Chicken is just like black, you can dress it up or down and it goes with just about anything.
In a nut shell, whatever Bubba said you could do with shrimp, you can do with chicken: barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. Dey’s uh, chicken-kabobs, chicken creole, chicken gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple chicken, lemon chicken, coconut chicken, pepper chicken, chicken soup, chicken stew, chicken salad, chicken and potatoes, chicken burger, chicken sandwich. That- that’s about it.
The key is to perfect a few go-to preparation tactics (grill, fry, bake, etc.) to create all of the above. It’s sort of like having great shoes, you can make just about any outfit.
Tips to get over your fears of cooking chicken and a fool proof way to prepare it and after the jump.
Before we dive deeper let’s get the fears of cooking chicken out of the way: touching and under cooking.
Handling raw meat, especially whole chickens with gizards, livers and wobbly bits can be gross and intimidating. To jump over the hurdle I find that it’s easiest to work with breasts and smaller cuts until you’re ready to take on the full shabang. If you still can’t manage, try wearing gloves. And if that doesn’t work it may be a good time to look into becoming a vegetarian?
The fear of under-cooked chicken, which can result in contaminating yourself or others, is well warranted. Can you imagine if you cooked for someone and poisoned them with salmonella? Oy. They would have every right to put you on blast over social networks and bathroom doors…IF they survive. Caution: If this ever happens, try to blame it on spinach. (for this reason, prepare a spinach side dish if this is your first chicken experience).
To avoid under cooking chicken, you can either use a thermometer and cook until the center is 160 degrees or simply cut into it to ensure that it’s cooked through. If you see any pink, keep going. If it is white, it is done; that doesn’t mean leave it in for an extra three minutes just in case. Trust.
While it isn’t the healthiest of ways to prepare chicken, I highly recommend the following recipe. It has won people over time and time again with all sorts of fixings. Good luck!
How to: Chicken Marsala
You will need:
1 cup AP flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tb. vegetable oil
2-1/2 oz. pancetta, sliced
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. tomato paste
1-1/2 c. sweet Marsala
1-1/2 Tb. lemon juice
4. Tb. unsalted butter, softened
2 Tb. parsley, chopped
1. Prepare all of your ingredients by slicing the pancetta and mushrooms, mince your garlic, chop your parsley and measure out your tomato paste, flour, lemon juice, etc. Staying organized and good prep will change your life.
2. Start with your Marsala sauce as it takes much longer than the chicken. To do so, heat pan on low and add pancetta; saute, stir occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until pancetta is brown and crisp; about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a paper towel lined plate.
2. Add mushrooms to the same pan and increase heat to medium-high; saute, stirring occasionally, scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown. Add a tablespoon of butter for additional flavor (optional).
2. Add garlic, tomato paste and cooked pancetta; saute while stirring until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minutes.
3. Off heat, add Marsala, return pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping brown bits from pan bottom. Cook until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1-1/4 cups. This takes a while.
4. While your sauce is reducing, heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat until very hot, about 3 minutes. Pat your chicken breasts dry. Place flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift breast from tapered end and shake to remove excess flour, set aside.
5. Add oil to hot pan and heat until shimmering. Place floured cutlets in single layer in a pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when press with finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a heated plate.
6. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from making your chicken to the Marsala; whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time to taste. Season with salt and pepper and stir in parsley.
7. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.
