Tag: Chicken
Vietnamese Roast Chicken
Vietnamese Roast Chicken
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken pieces. The marinade has a lot of sweet and salty going on. Definitely not for people trying to watch their sugar intake. With that being said give this a try. All of the ingredients aren’t out of the ordinary and can be found at any grocery store.There are many options for the chicken. You can simply buy a whole chicken and cut it up into 10 pieces instead of 8. I would recommend cutting the breast in half so that they are the same size as the thighs. This helps everything cook at the same rate. Another option that you can do is buy all thighs or whole legs, or whatever part of the chicken that you like the best. The marinade is enough for 3lbs of chicken. This chicken is also great on the grill. You would want grill the pieces indirectly. Grill skin side down with the grill covered for about 20 minutes, making sure that the chicken doesn’t burn. Flip it skin side up and cook for another 20 minutes. Depending on how big your chicken pieces are, it will take 4-50 minutes total time. White meat has to be cooked to 160 degrees; dark meat to 180 degrees.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs cut up whole chicken or thighs
- 1/2 cup oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp minced lemongrass
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp cooking wine
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
Instructions
- Mix all marinade ingredients together.
- Marinate the chicken pieces for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 325. Place your chicken thighs on a rack on a baking sheet covered in foil. Roast the chicken thighs for 50 minutes or until the internal temp reads 180 degrees.
- Don’t worry about the chicken looking more “done” than you are used to. This is called caramelization. There is a lot of sugar in the marinade.
Chicken Tinga
Chicken Tinga
Chicken Tinga originates from the state of Puebla, where the Mexican army defeated the French armada in 1862 of the 5th of May, now celebrated as Cinco de Mayo. Tinga can be made out of chicken, pork, or beef, and will always contain tomatoes, onions, and chipotle peppers in adobo. This particular recipe is the most popular way to make chicken tinga in Mexico, but the real authentic version contains chorizo mixed in with the main protein.Chicken Tinga is great served on it’s own as a main dish with rice and beans, but is also great as taco, burrito, and empanada filling as well as a topping for sopes and tostadas.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs skinned, boned, and diced
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3 medium tomatoes diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, add the cooking oil. Sauté onion for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the diced chicken, thyme, and oregano. Cook for 8 minutes until chicken is browned.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
- Add in the chicken stock and bay leaves. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add in the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes on medium heat.
- After the 30 minutes is up, uncover and cook for another 15 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce. Make sure to break up the chipotle peppers in the chicken tinga.
- Chicken Tinga is great served as a main dish with beans and tortillas. It can be used as taco or burrito meat, sopes, empanada filling, or on top of tostadas like you see in the pic.
How To Cut Up A Whole Chicken
The most common question I was asked in my 14 years as a butcher was “How do you cut up a whole chicken?”. It became very shocking to me how many people had zero clue, especially in this day and age where everyone lives on …
Homemade Chicken Stock
Homemade Chicken Stock
This is a very simple chicken stock recipe that requires little prep work with very flavorful results. I save any and all chicken bones that I acquire from processing chicken. I save all of my chicken backs, necks, and wing tips. If I need boneless skinless chicken for a recipe, I will buy either a whole chicken or just the parts and bone it out, then save the bones from the carcass. I also happen to have had a package of chicken feet in my freezer. Feet are great to use in stock and add a lot of collagen to it.If you are looking to have a darker chicken stock with a little more depth in flavor, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put your bones on a large baking sheet pan along with the onions, carrots, and celery. Drizzle a little olive oil over everything. Roast for 30 minutes. Then add everything to the stock pot and simmer for 6 hours. Strain, cool down, and refrigerate over night. The next day you will notice that all of the fat has congealed to the top of the stock. Skim that off and discard.I personally don’t like to add salt to my stock. I think it’s easier to adjust salt levels when you are using the stock in a recipe incase you have to add salt to other ingredients. You can’t take away saltiness, but you can always add more.If you don’t plan on immediately using your stock, it will be good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If you are making a mass quantity for later use like I do, ladle the stock into ice cube trays and freeze. Add them to a gallon sized freezer bag. 3 cubes = about 1/2 cup.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken backs, bones, and feet
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 large onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 1/2 – 2 gallons water
Instructions
- Prep your veggies.
- Add the chicken bones, veggies, peppercorns, and water to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 6 hours.
- Strain the stock in a colander. Let cool and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, you will see that all of the fat has solidified on the top of the stock.
- Skim the fat off the top with a spoon.
- You are now left with clean stock that is congealed from all of the collagen in the bones.
- Slightly heat up the stock until it uncongeals. Ladle the stock into ice cube trays and freeze.
- Once the stock cubes are frozen, put in a gallon sized freezer bag and save for later use. 3 cubes = about 1/2 cup of stock.
