When preparing and cooking chicken, you certainly don’t want to be messing around. Eating undercooked chicken can leave you prone to salmonella and a terrible sickness. And those definitely aren’t things you want to risk! In order to ensure the chicken you’re eating is properly cooked and tastes good, here are four main things to avoid.
1. Buying Only Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Although buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts is convenient, chicken of this variety is seriously lacking in flavor. Both the bones and the skin add a great deal of flavor to the chicken and help the breasts to seal in moisture, leaving your chicken tender and tasty. If you only like buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts, be prepared to do a lot of seasoning.
2. Using A Wooden Cutting Board
When preparing chicken, whether you’re slicing or seasoning it, never do so on a wooden cutting board. Wooden cutting boards have porous grains, meaning that the raw chicken juices will soak into the board. This is the perfect breeding ground for salmonella and other bacteria, and wooden boards are extremely difficult to clean properly. You’ll want to use a cutting board that can be tossed in the dishwasher on a hot water setting after prep is done (like a plastic board, for instance).
3. Thawing At Room Temperature
Two things you should never thaw at room temperature? Chicken and fish. Doing so is just inviting bacteria in and asking that you get sick. To safely thaw chicken, let it sit in the fridge overnight. Another appropriate method for thawing sealed, frozen chicken is to place the bag in a sink of cold water.
4. Being Afraid Of Seasoning
Don’t just toss some salt and pepper on your chicken and call it a day. Bland chicken isn’t going to make anyone happy! There are so many delicious marinades that your chicken can soak in, whether you make them yourself or buy them from the store. Fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil can also turn chicken from blah to delicious!
