Boiled chicken is notorious for usually being tasteless, but there are many ways to infuse it with unique flavor. The liquid you cook it in, the vegetables you use to cook it can greatly change its taste. Read on to find out how to cook chicken in the most appetizing way possible.

Boiled chicken is known for its tastelessness, but you can still add rich flavor and aroma to it. Seasonings and the liquid in which you are going to cook meat and vegetables will help you with this. And, of course, you need knowledge on how to cook chicken.

Chicken meat is rich in proteins and much lower in calories than beef. It can be prepared in all sorts of ways, but boiling is the easiest. The chicken can be cooked in parts or whole. The meat turns out tender this way, so if the recipe calls for ready-made chicken meat, then cook it this way.

How to boil a whole chicken

If the chicken was frozen, it needs to be thawed. Sometimes frozen meat can be thawed before cooking, but if you put a whole frozen chicken in boiling water, it will most likely explode.

Take a large saucepan and fill it 2/3 full with cold water and add salt. Place whole or cut chicken into water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then you can lower the heat and simmer over low heat. A medium-sized chicken takes about 1 hour to cook.

Boneless fillet

Boneless fillets, such as breasts, should be placed in a saucepan and filled with cold water to cover the breasts. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. To check if the breasts are ready, you need to pierce them - if the meat is pink in the middle, then it is not ready. Unlike beef, poultry with blood is dangerous to eat.

Chicken pieces with bone

Now you know how to boil chicken. However, I invite the curious to dive into the details with me.

Even children and teenagers usually know how to cook chicken. This seems to be the simplest thing. However, here you will need to be careful. First you need to prepare the bird.

If you have frozen meat rather than chilled meat, you must first defrost it. Then it is better to remove excess moisture from it, for example, with kitchen paper. And then rinse in cool water.

Learn how to cook a whole chicken

Boiled chicken is sometimes used as a second course. How to cook chicken so that it retains all its vitamins and nutrients, and also has a distinct taste, and how long should it take?

To start, take a large saucepan. This is important for a whole carcass. Fill it about 65%. That is, 2/3. Place the saucepan on the fire.

You need to put our chicken in already boiling water, this will make the meat soft and juicy inside. As soon as the chicken is in boiling water, the boiling will stop for a while. Soon the water will boil again. And you will need to remove the foam formed from the bird.

After 15 minutes, salt the water and add peeled but not chopped vegetables: onions and carrots. Apart from them, you don’t need to add anything, the chicken broth will turn out delicious anyway. Now all that remains is to cook the chicken until done.

How do you know if the chicken is already cooked? Take a fork and stick it into the thick part of the chicken drumstick. If it goes in easily, the chicken is ready.

But as a guide, I will give you the approximate cooking time for a whole medium-sized carcass: it is approximately 60 minutes.

Finding out how to boil an old chicken

How to cook an old chicken

Let's say your chicken was left in the freezer, or you picked up a carcass at the market and didn't realize that it was old.

If the bird was old, its skin will be rough and golden in color and the fat inside will be yellow. Old chicken breasts are also very firm.

Well then. You can also cook chicken like this. In addition, the most delicious broth is made from old chicken! The most transparent and fragrant.

So, here they are, the secrets to boiling old chicken.

First you need to prepare the chicken, do everything as in the case of a fresh carcass. Then place the chicken in a saucepan and fill it with cold water.

Now place the saucepan on the already heated heating element. Bring the water to boiling water, skim off the foam from the carcass, and slightly reduce the heat or gas. You need to cook the chicken for about 40 minutes. Keep an eye on the chicken during this time. The foam may have to be removed several times.

Then add spices to the broth. Carrots, onions, parsley, and celery are suitable. All this beauty should be simmered over low heat for a couple of hours. Maybe even three.

How to cook chicken quickly?

You can cook chicken quickly, but to do this you need to divide it into parts: breast, legs, thighs - divide everything. Cutting will also take time, but the chicken will cook much faster. At the same time, the taste of both chicken and broth will be the same.

How much and how to cook different parts of chicken?

Chicken breasts freed from bones and skin are boiled for 15-20 minutes. Thin breasts will need about 15 minutes. Large ones – 20.

The breast on the bone will take longer to cook, up to 30 minutes. Since the breast is bone-in, it automatically thickens. At the same time, the time required to cook it increases.

Boneless, skinless chicken tenderloin cooks very quickly, within 10 minutes. These pieces of chicken are very thin, so they cook quickly.

Chicken thighs with bones will take about 40 minutes to cook. The cooking time increases due to the fact that the thighs contain bones and dark meat.

Chicken drumsticks are cooked for 30-40 minutes. Depends on the size.

The benefits of chicken meat

Chicken meat is very tender and light, and is digested by the body very well. Chicken is also rich in beneficial nutrients. The female half of the population is often attracted to chicken meat due to its low calorie content - only 238 calories per 100 g of product.

Chicken meat helps people trying to lose weight, as well as those who have problems with the cardiovascular system. Chicken is good for children and the elderly.

Of course, anyone who wants to reap the benefits of chicken must know how to cook chicken. After reading this article, you have, of course, already acquired this knowledge. Good luck in your culinary career!

Chicken meat is rich in proteins and much lower in calories than beef. It can be prepared in all sorts of ways, but boiling is the easiest. The chicken can be cooked in parts or whole. The meat turns out tender this way, so if the recipe calls for ready-made chicken meat, then cook it this way.

Whole chicken

If the chicken was frozen, it needs to be thawed. Sometimes frozen meat doesn't need to be thawed before cooking, but if you put a whole frozen chicken in boiling water, it will likely explode.

Take a large saucepan and fill it 2/3 full with cold water and add salt. Place whole or cut chicken into water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then you can lower the heat and simmer over low heat. A medium-sized chicken takes about 1 hour to cook.

Boneless fillet

Boneless fillets, such as breasts, should be placed in a saucepan and filled with cold water until it covers the breasts. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. To check if the breasts are ready, you need to pierce them - if the meat is pink in the middle, then it is not ready. Unlike beef, poultry with blood is dangerous to eat.

Chicken pieces with bone

Legs, thighs, breasts with bones are cooked for 30 minutes.

To obtain chicken broth, simply boil the chicken.

Many recipes begin with the words: “Cut the boiled chicken into a salad into oblong pieces...”. Or even like this: “Fry the blanched chicken...”. Perhaps culinary experts from God believe that an ordinary person is already born with the knowledge of how and how much to cook a whole chicken. But that's not true. Moreover, there are many ways to boil chicken. This can be done in a regular saucepan or you can connect modern kitchen appliances to the task. A double boiler, for example, is convenient because during cooking, beneficial substances do not pass from the meat into the water. And here we need to take into account what kind of chicken dish we plan to make. Bouillon? Then both the cooking method and the time spent on the process will be different. If in the future we bake or fry the chicken, then it will be blanched or poached beforehand. This takes very little time. In a word, in this article we will pay attention to methods of cooking chicken, and especially the whole carcass.

Broiler chickens and poultry

It's no secret that the taste of a dish directly depends on the quality of its ingredients. Many housewives, wanting to cook chicken, go to the supermarket to buy it. But the products of poultry farms are sold there. To make chickens grow faster, they are fed special feed, hormones and antibiotics. Of course, all these not entirely useful substances “settle” in the meat and, as a result, in our bodies. The poor chickens never even saw daylight during their very short lives and were constantly stressed. This directly affects the quality of broiler meat. But these chickens look fatty and juicy, with white skin. They don't cook for long. True, the broth from them turns out to be tasteless.

Domestic chickens are sold in markets. They do not look as impressive as broilers: less fatty, with yellowish pimpled skin. But they ate natural food. Poultry is good for broth. The answer to the question of how long to cook a whole chicken also depends on its age. Young chickens cook faster, older birds take longer. It is believed that the most delicious boiled meat is that of a rooster. It is stringy and takes a long time to cook, but the broth made from it is very healthy and rich. European cuisine also uses fowl and capons - castrated chickens and roosters, the meat of which is especially tender. But in our open spaces you will not find birds of this type.

Blanching, poaching, cooking

Now let's look at ways to cook chicken using hot water. Blanching cannot be called cooking in the truest sense of the word. The French invented this culinary technique. It consists of quickly treating foods - meat, vegetables, almonds - with boiling water (steam or hot vegetable oil). This technique allows you to “seal” the juices inside the chicken. It is used when you plan to fry or bake meat in the future. The chicken is dipped in boiling water. When the water begins to gurgle again, the meat is taken out. It remains raw and will only lighten. That’s why the technique is called “blanching”, from the French word blanchir - “to bleach.”

Poaching is short cooking in a small amount of water, milk or in its own juice. The chicken is dipped into cold liquid and cooked covered. The technique allows you to obtain juice, which can then be used for sauce. How long does it take to cook a whole chicken in the poaching mode? It depends on the size of the bird. You should not look at the clock, but regularly look into the stewpan. The released juice will indicate that the meat has cooked sufficiently.

And finally, the actual cooking. We will pay special attention to this method.

Water: what should it be like?

Before we get down to figuring out the question “how long to cook a whole chicken until done,” let’s look at the beginning of the culinary process. What kind of water should you put the carcass in - cold or hot? The answer to this question depends on what you plan to do with the chicken next. If you fry, bake, or use for salads, throw it in boiling water. From high temperature, the blood will immediately clot and remain inside the fibers. Therefore, the meat will become juicy and tasty. But if you want to prepare a tasty, rich, aromatic broth, put the bird only in cold water. As the meat heats up, it will release fat and other substances into the liquid. That's why the soup will be delicious.

How long does it take to simmer a whole chicken in a stock pot?

From the above information, it becomes clear that the methods of cooking meat with hot water depend on the dish being prepared. So, option one: broth. Fill the gutted carcass with cold water. Put the pan on the fire. What should it be like? Many cooks believe that at the beginning of cooking the flame should be made strong. But as soon as the water reaches a boil, the heat should be reduced to low. It is necessary to remove the “noise” - the released blood. If this is not done, the broth will turn out cloudy and have an unpleasant odor. Then the roots for the soup are put into the pan - onions, parsley, carrots and celery. How long does it take to cook a whole chicken after boiling? This also depends on the size and age of the bird. Broilers will be ready in 60 minutes. Homemade chicken takes about two hours to cook. A wiry rooster will require 30 minutes more time. It should be said that meat after prolonged processing becomes less tasty, although edible. Therefore, the thought of overly economical housewives, “I’ll make some broth, and then from the same chicken I’ll make Kiev cutlets” is a bad idea.

How to cook jellied meat

Rooster is best suited for this dish. Its meat contains a lot of gelling substances, which is what is required for the jellied meat to harden. But you can also prepare a dish from homemade chicken. True, then you will have to add a little edible gelatin to the broth. We begin to prepare the jellied meat in the same way as the broth. Fill the carcass with cold water, after boiling, reduce the heat and skim off the foam. The only difference is how long it takes to cook a whole chicken for jellied meat. Three hours, no less! It is necessary that the meat is boiled so much that it falls off the bones and crumbles into fibers. Rooster jellied meat takes about five hours to prepare.

How long should you cook a whole chicken for other dishes?

It happens that we need ready-made meat. Many dietary dishes are made from boiled chicken. It is also added to salads, such as Caesar. To prevent the meat from transferring its taste and aroma to the liquid in which it will be cooked, it is placed in boiling water. Does this increase the cooking time? As soon as we place the chicken in the pan, the water will stop boiling. Soon it will begin to gurgle again. We must turn down the noise, reduce the heat, and cover the pan. After 15 minutes, salt the water, add aromatic roots, bay leaves and other spices. Cooking time depends on the size and age of the chicken. On average, the process will take about an hour.

How to tell if chicken is cooked?

To make sure the bird is cooked, you need to pierce the meat with a fork in the thickest part of the carcass, in the drumstick area. The point should go in easily. If juice comes out of the hole, and not ichor, then it’s ready. As you can see, chronometers will not help us much in cooking chicken. There are too many factors to consider. Even the size of the pan and the amount of water can speed up or slow down the process. If you are in a hurry and want to cook the chicken quickly, cut the carcass into pieces. The quarters will be cooked in half an hour (for broilers) and 45 minutes (for poultry).

Cooking with kitchen assistants

To make our work easier, let’s connect modern technology to our cooking. How long does it take to cook a whole chicken in the microwave? Just 20 minutes at full power. But in the middle of the process you should turn the carcass over. In a slow cooker, the whole bird is cooked for an hour in the “Stew” mode. The result is very healthy meat that is processed with steam rather than water. But the process of cooking chicken in this unit will take 45 minutes. From the pressure cooker, meat can be served to the table in just 20 minutes.

All nutritionists in the world unanimously stop debating when it comes to the nutritional qualities of chicken. Indeed, among all types of meat this is rightfully considered the most useful. Chicken should be in the diet of everyone who cares about their health: it is a wonderful source of protein with a minimum of fat. Even those on a strict diet could use a piece of flavorful meat or a bowl of broth.

No one will argue that boiled meat is much healthier than fried, baked or even stewed. But sometimes experienced housewives sometimes doubt: how long to cook chicken? Is it sitting on the stove too long? Or maybe too little? It couldn’t be easier to decide on the second one - pick the meat with a fork: if in the depths, near the bone, it remains pink, if you find blood, let the chicken cook further. But readiness is more difficult to determine. It is a misconception that chicken only becomes edible when the meat falls off the bones. In fact, this phenomenon means something else: you have overcooked the poor bird, which will negatively affect both its nutritional and taste qualities. However, such chicken is quite suitable for jellied meat - but not in a salad or as a main course.

In fact, only old, so-called broth chickens require long-term heat treatment. Their meat is tough and stringy, and it should be cooked for at least two hours, or even three. In general, the duration of preparation of the dish directly depends on the age of the bird: it is enough to keep the carcass of a young chicken in boiling water for 20 minutes, for an adult, but not old, domestic chicken - three times longer. Broiler parts (legs, thighs, drumsticks) become edible in half an hour, and white meat (breast), wings and giblets - in 20-25 minutes, liver - in 10-15.

How and how much to cook chicken for salad? It is better to throw the fillet into boiling water rather than into cold water: the meat will then retain its juiciness, but the main thing is that all the beneficial substances will remain inside, without having time to go into the broth. In this case, it should be kept on fire for no more than 15 minutes.

Chicken soup is a wonderful dietary dish. It is recommended to give it to the sick to restore strength, and even healthy people enjoy the golden yellow broth. But the meat sometimes leaves much to be desired. Tell me, how long should I cook the chicken if even after three hours on the stove it is still tough?.. There is a well-known culinary trick: to make the meat softer and more tender, before cooking it should be rubbed with lemon or lightly marinated by sprinkling with vinegar. And then even a very old bird will “look younger.” But do not keep it in the marinade for a long time, as you would for shish kebab, otherwise the meat will acquire a noticeable sourish taste.

Image source: ambooba.ru

Such a seemingly simple task as cooking chicken requires a special approach and care. First of all, it needs to be prepared. If your chicken was completely frozen, then you need to defrost it first. Then wipe it with a kitchen towel to remove moisture. Then it needs to be scorched over gas to remove excess hairs that remain after plucking the feathers. Then rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water.

Why is molding needed?

Shaping is usually done to give the chicken its proper appearance. The chicken carcass is formed into a “pocket”. To do this, you need to make small cuts in the skin of the abdomen and tuck the joints of the legs into them, the wings must be trimmed and tucked towards the back. That's it, your chicken is ready to cook.

Cooking chicken correctly

Boiled chicken is used to serve as a second course. How to cook chicken correctly so that it remains tasty and healthy, for how long?

Take a larger pan and fill it with water, about two-thirds full. Put it on fire. You need to put the chicken in boiling water, then the meat will turn out soft and tender, since the skin proteins quickly coagulate and all the juice remains inside. When you place the chicken in a pot of boiling water, the boiling will stop temporarily. After the water boils again, remove the foam from the surface, turn on low heat and cover the pan with a lid.

After fifteen minutes, salt the water, add the whole onion and carrots to it. Apart from these ingredients, you don’t need to add anything; all other spices will drown out the natural taste of chicken broth. Now cook the chicken on low heat until done. It will be ready when you can easily pierce the thickened part of the leg with a fork. The approximate cooking time for a medium-sized chicken is about an hour. Unless, of course, your chicken was bought in a store and not purchased at one of the village markets, then the cooking method changes a little.

How to cook an old chicken

The age of chickens that are raised for stores at the poultry farm is strictly controlled. The same cannot be said about chickens sold in markets; they may well turn out to be old. The age of a chicken is determined strictly by skin color and bone condition. An old chicken will have rough, golden-colored skin and bright yellow inner fat. The ribcage is incredibly hard, which can be seen by lightly pressing on it with your fingers.

If, by chance, you suddenly bought just such a chicken or you got it as a gift from your grandmother, do not be discouraged under any circumstances. The broth from such chicken will be incredibly tasty, transparent and fragrant. Of course, subject to the little secrets that we will now share with you.

Like the previous time, the chicken needs to be prepared, everything remains the same here. Then place the chicken in the pan first and only then fill it with cold water. Place the saucepan over high heat. After bringing the water to a boil, skim off any foam that has formed (you may have to do this more than once), reduce the gas slightly and cook the chicken for about forty minutes. Now it's time for seasonings and spices. There is no need to limit yourself here. Add carrots, onions, celery and parsley to the broth. Cook everything over low heat for two to three hours.

Cook chicken quickly

To save time and cook chicken quickly, divide it into several parts before cooking. The taste will remain the same, but it will take much less time.

1. It is better to defrost frozen chicken first. This will cook the meat more evenly and quickly.
2. If there is no time to defrost, place frozen meat only in cold water. The cooking time after boiling the water will have to be increased by 10–20 minutes depending on the size of the chicken.
3. Before cooking, the meat should be thoroughly rinsed under cold running water.
4. If you need rich flavor, place the meat in cold water. It will give it its taste and aroma. And if you want the chicken to be juicy and tasty, put it in boiling water.
5. For a tasty broth, add salt at the end of cooking, and for tasty meat - at the beginning.
6. The water should completely cover the chicken. If you cook it whole, take a larger pan.
7. Cook the chicken over moderate heat without a lid. During the cooking process, it is necessary to remove the resulting foam.
8. Meat can be made more flavorful by adding onion, bay leaf, ground black pepper or other seasonings to the water. They should be added when the water with the chicken boils.
9. Old meat will take longer to cook than recommended below. To speed up the process, cook the old chicken not whole, but only. To make the meat softer, pre-marinate it in lemon juice for about an hour.

The cooking time is counted after the water with the chicken boils.

To make sure the chicken is done, pierce it with a knife or fork. The cutters should fit easily into the meat as it will be soft.

How long to cook a whole chicken

A whole medium carcass is cooked for about 1 hour. If the chicken is large, the time will have to be increased by 20–30 minutes.

How long to cook chicken breasts

Boneless, skinless breasts will be ready in about 15 to 20 minutes. In this case, it is better to cut the fillet in half or into large pieces. Breasts with bones and skin on take a little longer to cook - about 30 minutes.

How long to cook chicken legs

Whole legs need to cook for about 40 minutes. Thighs with bones and skin on are cooked for about 40 minutes, and drumsticks for about 30 minutes. Fillet - 10–15 minutes less.

How long to cook chicken wings

It will take 30-35 minutes to cook the wings.

How long to cook chicken giblets

Prepares quickly - about 15 minutes. should be cooked for about 40 minutes, but before that they should be left in milk or salted cold water for 40–60 minutes.

The stomachs are boiled for 1–1.5 hours. Please note that, unlike other parts of the chicken, the stomachs must be placed in cold water. If you put them in boiling water, they will become hard.