Chicken is the most popular beauty on the table. There are a huge number of ways to cook it, but sometimes the bird does not want to get it. It comes out dry and tough, a crust does not form, and the taste is far from ideal. Why it happens? We will analyze the most common mistakes.
First mistake: a bird from the refrigerator
The chicken turns out to be dry, tasteless, it is impossible to swallow a piece without sauce if you send a cold bird to the oven. Many housewives make this mistake.
Even after prolonged pickling, the carcass needs to warm up. To do this, just leave for an hour at room temperature.
If the chicken was not pickled in advance, then the spices do not penetrate the cold skin and meat. In addition to rigidity, we get a completely tasteless dish.
Under no circumstances should you bake frozen chicken or another bird.
It is necessary to let it thaw completely, soak in spices, only then send it to the oven. And it is imperative to drain all the released water along with the sacrum.
Mistake two: the spices are not forgotten?
The tastiest food is one that has no salt. It is important to report it. Even slightly salted chicken can be put on the table, supplemented with fresh sauce, add fresh vegetables. If the bird is not saturated with spices, then nothing good will come of it.
Ideally, it should be marinated for several hours. For this, spices are used, you can immediately take the mixture for the bird or pick your favorite seasonings yourself. They are rarely used in dry form, usually added to something.
What can be used for marinade:
- kefir, sour cream and other dairy products;
- soy sauce or teriyaki;
- honey;
- mustard, adjika.
Recipes with wine, orange juice are very popular, sometimes ketchup or other tomato sauce is added to the chicken. Everyone needs to use this very carefully.
The products contain acid, which with prolonged contact makes tender chicken meat tough, do not pickle the bird in such sauces for more than two hours.
Third mistake: breast on top
How do most housewives put their chicken in shape? Of course, breast up!
As a result, it dries up. Trying to avoid this, oil is often thrust under the skin, from above the bird is continuously watered with fat and flowing juices. But it can be much simpler - you just need to put the chicken back up. In this case, all flowing juices will soak dry white meat.
So that the breast also turns out to be pretty and the skin does not stick to the form, you can put onion rings, carrots, potatoes from below.
These vegetables will be a wonderful side dish. You can also near the end of cooking just turn the bird upside down, coat the skin with honey or its mixture with mustard, brown until a beautiful crust.
Fourth error: lack of molding
To make the chicken evenly cooked in all parts, it is customary to mold it. What does it mean? Wings and legs are pressed to the carcass. Often threads are used for this. Sometimes the legs are simply crossed, pushed into the slots on the skin. But it is with them that you can not do this. Most often, the wings dry up and burn out, since there is practically no meat in them, only thin skin and bones.
What can be done with wings:
- cut off the extreme phalanges and just press it to the carcass;
- wrap with pieces of foil;
- pin toothpicks to the carcass.
By the way, the tips of the legs can also be wrapped with pieces of foil. Then they will not burn. It is advisable to lubricate the chicken before this, since the foil has a tendency to adhere to the skin.
Fifth mistake: the wrong chicken
Sometimes the bird turns tasteless, dry and tough, because the wrong chicken is used.
For baking, it is advisable to choose young broilers. Old layers, even after prolonged pickling, remain stiff. It is also difficult to cook a poultry that knew the will. She has a developed muscular system, coarse and hard fibers.
Factory chicks are great for cooking in the oven. Just they are not suitable for cooking first courses, as they do not have a rich aroma. But quickly baked. Thanks to spices and marinades, you can significantly improve the taste.
Sixth error: washed, but not wiped
Before use, the chicken must be thoroughly washed, you can even soak it. Together with impurities, the sucrose will go into the water, this will positively affect the taste and appearance of the dish. But in addition to washing, the carcass must be thoroughly wiped with a towel, even better with paper towels.
If moisture remains on the skin, then the spices do not penetrate inside.
Also, because of water droplets on the surface, the skin is dry, it becomes tasteless, a beautiful crust cannot form.
For this reason, chicken is rubbed with something fat: mayonnaise, sour cream, butter. They do not allow the skin to dry out, while not bothering to brown.
Seventh error: size matters
A large chicken looks gorgeous on the table, but it is very difficult to cook it delicious and juicy. The breast dries out during prolonged heat treatment, the wings and lower legs burn out, while the massive hips take a long time to reach readiness. Therefore, a home broiler of 4-5 kilograms is not the best option. It’s more convenient and easier to cook a bird up to 2.5 at most three kilograms. If you want to cook a large carcass, you will have to pack it.
What to cook a big bird:
- in the sleeve;
- in a baking sheet with sides;
- under the foil.
It is necessary to give the chicken a steaming first, and then fry until golden brown.
If you cook in the open from the very beginning, then the meat of a large bird will dry out, and the skin will burn.
Eighth error: with heat, with heat and immediately to the table
The last mistake that you make very often is to send only cooked chicken from the oven to the table and immediately cut it. You can’t do this!
It is necessary to take out the bird, cover with something big, for example, an inverted bowl or pan, leave for 15-20 minutes.
During this time, it will not cool, but the moisture inside will evenly distribute, the wings and other small parts will become softer.
If you cut the chicken right away, as soon as you get it out of the oven, the juices will start to flow out, gather at the bottom of the plate.
