Month: January 2018
People want to eat healthy foods today, and a good way to accomplish that is
through poultry. There are some chicken cooking tips that can help you in the
kitchen and protect your family as well.
Here are a few of the best chicken cooking tips available.
You must take care to always wash your hands, knife, and cutting board in
hot soapy water after preparing raw poultry.
You should never use the same utensils and cutting board for other
ingredients without thoroughly washing them first and after use. This
prevents cross contamination.
You should always marinate poultry in the refrigerator. Never leave it out
in the open.
Do not use the poultry marinade for basting.
If the marinade is to be used for the basis of a sauce, bring it to a boil
and boil for 2 minutes.
Never put cooked poultry on the same plate that was used to transport raw
poultry. Again, this prevents cross contamination.
Here are some chicken cooking tips for storing your poultry:
Fresh poultry is a very perishable food. You should not leave it out in the
open air. Instead, wrap it in plastic as soon as you get it home from the
store and always store it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. You
should use it within two days; if this is not possible, place it in a freezer
bag and freeze for up to three months. You should always freeze giblets and
livers separately from the whole bird.
Cooked poultry dishes can be frozen. However, you should not freeze poultry
dishes that contain mayonnaise or hard-boiled eggs.
Allow small poultry dishes to cool completely before wrapping and freezing
them. Allow larger items to cool in the refrigerator and then wrap airtight
and freeze.
You should never freeze stuffed poultry.
Some of the most important chicken cooking tips involve proper thawing of the
bird.
It is especially important that the poultry be properly thawed before cooking.
Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator while it is in the original wrapper.
You can place it on a tray to catch any drips that may fall as it thaws.
When thawing in the refrigerator is not possible because there is not enough
time, there are two other alternatives. For rapid thawing, you can put the
bird in watertight wrapping and then submerge in cold water. You should
change the water frequently as this will help quicken the process. Smaller
birds require about one to two hours.
The other alternative is to leave the bird in its wrapper and put it into a
heavy paper grocery bag. Close up the bag and put it into a cool room. You
will need to check it frequently, and once the bird is thawed, you must cook
it immediately.
Now for the Turkey!
Turkey is a long time favorite of many families and now there are some great
cooking tips tricks that anyone can learn and use to better prepare these
wonderful birds.
Herbs are fun and easy to grow. When harvested they make even the simplest meal seem like a gourmet delight. By using herbs in your cooking you can easily change the flavors of your recipes in many different ways, according to which herbs you add. Fresh herbs are great in breads, stews, soups or vegetables. Every time you add a different herb you have completely changed the taste.
If you are a beginner start slowly, add just a little at a time adjusting as you go along until you have it just right. You will see in most instances that an individual herb is associated with a particular food item. Basil is paired with tomatoes, Oregano with sauces, Rosemary with lamb and Chives with butter or cream cheese. Of course, none of them are limited to these items, but you will see them paired most often with that particular food. Use your imagination and experiment, experiment, experiment!
You can make herb vinegars for salad dressings, marinades, or soups. Herb oils are very useful in cooking whenever a recipe calls for it.
Fresh herbs as garnishes dress up any dish making it look truly spectacular. Lay individual sprigs of rosemary over broiled lamb chops. Chop fresh parsley and sprinkle it over the top of your potato salad. The combinations are endless and the outcome delicious.
Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for several days but then you must freeze them. They can be frozen by laying them a paper towel and putting them in a plastic bag. Once they are frozen only use them in cooking not as garnishes. A friend of mine washes them, puts them an ice cube tray, covers them with water and then freezes them. When she needs them for soup, stews or sauces she just drops a cube in.
My favorite herbs to grow are basil, oregano, lemon balm, parsley and mint. Mint is great but is careful; mint can over run your garden. A tip here would be to bury an empty coffee can and plant the mint in it. The can prevents the mint from “creeping” all through your garden.
I love to make herb butters. Take a half of a cup of softened butter and mix in about 4 tablespoons of a fresh herb. Lay out a piece of saran wrap, place the butter in the middle roll the saran wrap up to form a “log” out of the butter. Put in the refrigerator and anytime you need a pat of butter just cut it off the “log”. (Hints for “log” butter: potatoes, bread, steaks, noodles or any kind of sauce).
A fresh herb in any salad dressing really makes it sparkle. You can use any herb or a combination, be creative.
I learned a trick a long time ago using basil, lemon and avocados to create and instant natural face mask. Put a big handful of basil in a blender and run it on high. Once the basil has been pulverized, throw in a half of an avocado and a large teaspoon of lemon juice, mix until smooth. Wash your face, pat it dry and gently rub the avocado mixture on. Leave it on as long as you like, then use warm water to it wash off.
These are just a few ways you can use fresh herbs from your garden. I am sure you will come up with many more. Happy cooking