Chicken Recipes

Chickens are social animals with complex vocalizations and behaviors, and feature prominently in folklore, religion, and literature across many societies. Their economic importance makes them a central component of global animal husbandry and agriculture. A large chicken (around 1.5kg/3lbs 5oz) will feed a family of four with leftovers for a salad or pasta dish the next day. A stock can be made from the carcass and turned into a risotto or broth on the third night. It’s often considerably cheaper to buy a whole chicken and joint it yourself, than to buy ready-prepared breasts and leg joints. Whole chickens tend to be sold trussed (tied with string) – remove this and pull the legs gently away from the body to ensure even cooking.

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This involves complete withdrawal of food (and sometimes water) for 7–14 days89 or sufficiently long to cause a body weight loss of 25 to 35%,90 or up to 28 days under experimental conditions.91 This stimulates the hen to lose her feathers but also re-invigorates egg-production. In 2003, more than 75% of all flocks were moulted in the US.92 Chickens are one of the most efficient sources of foods for many different purposes. As of 2023, the global chicken population exceeds 26.5 billion, with more than 50 billion birds produced annually for consumption. Specialized breeds such as broilers and laying hens have been developed for meat and egg production, respectively.

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• Their economic importance makes them a central component of global animal husbandry and agriculture.
• Value chickens for well under a fiver, free-range, organic, corn fed – there’s a cornucopia of options.
• Sprinkling the skin with sea salt before roasting will help to crisp it up.
• The plight of the cheap chicken has been much publicised and as such the consumer now has more choice than ever.
• A stock can be made from the carcass and turned into a risotto or broth on the third night.

Defrost the chicken in the fridge (it can take around 2 days), then allow it to stand uncovered out of the fridge for no more than half an hour before cooking. The plight of the cheap chicken has been much publicised and as such the consumer now has more choice than ever. Value chickens for well under a fiver, free-range, organic, corn fed – there’s a cornucopia of options. Budget, ethics and taste all come into the equation but what almost all chefs, cooks and food writers agree on is that a good-quality, free-range bird is vastly superior in flavour to a cheap factory-farmed bird.

Sprinkling the skin with sea salt before roasting will help to crisp it up. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes after cooking, and before carving, and you’ll be rewarded with a pool of flavoursome pan juices that can be served as they are, or thickened with a little flour and stretched with a splash of wine or stock for gravy. A whole chicken can be frozen for up to 9 chicken road months if well-wrapped to stop any air getting in.

Fragrant chicken meatballs are served with a creamy coconut sauce spiked with sweet and spicy sriracha.

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Each serving provides 570 kcal, 46g protein, 55g carbohydrate (of which 5.5g sugars), 16g fat (of which 4.2g saturates), 12g fibre and 2.3g salt. BBC Food has hundreds of delicious chicken recipes from classic roast chicken to the ultimate chicken soup. Try our quick chicken recipes for stir-fries, traybakes and pasta. Each serving provides 510 kcal, 47.5g protein, 13.4g carbohydrate (of which 3.5g sugars), 29.9g fat (of which 17.7g saturates), 1.5g fibre and 0.73g salt. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a hearty chicken, butternut squash and kale stew.