Top tips for pimping up chicken
WHETHER it’s in soups, salads, stir-fries or stews, chicken is Australia’s favourite meat. Celebrity chef Alastair McLeod reveals his trade secrets and best advice for cooking killer chicken dishes at home.
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WHETHER it’s in soups, salads, stir-fries or stews, chicken is Australia’s favourite meat.
Each month it tops the most searched recipes on Taste.com.au and in August it reaches its peak, with more people than ever looking for new and interesting ways to cook the poultry.
So to help with the seemingly endless battle to pimp up this popular protein, we asked owner of Brisbane catering company Al’freshCo, and food guru on Channel 7’s Great Day Out Alastair McLeod for his top tips on cooking chicken in all its guises.
WHOLE BIRD
“Choosing to cook a whole chook requires minimal contact time,” says McLeod.
“There is minimal preparation and maximum flavour.”
For a taste of nostalgia, the celebrity chef loves it simply roasted on a bed of vegetables and says home cooks will always do a better version than professionals.
“While most chef’s would want to cook a whole chook for their guests, in a restaurant it’s essential to break the bird into pieces for speed of cooking,” he says.
Best cooking method: “Keep it simple,” McLeod says. “Smear with butter, season generously then squeeze over the juice of half a lemon. Fill the cavity with hard herbs (like rosemary, oregano, marjoram and thyme) and the squeezed lemon half.
“Cook for a quarter of the time on one leg, turn onto the other leg and then rest the breasts on the vegetables. Cook for the remaining time on its back basting with the buttery lemony juices. This will give you an evenly golden bird and will prevent the lean breast meat from drying out.”
THIGHS
“With thighs there is a higher meat to bone ratio, the meat retains its moisture and is packed with flavour,” McLeod says.
“Even if you’re not going to eat the skin, leave it on throughout the cooking process to keep the meat moist.”
Best cooking method: “Thighs love being marinated and cooked skin-down in a hot frying pan or griddle pan,” McLeod says.
When it comes to marinades, almost anything goes with chicken, so perhaps think Middle Eastern and use a chilli-infused harissa paste, go Mexican with a dark, bitter chocolatey mole, or take it Asian with oyster and soy sauce, shao hsing, sesame oil, garlic and ginger.
McLeod says thighs are also the optimum cut for slow cooking in dishes like cacciatore, casseroles and pies, as well as curries, whether they be an Indian butter chicken, Malaysian or Indonesian rendang, Thai green curry or turmeric and coconut Sri Lankan mix.
BREAST
“In my experience, people anecdotally know thighs are the better cut to use but they still want to eat breast,” says McLeod.
“To mitigate the shortcomings of chicken breast, the best idea is to brine it before use. This guarantees moist and tender chicken breast every time.”
Making a brine: To prepare a brine, create a solution that is seven per cent salt, so 70g sea salt warmed up in 1L water. Infuse the water with slices of lemon, a little honey, a few cloves of smashed garlic, peppercorns, bay, or whatever you like. Put breasts into this solution and leave for 4-6 hours. Pat dry then cook as you wish.
Best cooking method: McLeod’s preferred ways to cook breast is simply grilling or pan-frying, while barbecuing it also works well.
“Once again, keep skin on irrespective of whether you are going to serve it,” McLeod says. This will help keep the meat moist and also add flavour.
And for those looking to inject maximum flavour into their bird with minimum effort, try sprinkling the breast with Moroccan seasoning, or coating it in a spice rub of coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper held together with lime juice and olive oil, or try a crushed blend of fennel, star anise, sea salt, cardamom, lemon rind and cinnamon.
“The best types of dishes for chicken breast are sandwiches and salads,” McLeod says.
TENDERLOINS
“Chicken tenderloins are a guilty pleasure of mine,” says McLeod. “They are fabulous for portion control and an easy kids’ meal.”
Best cooking method: “They have the same properties as a breast but are smaller, so the key to cooking is be quick,” McLeod says.
“Whether you grill or pan-fry, aim to get some caramelisation as this will enhance the flavour. To achieve this, resist the temptation to fiddle with them.”
The chef says tenderloins are terrific marinated or used in stir-fries, but he loves nothing more than crumbing and deep-frying them to create the best chicken nuggets around.
For this, roughly blitz up stale bread in the blender until still a little chunky, then coat the tenderloins in plain flour before dipping in eggwash and rolling in the crumbs. Make sure to fry them in a neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil.
Finely chopped herbs and grated parmesan can also be added to the crumb mix for extra flavour.
DRUMSTICKS
“There’s something visceral about enjoying a drumstick — no cutlery required just a primal pleasure,” the chef says.
“They are an inexpensive choice cut but have plenty of flavour and texture.”
Best cooking method: “Think of them as mini lamb shanks,” McLeod says. “They are really special slow cooked until the meat is falling off the bone. As long as you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, these are my preferred cut for slow cooking and curries.”
One of the easiest ways to slow cook them is in a tray bake.
Try them Italian-style by frying off celery and pancetta in a saucepan, before adding tomato passata, a dash of white wine and some chicken stock. Bring to the boil then pour over the drumsticks sitting in a tray with lemon wedges and olives and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Or go Portuguese with your bake and marinate your drumsticks in flat-leaf parsley, red chilli, dried oregano, brown sugar, garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil and apple cider vinegar, to be served with an easy salad.
As McLeod says, drumsticks are a winner in all manner of curries, but for those looking for minimal fuss, simply coat the chicken legs in a mix of plain yoghurt, tandoori paste and lemon juice, colour them in a pan or on the barbecue before baking for around 30 minutes.
MARYLAND
The maryland is the whole leg — the thigh and drumstick joined together, offering the same versatility as both of these cuts whilst being a single, easy-to-serve individual portion, says McLeod.
“For those more adventurous, a great idea is to remove the bones from a Maryland and stuff the cavity. Think, spinach and ricotta, mushroom and tarragon or classic sage and onion,” he says.
Best cooking method: They can easily be roasted or slow cooked with spices like paprika, cumin, allspice, garlic and lime to create a Creole twist, or fired up with thyme, oregano, garlic, cider vinegar, chilli, brown sugar and cinnamon for a jerk-style offering. Alternatively, try them braised in the Filipino classic dish of adobo.
“I’ve had great success poaching maryland in duck fat then crisping it up in a hot pan for an amazing chicken confit,” says McLeod.
Lemon, honey, tarragon and thyme are all classic pairings with chicken and will work fabulously as a marinade.
WINGS
If you’re not a whiz in the kitchen or you’re on a budget, wings are for you, says McLeod.
“Wings are an inexpensive cut and no amount of bad cooking will make them dry,” he says.
“They were often served as staff meals in restaurants but we now see canny cooks serving them on their menus.”
Best cooking method: “For wing inspiration, do as the dudes do — tasty marinades, blackened spices, hot and sour bastings cooked over a hot barbecue or griddle,” the Al’freshCo owner says.
“Remove the wing tips and reserve for stock. Leave the other two joints intact for an authentic lip smacking buffalo wing experience.”
For a Greek twist, marinate the wings in honey, garlic, lemon rind and oregano before baking in the oven, or add a pan-Asian edge with white miso paste, garlic, ginger, soy and sesame oil. And for something completely out-of-the-box, try baking wings in ½ cup of orange Fanta mixed with 2 tbsp of soy for 75 minutes at 160C, which will give your wings sweetness, saltiness, umami and a slight orange flavour.
OFFAL
“The notion of eating chicken offal no doubt polarises opinion, but the reality is that there are a number of reasons why it should be part of your repertoire,” says McLeod.
“Firstly, it’s a very good thing to use all parts of the animal. The offal is highly nutritious and, frankly, very tasty.”
Best cooking method: “I often use livers to make an awesome pate or they are great flashed in a hot pan then deglazed with a splash of port, verjuice or good balsamic,” he says.
The biggest problem with offal is overcooking it, which will render it chewy and unpleasant, so be sure to be gentle when adding heat.
“To be converted to the wonders of offal I highly recommend a visit to Bird’s Nest Yakitori (in South Brisbane or Fortitude Valley),” says McLeod.
The fast-paced Japanese restaurants specialise in chicken offal cooked yakitori style, with everything from gizzards to hearts and livers available.
“My favourite dish (is) the arteries,” says McLeod.
Originally published as Top tips for pimping up chicken