream and let it mix up under low heat - very taste, but like I said the chicken usually ends up quite bland.

 

[Hot Mega]

You can always mix extra virgin olive oil with red **** vinegar, take a fork and make as many holes in the chicken breast as reasonable then marinade the chicken for a couple of hours so the mixture can permeate the chicken breast.

Or you can do the same thing with lemon juice then season over top with fresh, ground black pepper (so the pepper oils will will infuse with the chicken).

You can slow grill the chicken and brush over either mixture over the chicken as you turn it as well.

The key is to get whatever flavor or seasonings onto or into the meat and keeping it there.

 

[tiger1977]

Depending on the size of the piece of chicken you're cooking, try injecting it with some spices or a rub. Or like some others say, marinate it overnight.

 

[BlueBalls]

I think marinating is the best option. Chicken really isnt the most flavoursome meat but with the correct spices and sauce it can be made into something quite tasty.

 

[Skyraider22]

To be honest, I cook with chicken the most of all the meats. I have found steaming and BBQing chicken yields the best flavor. Next is pan frying and the last is cooking it in something. One thing you want to make sure to do is brown the chicken before cooking it in something (unless it's going to be slow cooked) so the moisture and flavor is locked in.

Marinades and rubs also add great flavor. The longer on the chicken, the better the taste. And if you're cooking a whole breast, making X's in the breast so the marinade/rub can get into the breast does wonders.

What Petra said that works for me also:thumbsup:

 

[afkallthetiem]

the best kind of chicken is KFC chicken tastes a little like ***** and after one bite you lose your appetite but hey isnt that the point of eating?

 

[gunslingingbird]

(or maybe a professional)

I wouldn't ask him how to flavor it. He'll tell you to use his "special sauce." :rubbel: :eek:

 

[sproing99]

I'm with those who say that chicken is pretty bland. The secret is to try to start with tasty chicken so if you can find a good local producer who slow-rears their chicken (free range ideally) and doen't pump them full of saline to artificially increase their weight.

Then think of using the thighs or drumsticks instead of the breasts (dark meat has more flavour).

Finally marinade, stew, or wrap to increase taste. Curries are also a good way to beat the bland, marinate the chicken and dry fry it before adding to the sauce.

A few favourites:

Stuff a chicken breast with finely diced fried mushrooms and cream cheese, wrap in parma ham and bake in the oven.

Create a stew of chicken thighs, onion, fennel and mushrooms and chicken stock, flavour with a little pernod to add to the fennel flavour

Any thai curry goes well with chicken

 

[Wainkerr99]

Well chicken with thyme always works. The best part of deep fried chicken, is the brown skin, then of course the parson's nose which you have to eat before anyone else does. Don't forget the game with the wishbone.

Chicken is meant for fried potato, crispy. The thing about bland meats, incl certain veggies, is they absorb flavour. So marjoram, thyme, sweet basil and tarragon will always make a delicious dish.

Hungry yet?

 

[Petra]

I think my best recipe is for an entire chicken...it's commonly referred to as the "**** butt" chicken.

You'll need a whole chicken, 8oz (smaller) can of ****, a lime or two, and whatever rub you want to put on the skin. I typically just use crushed garlic salt and pepper and rub it into the skin...I also season the inside of the chicken's cavity as well.

Cut up the limes and shove them up into the top of the chicken to block the neck hole. Then pour half of the **** (preferably cold) into a glass. Take the other half of **** in the can and shove it into the chicken. In the end the chicken will be "sitting" on the can and this should keep it upright.

Put the chicken in a shallow pan to catch the drippings.

If you want to BBQ this, do no more and put the chicken in the BBQ and roast. Should take about a half hour. You can continue to baste it...just keep an eye on it. I've only done it this way once before.

In the oven, put a cup of water in the pan and then cover the chicken with tinfoil completely. I think the oven should be about 220 Celsius (no idea what that is in Fahrenheit anymore, sorry) and it will take about an hour and a half. For the first hour make sure to baste it often. After the first 60 minutes, take off the tinfoil and cook the rest of the way.

Finally, for both methods...when it's done let the chicken "rest" for about 10 minutes. For the men, this means don't fucking touch the chicken. :1orglaugh (the man in my house feels the need to poke and prod it..)

Finally, carve and eat!

 

[ChefChiTown]

Yesterday I was making some improvised chicken-dish that had some vegetables and stew with it. I poured in what I felt was buckets of spices into it, but the chicken still ended up pretty mediocre.

I enjoy cooking quite a lot but know very little - but from what I've heard chicken can be quite hard to flavorize (is that a word? well you get what I mean). It doesn't matter how much spices you use cause they just end up lying there ******* you off, or floating around in the stew.

So can any good cook (or maybe a professional) help me on this one. How do I flavorize chicken meat?

Try putting your chicken into a brine. Here's a recipe for a brine that I make quite a bit...

Ingredients

Water, 2 C
Ice, 16 C
Salt, 2/3 C
Sugar, 2/3 C
Whole Peppercorns, 1 TBL
Garlic, 4 cloves (crushed)
Apple Juice, 1 C
Orange Zest, 1 ea
Cinnamon, ½ TBL
Nutmeg, 1 tsp
Ginger, 2 tsp (grated)

Preparation

- In a large pot, combine all ingredients (with the exception of the ice) and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Once the liquid has reached a boil and all of the salt and sugar has dissolved, transfer the liquid into a bucket or a very large stock pot.
- Add the ice to the liquid, stir and allow it to cool.
- Once the liquid has cooled down and the ice has melted, add the meat to the brine and allow it to sit (refrigerated) for at least 12 hours before cooking.

 

[gunslingingbird]

Try putting your chicken into a brine. Here's a recipe for a brine that I make quite a bit...

Ingredients

Water, 2 C
Ice, 16 C
Salt, 2/3 C
Sugar, 2/3 C
Whole Peppercorns, 1 TBL
Garlic, 4 cloves (crushed)
Apple Juice, 1 C
Orange Zest, 1 ea
Cinnamon, ½ TBL
Nutmeg, 1 tsp
Ginger, 2 tsp (grated)

Preparation

- In a large pot, combine all ingredients (with the exception of the ice) and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Once the liquid has reached a boil and all of the salt and sugar has dissolved, transfer the liquid into a bucket or a very large stock pot.
- Add the ice to the liquid, stir and allow it to cool.
- Once the liquid has cooled down and the ice has melted, add the meat to the brine and allow it to sit (refrigerated) for at least 12 hours before cooking.

When you say C, you're referring to cups, right? Isn't 16 cups of ice, 2/3 cup salt, and 2/3 cup sugar a tad much for something at home?

 

[shayd]

When you say C, you're referring to cups, right? Isn't 16 cups of ice, 2/3 cup salt, and 2/3 cup sugar a tad much for something at home?

You could always portion it down.

But that brine does sound good on some chicken.

 

[ChefChiTown]

When you say C, you're referring to cups, right? Isn't 16 cups of ice, 2/3 cup salt, and 2/3 cup sugar a tad much for something at home?

Yes, C is for "cups". Also, you need that much water and ice to make a brine, even for at home use. If you cut back on the water, your brine would be salty as fuck and taste like...well...old semen.

Plus, 16 cups of water isn't that much anyway. 16 cups is only 1 gallon, so just look at your milk and see how much water it really is.