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Chicken

Chicken is one of the world’s most popular and most versatile meats, and it’s also one of the easiest to cook. Whether you like chicken grilled, roasted, baked or stir-fried, we’ve got you covered with crowd-pleasing recipes and tips for getting the tastiest results.

CHICKEN NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION & HEALTH BENEFITS

Chicken’s popularity is generally credited to its flexibility and how easy it is to adapt for home cooks, but it may also reflect the protein’s dietary qualities. Lower in saturated fats than most other meats (especially with the skin off), chicken is a good source of quality protein, vitamin B, iron and selenium.
CHICKEN NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION & HEALTH BENEFITS

HOW TO STORE CHICKEN

Raw chicken should be cooled immediately and it will keep for no more than two days in the fridge. Stored in the freezer below 0°C, chicken breasts can remain frozen and useable up to nine months while a whole chicken can last a year. Always remember to wash your hands after handling raw chicken, as well as any utensils or countertops that may come in contact with it.
HOW TO STORE CHICKEN

CHICKEN TIPS, TRICKS & HACKS

No matter how you’re preparing the chicken, rinse it before cooking and pat it down with some kitchen towel. Marinating, searing and roasting all work better this way. If you do choose to marinate the meat, you can do so for however long you like, remembering that the longer it sits in the marinade, the stronger the flavour will become. But beware: acidic marinades will toughen the chicken over time.

It’s often said that chicken is cooked when its juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink. However, a top tip from HelloFresh cooks to focus on the temperature of the meat. This is the safest and most reliable indicator of whether the chicken is cooked. As long as all parts of the chicken have reached a minimum internal temperature of 165°C, the meat is safe to eat.

Boneless chicken breasts are among the most popular cuts because they are low in fat and easy to prepare. Optimise this white meat part of the bird by ensuring that you choose a smaller size, 170g to 200g each. Larger breasts should be cut horizontally to ensure more even cooking.

Roasting is also a popular way to prepare the meat. Roast chicken is well-loved for a reason: delicious in the summer with a fresh green salad, or in colder months with hearty roasted potatoes, carrots and peas.

CHICKEN TIPS, TRICKS & HACKS

To roast it perfectly, take the full chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it in order to let it come up to room temperature. For really crispy skin, drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub the mixture all over the bird.

To bring out the inherent taste of roast chicken, the HelloFresh culinary team recommend pricking the rind of a lemon with a sharp knife and popping the fruit into the bird’s cavity with fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Add even more flavour by roasting the chicken on a bed of chopped vegetables, like carrots, onions, celery and garlic.

As with many meats, patience is a virtue when it comes to chicken. Regardless of the preparation method, let the meat rest under foil once it’s off the heat to let its juices reabsorb. Five minutes of resting time is best for chicken pieces (bones, thighs, wings and legs) and at least 15 minutes is best for a whole roast chicken.

CHICKEN FACTS

In 2018, HelloFresh shipped over 22 million orders of chicken worldwide—that’s more than any other meat.

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