Baking Chicken
All You Need to Know About Baking Chicken
Baking chicken is so much healthier than frying, so everyone should know how to do it properly. You eat fewer calories when baking instead of frying, and they are healthier calories, too.
First off, you'll need one whole chicken that you have cut up into parts, or six chicken breasts. For seasoning, you will need salt, pepper, your favorite herbs or marinade, and olive oil.
The equipment you'll need for baking chicken includes a baking dish, an oven, (obviously), a sharp kitchen knife and a meat thermometer.
Next, you will need to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While it pre-heats, rinse your chicken or chicken breasts thoroughly with water. Be sure to wash any surface that your raw chicken has come into contact with, using soap and water. Alternately, you can clean the area with some bleach and water, or another cleaning product, to make sure none of your other foods are contaminated with the types of bacteria present on or in the raw chicken.
Coat each piece of chicken with olive oil, on both sides, and place the oiled chicken pieces into your baking dish. If you want your chicken marinated, this is the time to drizzle your flavored marinade over each piece. You can add any herbs that you like cooking with to the chicken after you marinade each piece – some herbs you might enjoy include oregano, rosemary or thyme. Use fresh spices for the best taste, or dried spices if you can't find fresh.
To begin baking chicken, you will place the baking dish into the over, without covering it. Bake it at 350 degrees for an hour and a half. Leave it in a bit longer, if needed, until the skin is a golden and rich brown color.
Use your meat thermometer to check the temperature of the baking chicken – be sure to put it in the thickest part of each chicken piece, to make sure they are getting cooked all the way through. When the temperature of the chicken pieces is 170 degrees (or 180 degrees if you selected thigh pieces of chicken), they are ready to be removed from the oven.
Find the deepest part of the chicken, and cut the meat there. If the meat is not pink, and the chicken juice you can see is clear, that means the chicken is done. Make sure that your chicken is fully cooked. If it is not cooked properly, it can cause food poisoning.
You may add a few more herbs to taste, if you desire, and dress up your baked chicken with a sprig of parsley.
Now you're ready to serve your chicken. You will be pleased at the smiles on the faces of your guests as you serve them a tasty dish of chicken. They won't even know just how easy baking chicken was, for you. Enjoy!