# Beginning with chicken



## vilasman (Oct 2, 2006)

I dont like chicken, don't eat it, haven't in years. My wife, bless her heart, is manuvering me into cooking for her most of the time, and she likes, chicken.
Mainly boneless thighs and wings. My wife is exercise challenged and I am trying to do this as a baked thing and not a fried, to sort of help her with the challenge.

Now I know I can salt,pepper and olive oil the bird, and I have heard that I can mix the salt and pepper in with a vinegrette dressing and make a marinade and then bake it and present it over a rice dish. 
Although we have green beans and new potatos in the ice box already made.

What I am looking for is either a quick way to prep and cook thighs /wings in the evening or, something I can whip up before work and then pop in the oven when we get back home 10 to 12 hrs later.  And it has to be small servings, at best my wife will eat the same thing 3 times in a 2-3 week period.

Any thoughts? Also what herb combination is like the standard for chicken? That I could make up like I make essence and put in a shaker can and have at the ready?


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## Alix (Oct 2, 2006)

-Brush with mustard and sprinkle with seasoned salt

-Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with lemon pepper

-Mix dijon, garlic worcestershire sauce, brush this on chicken and sprinkle with a mixture of parmesan and bread crumbs. (1/2 and 1/2 of each)

Does she like hot food? Try brushing with Franks Hot sauce.

I do lots of things with chicken, but I mostly use breast meat. If you are looking at lower fat content in your food you may want to try that.


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## tomchef (Oct 2, 2006)

90%+ of the fat in chicken is located in the skin.losing that is a good start.
a high quality olive oil is a lot of things but unhealthy aint one of them.
it you cook legs and thighs slowly in the oven on a rack,this will render the fat out of the meat and allow it to drain off.
breast meat is much leaner than any other part of the bird


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## Mr. D (Oct 2, 2006)

Try Bruschetta Chicken. Diced Tomatos, Red Onions, Green Peppers, Fresh Thyme Basil, Oregeno, and S&P. Spoon This Mixture over Your Chicken And Cover With Mozzarella And Parmesan Cheese. Place In Refridgerator as is and throw in the oven when you get home. While Chicken Is Cooking You Can Get Everything Else Ready.


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## vilasman (Oct 2, 2006)

thanks for the tips, DW is a carb junkie, so if it dosen't have some fat she won't eat it. I am trying to wean her off of going to mcdonalds every day for dinner.I am creating a reciepe and cooking notebook and these tips and goodweeds pancake mix will be the first entries.


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## Mr. D (Oct 2, 2006)

Try breading your chicken with breadcrumbs, Thyme, Marjoram, basil, and Parsley.


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## Andy M. (Oct 2, 2006)

First, switch to breast meat as it's much lower in fat.  

Try this recipe.


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## Chopstix (Oct 2, 2006)

You can try Chinese restaurant-style Lemon Chicken.  I normally use skinless boneless thighs.  Also, please omit the ginger.  This dish tastes much better without it.  

Vilasman, very nice of you to cook for your wife and to care about her diet.


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## kitchenelf (Oct 2, 2006)

OK, I have to ask - are you going to be able to eat this chicken as in ANY chicken?  Pork cutlets I'm sure would work if you can't just hack it down.  

Take some melba toast (1 5-oz box) and blend in food processor until almost done - add about 1 TBS garlic powder, 1 TBS poultry seasoning, 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper, and I think that's all I use - oh, I think I also use about 1 TBS of dried thyme.

Egg wash and dredge the chicken - saute in a med - medium high pan the your very best olive oil - yes, very best - the fruitier the better - it is AWESOME!


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## vilasman (Oct 3, 2006)

Well my history with chicken.... I was raised vegetarian and aside from the occasional foray into the world of meat with something like hot dogs or chicken, I pretty much stayed that way until I was in my 20's. Now I would say I am not a heavy meat eater, i like pepperoni on pizza, and I like johnsonville brats, and I like enough meat in other dishes to season it, like pork in baked beans, and bacon in green beans and new potatos...
I do like fish, and I like lamb more than beef.
But, as I transcended from not being a vegetarian, I had a jamaican girlfriend who I think attempted to make some curry chicken one time and it absolutely tore my stomach up. And every since then, sometimes even the smell of chicken will make me sick. I dont like turkey either, but i also partially attribute this to growing up in a family of women who cannot cook. Well who cook everything to death. 
I did know some women from church who could cook, which got me into a semi love of cateering and entertaining and my wife/MIL cook at least as well, probably better than anyone else I know. Then I also have a close friend who is a CIA graduate, who tries to show me how to cook things the right way. My wife and MIL cook, the , dare I say southren way... if you put enough butter in it you can make anything taste good.

All that aside, I am keeping this valuable cooking information, 
I do have a package of boneless/skinless chicken thighs in the kitchen. Looks to be 6 of them in the pack.
I dont know if any of you are Marshall's afficianado's but you should be, it's a great place to get pots and pans and other kitchen toys cheap, but 
in the spice aisles there are a collection of herb blends by Lesley Elizabeth. 
(It would be just my luck, that she's in here reading this) I love the Texas Steak one, and the Salmon one and the KC Steak ones are pretty good as well.
But alas we are coming to chicken, and the theme I am getting from reading the above is give it some oil and give it some seasoning and let the oven do it's work. As per usual it is 4:40 as I write this, I need to pick her up at 6 and she is a 30-60 min drive away depending on traffic.

So to keep this simple. I do have green and red pepper and mushrooms and yellow onion and garlic to contribute to this dish.

I also have the following herb blends
Herbs de Provence
Oh so Garlic
Cajun Bayou
Pepper blend
South of the Border
Jamaican Jerk
and Garlic Seasoning and rub

My wife grew up in the SF bay area and used to treat herself to some the finest dining that that area had to offer. Then she got hitched and is still trying to rejoin the real world after 5 years. Totally blew my mind when the 2 of us and 5 of her nearest and dearest friends blew $1200 for a birthday dinner in Crustaceans in SF.

Anyway which of the above seasonings should I use? 
PS. I also picked up a heavy glass mortar and pestle at marshalls or ross and have been pulverizing herbs and spices ever since. Should I not be pulverizing? And is it ok not to wash it, since it is only being used for dry spices and herbs. All that layering of flavors stuff that people are always touting.

Thanks for any suggestions.


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## carolelaine (Oct 3, 2006)

Sorry you don't like chicken.  Try rubbing down the chicken with the herbs de provence.  If the chicken has skin, try to get the herbs under the skin, and then bake it in white wine until juices run clear. Garlic and lemon are good with chicken.  Rosemary is good with chicken.


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## BreezyCooking (Oct 3, 2006)

I always, always, ALWAYS have a one or two packages of boneless skinless chicken thighs in the freezer.  For stirfries, curries, & braises they stay so much more moist & tender.  And skinless, they're really not higher in fat than the pricier breasts.

Although I'm not a fan of processed foods, I have to admit that I do love cutting up a package of boneless skinless thighs & adding them to a Zatarains rice mix (any of them) & serving it with a green salad.  Dinner can be on the table in about 20-25 minutes.

Another quickie would be to cut them into bite-size pieces, saute them in a little olive oil, & then toss in a bag of mixed frozen vegetables & continue stirfrying until everything is cooked through.

You can also look into other poultry options like baking chicken drumsticks with various herbs & vegetable sides, or another big favorite in our household are the flavored chicken & turkey sausages available in most markets these days.  One package gives my husband & two or three nice size sausages apiece, & those & a salad are quite a filling meal.


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## Andy M. (Oct 3, 2006)

Breast meat contains 1.24 grams of total fat per 100 grams of raw meat.  Dark meat contains 4.31 grams of total fat per 100 grams of raw meat.  While neither is a huge amount, one is about three and a half times the other.


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## vilasman (Oct 3, 2006)

What I did 
I took about 2 tbsp of jerk seasoning and ground it up and whisked it with about a quarter cup of olive oil. I poured that into a baking dish and then rubbed it into the chicken well. Then I vac sealed a couple pieces and let sit for 10 mins and then 1 piece went into the George foreman. 
George cooks slow. DW says flavor was good but needed to sit longer. So I re vac sealed the other 4 pieces. Will either pan brown with vege's tomorrow or will saute the vege's and pan grill the chicken and then bake to 185 and then serve with the veges over rice.


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## Seven S (Oct 4, 2006)

Chopstix said:
			
		

> You can try Chinese restaurant-style Lemon Chicken.  I normally use skinless boneless thighs.  Also, please omit the ginger.  This dish tastes much better without it.
> 
> Vilasman, very nice of you to cook for your wife and to care about her diet.



Chopstix,

your recipe says marinate in custard powder and ginger overnight.  here you say omit the ginger, and what is this custard powder - what does it do?  thanks.


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## Nicholas Mosher (Oct 4, 2006)

Personally, I think chicken is one of those foods where it's underdone, underdone, underdone, _DONE_, overdone, overdone, overdone...

There is a very narrow range between gristle and sawdust where it tastes fantastic, juicy, and memorable.  I also grew up with people who cooked food until it resembled either solid polypropylene or carbon.

Nice thing about chicken is that you can cook it with almost every method available and it goes with almost everything too.  Just be careful about cooking it to the right temps!


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## vilasman (Oct 4, 2006)

Whats the right temp. I have a food thermometer here that says 185F and I heard on TV today it was 165F. What is it?


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## Andy M. (Oct 4, 2006)

Salmonella (if present in your chicken) is killed instantly at 160F.  That's the minimum for safety.  165-170 is what I shoot for.  

IMO, 185 will yield dry chicken.


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## ChefJune (Oct 4, 2006)

> I also have the following herb blends
> Herbs de Provence
> Oh so Garlic
> Cajun Bayou
> ...


each of these will be good with chicken, depending upon what flavors you're going for!

Happy Cooking!


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## Nicholas Mosher (Oct 4, 2006)

I like theighs/legs cooked to 180ºF throughout, and breastmeat cooked to 165ºF throughout.  The dark meat is much more flexible, as it has more fat that melts and coats the muscle fibers and can mask a slightly overcooked piece.  The breastmeat is _extremely_ lean, and I find that 180ºF is sawdust, whereas 160ºF is a bit too underdone.  Shoot for 165ºF-169ºF - keep it under 170º for breastmeat.  The result will be relaxed/tender muscles that haven't seized up and squeezed all the moisture out.

Thus is the quandary of a whole roasted bird where two different temps are desired...  

So long as the entire piece of meat/bone has reached 160ºF, there will be no salmonella worries.


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## shpj4 (Oct 4, 2006)

I bake my chicken with rice and add some cheese for extra flavor.  I use salt, pepper, herbs and garlic seasoning. 

To be on the safe side I would use your food thermometer between 165 and 170.

The nice think about cooking chicken is there are always leftovers.


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## vilasman (Oct 4, 2006)

In the end, this evening, I took the chicken out of the vac seal jar and coated a cast iron grill pan with olive oil, brushed on, turned up smoking hot and put the chicken in till it got grill marks, about 3 minutes per side. Then in to the oven, for what must have been about 20-25 mins. Thermometer said about 180F last time I checked it. 
Then I took the fat from the grill pan, ground up some herbs de provence with a little black pepper and sea salt, I know I should have used kosher,
and sauteed(?) some sliced red and green peppers, mushrooms and onions
I made box red beans and rice, and right now the chicken thighs are resting comfortably on the sauteed vege's in the oven which is off. 
Wasn't sure whether I had gotten the chicken hot enough but as I read this I see that I probably have. 
Wife is off at some women's meeting. Hopefully it will still be warm when she gets in.


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## vilasman (Oct 5, 2006)

Dinner was a success even though I was sleep when she got in. She told me this AM that it was as good as if she had cooked it herself. I guess I am graduating now and go over and read what the big kids are cooking in the whats for dinner forum


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## thegrova (Oct 14, 2006)

Using skinned breasts, cut the breasts in to lenghts about 1inch square.  Wrap rashers of bacon around each strip.  Streaky bacon is best!  Bake at around 350oF for about 20 minutes.  Allow the strips to rest somewhere warm for 5 minutes or so, then slice the strips diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick.  Serve ontop of a salad of mixed greens, advocado, cherry tomatos, and tiny cubes of smoked cheddar with a dollop of aioli or mayo on top of the chicken...  Mmmm, yummy yummy yummy!


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