How to Bake Chicken

For people who crave for non-vegetarian foods, chicken recipes need no introduction. And baked chicken makes a tasty treat for parties and regular dinner serving. Requiring less oil and having low calorie count, it is one of the healthiest ways for preparing poultry. So, if you are planning to cook chicken this weekend, drop the idea of oil laden deep frying or spice loaded stir recipe. Rather try baking well-prepared chicken in microwave oven. The tips on to bake chicken are simple, and you can easily make tasty baked chicken in a few steps.

Tips on How to Bake a Whole Chicken

So, you love the taste of baked chicken serve in restaurants, but do not actually know how to bake chicken in the oven. Whether you want to bake a whole chicken, or just bake chicken wings, purchase fresh meat with its skin. It helps in retaining moisture and keeping the meat tender, even after baking. Otherwise, skinned chicken dries out quickly, when exposed to oven heat. Also, defrosting and additional preparation are required, if you are opting frozen chicken. The following are step-by-step guide for baking chicken.

• As you are baking a whole chicken, remove the giblets completely and retain them for making other recipes. Wash and rinse chicken properly under running water. Then, dab it dry with absorbent paper towels and keep it ready for baking.
• Place cleaned chicken in a shallow tray, and sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper. With your fingers, rub the seasonings over the meat from all sides. If time permits, keep it like that for half an hour and allow seasonings to penetrate inside the meat.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F. Place seasoned chicken in an oven proof, thick skillet or a chicken roasting pan (whichever is available). Drizzle olive oil or your favorite marinade, and rub it generously all over the meat.
• With this, chicken preparation is done and you can start with the actual baking process. Place roasting pan with chicken in the oven rack, and bake it in the preheated oven (with the breast side facing up).
• But, how long to bake chicken? The ideal baking time is 1-1½ hours, turning once in between cooking, after about 30-45 minutes. By now, the skin turns golden brown and inside meat is cooked well.

Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the baked chicken, ideally near the bone and see whether the temperature reading is 170° F or not. If not, return the partially baked chicken in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Or else, check for doneness of your oven-baked chicken by cutting the meat directly with a thick kitchen knife. If meat is not pink and juice is clear, your baked chicken is done. Never eat uncooked meat, or it may cause food poisoning symptoms.

If you can bake a whole chicken nicely, you will find baking chicken legs and wings very easy. All you need to make baked chicken legs or thighs is, dredge the pieces in flour and seasoning mixture, and roll them in melted butter. Once you are done with preparation of chicken pieces, arrange them with the skin side down in a single layer in baking pan. Bake chicken thighs, legs and/or wings in preheated oven at 350° F for 1 hour (i.e., 30 minutes per side), or continue cooking chicken in the oven until meat is cooked well.

As you now know the method to bake chicken, you can devour this yummy chicken dish anytime without worrying much about your waistline. Poaching is another form of cooking healthy chicken and you can make the same with simple culinary skills. So, why eat calorie loaded dish, when you can enjoy scrumptious chicken without increasing your daily calorie intake!