Anderson - Best Chicken recipes: 25 RECIPES TO DRESS YOUR CHICKEN

Best Chicken recipes By Sunny Anderson Table of Content Introduction Chickens were, and still are, a sacredanimal in some cultures The Old Testament passages concerning ritual sacrificereveal a distinct preference on the part of Yahweh for red meat over poultry.The chickens real star turn came in 2004, when an international team ofgeneticists produced a complete map of the chicken genome. The chicken was thefirst domesticated animal, the first bird and consequently, the firstdescendant of the dinosaurs believe it or not. Under natural conditions, mostbirds lay only until a clutch iscomplete, and they will then incubate all the eggs. Many domestic hens willalso do this, at the end of the incubation period (about 21 days), theeggs, if fertile, will hatch. Development of the egg starts only whenincubation begins, so they all hatch within a day or two of each other, despiteperhaps being laid over a period of two weeks or so. Before hatching, the hencan hear the chicks peeping inside the eggs, and will gently cluck to stimulatethem to break out of their shells History of the Chicken The chickens that saved Westerncivilization were discovered, according to legend, by the side of a road inGreece in the first decade of the fifth century B.C.

The domesticated chickenhas a genealogy as complicated as the Tudors, stretching back 7,000 to 10,000years and involving, according to recent research, at least two wildprogenitors and possibly more than one event of initial domestication, Chickenis the ubiquitous food of our era, crossing multiple cultural boundaries Withits mild taste and uniform texture, How did the chicken achieve such culturaland culinary dominance? It is all the more surprising in light of the belief bymany archaeologists that chickens were first domesticated not for eating butfor cockfighting. The chicken in general has inspired contributions to culture,art, cuisine, science and religion over the millennia. 1. Spicy Sweet and SourChicken Ingredients: 6 large chicken drumsticks 6 large chicken thighs, trimmed excessfat Some lime wedges for serving Forthe sauce 1 cup water 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup distilled white vinegar 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup minced onion (about 1 medium) 1/3 cup minced Serrano or jalapeo peppersw/ seeds 1/4 cup minced garlic (about 9 largecloves) Preparation: Stir together water and tomato paste ina 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan until smooth, then stir in remaining sauceingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, then reduce heat and brisklysimmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to 2 1/4 cups, 50 to 60minutes. Stir frequently toward end of cooking to prevent sticking, Reserve 1cup sauce for serving.

Prepare grill for indirect-heat grillingover medium-hot charcoal. Pat chicken dry lightly oil grill rack and placechicken, skin side down, on area with no coals underneath and. Grill covered,turning once, until chicken registers 165F, 22 to 25 minutes. (Chicken mayappear pale; no worries.) Brush generously all over with some ofsauce, then move chicken directly over coals. Grill chicken, covered, turningand moving to area with no coals or heat underneath if flare-ups occur, untilbrowned, 3 to 5 minutes more. 2. Sweetand Sour ChickenIngredients: 8free-range chicken thighs Saltand pepper 1chopped chili (optional) 1liter apricot juice Oliveoil Choppedchives Preparation: Season the chicken with salt and pepper.Heat a pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces in one single layer. Sweetand Sour ChickenIngredients: 8free-range chicken thighs Saltand pepper 1chopped chili (optional) 1liter apricot juice Oliveoil Choppedchives Preparation: Season the chicken with salt and pepper.Heat a pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces in one single layer.

Addthe olive oil and brown the chicken slightly. With skin-side of the chicken up,add the juice and chili to the pan and cover with a lid. Turn the heat down andlet the chicken cook until the juice starts to reduce and become thick andsticky. This takes about 30 minutes. Spoon some of the juice over the chickenand serve on brown rice with some veggies! 3. Chicken CurryIngredients: 1 chicken cut into 6-8 pieces (wholechicken) 3 Tbsp of Virgin Coconut oil 2 Tbsp of organic coconut flour 1/2 teaspoon fine Himalayan salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger root 1/4 cup chopped onion 4 cloves garlic 1 Tbsp curry powder 2 cups chicken stock 1/4 cup water Preparation: In a frying pan saut garlic, onion,ginger, with coconut oil.

Add the cut-up chicken, slightly brown the chicken. Addchicken stock, simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt, black pepper and curry powder.Cover the pan. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Dissolve coconut flourin 1/4 cup of water. Stir it into the pan.

Continue cooking for another 5minutes then serve 4. Chicken Nuggetsfried in Coconut OilIngredients: 2 lbs ground chicken 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon salt fresh ground pepper 2 eggs 1 cup breadcrumbs or brown rice cereal Coconut oil, as needed Preparation: Mix all ingredients except coconut oiltogether until well blended. Add more breadcrumbs if mixture looks too sticky. Heatcoconut oil in a pan over medium heat and drop chicken mixture into pan,shaping into nuggets. Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve 5. Porcini RubbedRoasted Chicken Ingredients: 1 small chicken, about 2.5-3 lbs 0.75ounces dried porcini mushrooms 1 Tbsp black peppercorns 1/2tablespoon fennel seed 1 Tbsp kosher salt 1 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp olive oil MushroomShallot Sherry Vinegar Pan Sauce 1/2 cup sliced shallots 1 handful of mushrooms, your choice,sliced 1 Tbsp flour 1.25cups chicken stock cup sherry vinegar Preparation: Using kitchen shears, cut out thebackbone of the chicken.

Turn the chicken over and using your palm press downon the chicken so the breasts flatten. Throw the backbone in a freezer bag andsave for the next time you make stock. Place the chicken on a rack set over acookie sheet. I use a cookie cooling rack with the legs folded down. Pat itwith a paper towel. Place the porcini, peppercorns, and fennel seeds in a spicemill.

I use a coffee grinder that I use exclusively for spices. Once ground toa powder, pour into a small dish and mix in the salt. Thoroughly coat the chicken with theporcini powder. Run a little under the skin but most of it should on the skin.Place the cookie sheet in the fridge uncovered overnight. This removes themoisture from the skin resulting in a super crispy end result. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees andremove the chicken from the fridge.

Heat the oil and butter in an oven safeskillet over medium high heat. When the butter and oil are super hot, add thechicken skin side down. Cook for four minutes, pressing down on the chicken witha large spatula. As it cooks, spoon some of the butter and oil over the top ofthe chicken. Flip the chicken over and cook forapproximately 20-25 more minutes, until almost done. Flip on the broiler andbroil for the last 3-4 minutes.

Watch it carefully - you don't want to burn itand ruin all your hard work. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside torest. Try to resist picking at the skin. Then say "screw it, I'm thecook" and steal a piece like I obviously did in the above picture. If youare feeling fancy, make the pan sauce and serve on the side. Otherwise, dig in MushroomShallot Sherry Vinegar Pan Sauce Place the skillet you cooked the chickenin over medium high heat and add the shallots and mushrooms.

Cook for 4-5minutes until the shallots and mushrooms are golden. Add the flour and stir for1-2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and vinegar and cook down for 4-5 minutes.Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve the sauce on the side