Previously, you could often find French coquelet chickens (cockerel) weighing 600-650 grams on sale in the frozen department. But lately, domestic small chickens, our so-called gherkins, from 550 to 700 grams, have begun to appear more and more often on store shelves, I have never seen anything smaller. Sometimes it is very convenient to cook such chickens, because one piece will be enough for a serving, that is, for one person. Those who like to dig into bones will especially enjoy it.

When cooked, the chickens turn out very tasty, and thanks to a simple technique, they are also very juicy. In general, there are only advantages, not counting only the price, which for some reason is unreasonably overpriced, in my opinion.

We will prepare the ingredients for cooking gherkin chicken in the oven according to the list. Remove the chicken from the package and rinse under running water. As a rule, they are always clean; there is no need to additionally remove feather residues or resin fluff.

Also wash the thyme and peeled garlic.

Pour one and a half liters of lukewarm water into a deep bowl, add salt and sugar, dissolve them completely.

Place the chicken in the cooled brine and leave in it for about 30 minutes. Due to this, the meat of the small chicken will remain juicy during baking, especially the breast, which dries out instantly in the oven.

Now remove the cockerel from the brine, let the water drain, and place it in the smallest baking dish. Tie the legs with natural twine or kitchen twine, and sprinkle the meat, inside and out, with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Now coarsely chop a clove of garlic, tear off the thyme sprigs, and place in a bowl. Add a tablespoon of high-quality butter to them and put them in the microwave for a minute.

Using a silicone brush, brush the skin of the chicken with aromatic oil, then place the gherkin chicken in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for 30-40 minutes. Continue to lubricate the skin with the remaining oil from time to time. After a while, make a puncture with something sharp on the thigh or chest. If the juice comes out absolutely clean and clear, the chicken is ready.

The size of the finished cockerel is clearly visible against the background of forks and on a regular dinner dish. It really turned out to be one serving, because after removing the bones, there was, I think, about 300 grams of clean meat left, maybe a little more. But the cockerel is really very tasty and juicy, perhaps also due to the cooking method.

In some countries, these chickens are especially popular; they are served several at a time on a large platter - each with a whole cockerel. Have a nice one.

Gherkins are small chickens whose weight starts at 350 grams. Their meat is very tender and juicy. They are great for frying and stewing. They turn out especially tasty. We invite you to familiarize yourself with several ways to prepare this product.

Recipe for chicken gherkins with dates and nuts

For this recipe you will need:

• several (4-5) gutted chickens weighing 400 grams each;
• dried soft dates in the amount of 200 grams;
• peeled almonds in the amount of 100 grams;
• butter - a piece of 50 grams;
• small lemon (juice);
• liquid honey - 1 tablespoon (tablespoon);
• olive oil in the amount of 1 tablespoon (table);
• ground cinnamon, pepper, salt.

Step-by-step preparation of chicken gherkins

1st step

To prepare the filling, remove the seeds from the dates: lightly cut each fruit with a knife. Combine almonds, dates and butter. Grind the ingredients into a viscous paste using a blender.

2nd step

The recipe for gherkin chickens requires preparation of the meat: the carcasses need to be washed and dried. Only after this they are stuffed with minced meat. The lower holes should be sewn up with thread. Rub the outside of the chicken with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet. Place the chickens on it, breast side up. The oven should be heated to 170 degrees and a baking sheet should be placed in it. Baking time is approximately an hour.

3rd step

After the specified time, you need to check the readiness of the meat. To do this, pierce the chicken leg with a knife or toothpick at the thickest point. The released juice should be clear in the finished product.

4th step

Prepare a mixture of honey and cinnamon. Brush the chickens and place in the oven for another 5 minutes.

This chicken gherkin recipe calls for uncandied dates. Pay attention to this when choosing a product, otherwise you risk getting not a second course, but a sweet dessert. Serve the meat hot. A vegetable side dish or salad goes well with chicken.

Chicken gherkins in the oven: a recipe for French cuisine

This cooking method is popular in France. For it you will need:

• two small chickens;
• about a dozen small potato roots for garnish;
• a pack (about 200 grams) of butter;
• head of garlic;
• fresh lemon;
• greens (or dried herbs);
• salt and ground pepper.

Technology

This chicken gherkin recipe is not too complicated and quite quick to prepare. First, mix the softened butter with chopped herbs (or dry herbs). Wash the chickens. Place a mixture of greens through the neck (pushing the skin away with your finger). Distribute it over the entire surface. Stuff the carcasses with sliced ​​lemon and garlic cloves. Place the prepared meat on a baking sheet (grease it in advance with oil). Place peeled potatoes around the chickens. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes. Turn the potatoes often and baste them with the juices released from the chicken. Serve the dish hot. Chickens prepared according to the described recipes will be an excellent treat for any table. They can be served on their own or with a side dish. Bon appetit!

If you still think that chickens are called gherkins because of their small size (just like small gherkins), then know that this is not so. There is a funny play on words here - the little birds got their name from the English Cornish hen, which translates as Cornish chicken, a special small breed. Here are a few recipes and tricks that will make them especially delicious.

How to cook chicken gherkins

Today, gherkins are defined as any small chicken weighing approximately 400 grams. Keep in mind that one of these is only enough for one person. And if you are treating a man with a good appetite, then reserve two carcasses per serving.

Typically, such a bird is marinated or soaked in brine so that the meat is saturated with salt and the aroma of spices. However, you need to keep in mind that this bird is very tender and young, so you should not marinate it for more than an hour.

It also cooks quickly - it only takes 30-40 minutes for the meat to cook in a frying pan, on the grill or in the oven. Also, gherkin chickens have very tender and thin bones, and if you spread the bird out and lightly beat it, much like in the “Chicken Tobacco” recipe, you will get a crispy chicken that can be eaten without leaving any bones.

Baked potatoes, fresh or stewed vegetables, and rice are suitable as a side dish for this dish.

Chicken gherkins in the oven with rosemary and garlic

This is the simplest and fastest recipe. But, nevertheless, it is very tasty - you will definitely like the combination of juicy tender meat and crispy, aromatic crust. The taste and smell of garlic and rosemary goes well with chicken.

Ingredients:

• One carcass per serving;
• 3 cloves of garlic and 3 sprigs of rosemary per 1 bird;
• 50 grams of butter;
• Salt, sugar to balance the taste, ground pepper.

Cooking method:

Serve your gherkins on a bed of vegetable stew or a mix of fresh lettuce leaves.

How to cook chicken gherkins with ginger and soy sauce

A dish with an oriental mood will be obtained if you cook it in the oven under the grill with seasonings traditional for this cuisine.

Ingredients:

• Chickens - 3 pieces;
• Spices - nutmeg and ginger powder, salt and pepper;
• 50 ml unsalted soy sauce;
• 50 ml vegetable oil to your taste;
• 7 cloves of garlic;
• Half of one lemon.

Cooking method:

Stuffed chicken gherkin in the oven

This dish is ideal for a holiday table - it is both a hot dish and a side dish, and it looks great. You can also serve one bird per serving.

Ingredients:

• 2 birds;
• 150 grams of long grain rice;
• 300 grams of sweet pumpkin or 1 apple;
• 1 tangerine;
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce;
• 2 teaspoons mild mustard with grains;
• 2 teaspoons of running honey;
• One tablespoon of good vegetable oil is better than walnut, but olive oil is also fine;
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs;
• Half a teaspoon of curry powder;
• A teaspoon of dried paprika;
• Salt pepper.

Cooking method:

How to cook chicken gherkin in a frying pan

If you fry a gherkin in a frying pan, it will be crispy and juicy. A grill pan works well for this, but you can also use a regular one.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken;
• Half a teaspoon of paprika;
• A teaspoon of dried green basil;
• A teaspoon of finely chopped green onions;
• 6 tablespoons of white semi-dry wine;
• Salt;
• Oil for frying.

Cooking method:

Chicken gherkins - a recipe for cooking on the grill

A fragrant and tender dish can also be cooked over coals - chicken gherkins on the grill will be even tastier than the usual kebab. You can cook them whole by threading the carcasses onto a large skewer or skewer, or by spreading them over the breast and placing them on the grill.

08.05.2018

Chicken gherkins are a new culinary concept, born just a few years ago. It comes from the English word “Cornish hen” or “Cornish chicken”. It denotes small broiler carcasses, whose weight starts from 350 g, since they are slaughtered very early. This results in a product characterized by tender and juicy meat.

Experts say that you can work with this type of bird in the same way as with regular chicken: fry, steam, bake, stew. Soups with chicken gherkins are rarely prepared, since this does not reveal the individuality of the product in any way - most recipes aimed at them involve baking, especially the whole chicken. And in order for the meat to show its best sides, it is important to be able to prepare a marinade for chicken gherkins in the oven, which is the focus of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• chicken gherkins – 2 pcs.;
• garlic cloves – 3 pcs.;
• rosemary sprigs – 4 pcs.;
• butter – 40 g;
• water – 1.5 l;
• granulated sugar - 2 tables. spoons;
• salt - 2 table. spoons;
• ground allspice - to taste;
• purple bulb.

Cooking method:

Despite the fact that such a bird reveals itself most effectively when baked or fried whole, you can cook chickens in parts. For example, by stewing them in ceramic pots. Choose the filling according to your taste: from a standard tandem of potatoes and carrots to vegetable stew. The advantage of this dish is that there is no need to make a marinade or add fat to the poultry - it will remain juicy due to the selected dishes.

Ingredients:

• chicken gherkins – 3 pcs.;
• a bunch of parsley;
• a bunch of dill;
• bell pepper;
• tomatoes – 2 pcs.;
• zucchini – 250 g;
• onion;
• lemon – 1/2 pcs.;
• sour cream 10% - 2 tablespoons. spoons;
• coarse sea salt - 1 table. spoon.

Cooking method:

Hearty chicken gherkins in the oven with potatoes

When working with such poultry, it is important to properly process it so that the meat does not come out dry after baking. Basically, experts advise using butter, which is combined with spices. In this recipe, Provençal herbs are added: they add an incredible aroma to the finished dish. The amount of potatoes can be increased, but then some of it will be placed next to the chickens.

Ingredients:

• chicken gherkins – 3 pcs.;
• butter – 50 g;
• ground Provencal herbs – 1 teaspoon. spoon;
• head of garlic;
• potatoes – 5 pcs.;
• lemon;
• salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Why gherkins?

The term “chicken gherkin” appeared quite recently, two or three years ago. This is the same broiler, but it has not reached the required weight for its category. Such specimens weigh only 350 grams, and are only larger in size than quail. That's why they were nicknamed gherkins - in honor of small cucumbers collected before they are fully ripe. It is believed that their meat contains less growth hormones, and this, they say, is better for the health of the people who eat them. It seems that this is a simple marketing ploy to sell the “undersized” ones, because such dwarfs are not spoiled with special food during their lifetime. But we will not delve into the secrets of poultry farms here, but will look at how to cook gherkin chickens. Here are some proven recipes.

Provençal bird

Both broilers and gherkins-chickens are suitable for this dish; the recipe is identical. It is necessary to wash the carcass, remove the skin on the neck (but do not damage it) and put softened butter mixed with Provençal herbs under the skin. Try to distribute this mixture over the entire surface, as far as you can reach with your finger. Squeeze one head of garlic through a press. Mix with sliced ​​lemon. Stuff the belly of the bird with this mixture. A baking sheet should be greased with any fat, chicken carcasses should be placed there, and covered with chopped potatoes (8-10 small tubers will be enough for two gherkins). Season with salt and pepper and place in an oven preheated to medium temperature. Chicken gherkins, the recipe for which we have outlined, ripen for 40 minutes or an hour.

Surprise on the grill

Defrost three or four carcasses, wash and dry. We cut it as for the “Chicken Tobacco” dish, that is, along the breast bone. Squeeze the head of garlic into a deep bowl, add half a teaspoon of grated ginger and nutmeg. Pour in the juice of half a lemon, a quarter cup of soy sauce and the same amount of olive oil. Add spices and salt. Place the chickens in this container and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. After this, place the carcasses on a baking sheet, skin side down, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 220 C. Transfer them to another barrel and bake for another 20 minutes. Chicken gherkins, the recipe of which is reminiscent of cooking shish kebab, can be tried at a picnic when the coals have burned out enough.

How to cook gherkins in pots

Finely chop 4 cloves of garlic, parsley and dill, mix it with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and a spoonful of coarse salt. Rub the mixture inside and outside of two carcasses and leave for two hours in a warm place. Cut bell peppers and carrots into strips, and two potatoes into cubes. Saute the onion in 3 large tablespoons of butter, add vegetables, salt, add spices, and simmer a little. Place the carcasses with vegetables in pots, add a quarter glass of water, and cover with a lid. Then put in a cold oven at 200 C for an hour.

Chicken gherkins - modified recipe

This is a variation on the theme of chickens in pots. Along with bell peppers, you can bake eggplants or zucchini. Tomatoes add color to the dish, but they must first be scalded and peeled.

Variation with bacon

The only problem with gherkins is that their meat is lean, and therefore when baked in the oven it can dry out. To prevent this from happening, try wrapping portioned pieces in... thin slices of bacon. This technique will not only preserve juiciness, but also give the dish a smoked aroma. It would be useful to wrap pitted, scalded prunes in this roll.