Cooking Chicken Right: From Juicy Breasts to a Whole Roast Bird

Chicken is a cornerstone of Turkish home cooking: on top of pilaf, in a sauté, on skewers, poached or roasted. It is also the easiest meat to dry out and the easiest to undercook. In this lesson you learn how to avoid both.

Know the parts

• Breast: Lean, quick-cooking and the easiest to dry out. Ideal for schnitzel, sautés, skewers and poaching.
• Thighs and drumsticks: Dark meat with more fat and connective tissue. Forgiving: a few extra minutes and they are still juicy. Great roasted, braised or grilled.
• Wings: A high proportion of skin, so they turn crisp in the oven or on the grill.
• Boneless thigh: What Turkish butchers call "tavuk pirzola", the star of the grill.
• Whole chicken: The most economical choice. Roast it, then turn the bones into stock.

If you are just starting, start with thighs; the margin for error is much wider.

Safety first

• Do not wash raw chicken. Rinsing splashes bacteria onto the sink, the counter and you; cooking kills the bacteria anyway. Just pat it dry with paper towels and throw them away straight after.
• Use a separate board for raw chicken and wash your hands and knife with soap.
• Chicken is safely cooked when its thickest part reaches 74 °C. Insert the thermometer there, without touching bone.
• No thermometer? Pierce the thickest part with a knife: the juices should run clear, and the meat should be white and opaque, not pink.
• Thaw frozen chicken in the fridge, never on the counter.

Marinades: flavour and tenderness

A marinade does two jobs: it adds flavour and, thanks to the salt, helps the meat hold on to its moisture.

• Yoghurt marinade: The classic Turkish secret. Yoghurt, tomato or pepper paste, garlic, chilli flakes, oregano, olive oil and salt. Yoghurt's gentle acidity tenderises. Leave it from 2 hours to overnight.
• Lemon marinade: Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano. Lemon is a strong acid, so 30 minutes to 2 hours is enough; any longer and the surface turns mealy.
• Brine: About 50-60 g of salt (roughly 4 tablespoons) per litre of water. One to two hours in brine is the best insurance against dry breast meat. Rinse, pat very dry and use less salt in the seasoning afterwards.

Always marinate in the fridge, and never serve used marinade without cooking it.

A breast that stays juicy

The main reason breasts dry out is uneven thickness: the thin end overcooks while the thick end is still raw.

1. Even it out. Place the breast between cling film and pound it to about 2 cm with a pan or rolling pin, or slice it in half horizontally.
2. Use a brine or yoghurt marinade.
3. Cook over medium-high heat. A hot pan, a little oil, 4-6 minutes per side. Turn once the first side is golden.
4. Check with a thermometer. Take it off around 72 °C; it will reach 74 °C as it rests.
5. Rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Whole roast chicken

1. Salt the chicken at least an hour ahead, ideally the night before, and leave it uncovered in the fridge; the skin dries and crisps beautifully.
2. Heat the oven to 200 °C (190 °C fan).
3. Pat the bird dry. Mix butter with garlic, thyme and black pepper and push it under the skin with your fingers.
4. Tuck half a lemon and a few garlic cloves inside. Tying the legs is optional but keeps a neat shape.
5. Spread chunky potatoes, onion and carrot in the tray and set the chicken on top.
6. A 1.5 kg bird needs about 60-75 minutes. The thickest point between thigh and body should read 74 °C, and the leg should wiggle freely.
7. Rest for 10-15 minutes, then carve.

Put the leftover bones in a pot with water, onion, carrot and a bay leaf and simmer for 1.5-2 hours: tomorrow's soup is sorted.

Common mistakes

• Washing the chicken.
• Overcooking breasts "just to be safe" by eye.
• Crowding the pan and steaming the chicken.
• Putting cooked chicken back on the plate that held it raw.

The more you practise, the more chicken becomes the ingredient you trust most. Buy a thermometer; it pays for itself in the first month.