150 Part II: Now You’re Cooking! Healthy and Hearty Dishes
Popular Poultry Cooking Methods
Cooking methods are especially important when preparing poultry because
it’s an easy food to overcook. Dry, overcooked poultry is difficult to eat
because it’s likely to get stuck when passing through the pouch or gastric
band. By learning the following two methods for properly cooking various
types of poultry to make them moist, tender, and flavorful, you’ll be more
eager to cook high-quality meats and improve your protein intake.Sautéing
When you sauté food, you cook it in a preheated pan or griddle with a small
amount of added fat such as oil or butter. Because you start with a hot pan
and fat, the cooking time is short (usually under seven minutes), which
makes sautéing a popular method. Keeping an eye on the cooking food when
you sauté is easy to do, and it’s actually an important guideline because
unmonitored sautéed food can overcook quickly. Because food cooks so
quickly, pieces of meat need to be small and uniform so that the inside isn’t
still undercooked when the outside is burning.Roasting
Roasting, if done correctly, can be a great way to cook large cuts of poultry. If
done with a roasting rack, it sears the juices in from all sides, whereas baking
only sears the top. To roast, place in a shallow pan with a baking rack to liftConsidering free-range and organic chicken
When shopping for chicken, you may notice
some labels indicating that the product is free
range or organic. Free range means the birds
have access to the outside, as opposed to living
their whole lives in small cages. The demand
for free-range chicken has grown because
people think that the birds are treated more
humanely. However, no standard is in place
for how much space or time birds need out-
side the coop. You may think of the chickenshappily pecking around the grass, but their “free
range” may be a small plot of dirt or gravel.Organic chicken must meet stricter stan-
dards. The birds must have access to the out-
doors, and their indoor space is larger than
nonorganic birds. They’re fed certified organic
feed and treated with antibiotics only when
needed, not routinely, and probiotics are often
used to replace growth-promoting drugs.
With all these requirements, you can see why
organic chicken costs more.