Tips for cooking Chicken

For a richer flavor, season and marinate your chicken for 24 hours before cooking and store it in the refrigerator. The longer you keep chicken in a marinade, the more it’ll be infused with flavor.

To keep meals healthier, marinate chicken in seasoned fruit juice or chicken broth or use Canola Oil for oil-based marinades before grilling or broiling. Always store chicken in the fridge while it marinates, even if you only plan to let it soak for 30 minutes.

Use bold seasonings like freshly grated lemon peel, minced hot peppers, fresh herbs, and infused vinegars to add flavor to chicken dishes without adding fat.

Drying out chicken by overcooking it can ruin its taste. To get around this problem, use a cooking thermometer to determine when your chicken is cooked just right. The internal temperature of a whole chicken should reach 180 degrees F and chicken breasts should be cooked to a temperature of 170 degrees F. Another way to see if chicken is done is to pierce the thickest part of the meat to see if the juices run clear. If they’re clear and not pink, the chicken is ready.

Brine your chicken One of the best ways to cook a very juicy, tender, and flavorful chicken is to soak it in salt water, also known as brine, before cooking. To create good brine, dissolve a half-cup of salt and a half-cup of brown sugar in a gallon of water. Immerse the chicken completely in the solution and place it in the refrigerator right away. You may want to weight the chicken with a plate to keep it completely immersed. Let the chicken soak in the brine for 3 to 12 hours. Before cooking the chicken, make sure to rinse off the excess brine with fresh water and dry completely with paper towels. Brine works by allowing moisture to pass through the meat more easily. This process adds moisture to chicken, infuses the meat with more flavor, and shortens cooking time. It’s important to note that brined chicken will cook faster than chicken that has not been pre-treated, because water is a better conductor of heat than meat.

Grilled Garlic-Herb Chicken Unconventional
The combination of exotic ingredients comes together perfectly to form an altogether delicious grilled chicken.

* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 cup Canola Harvest oil
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 tablespoon honey
* 1/2 teaspoon saffron
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1 pinch dried sage

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place chicken in a shallow dish. In a medium bowl, mix together the Canola Harvest oil, sugar, honey, saffron, garlic, basil, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, oregano, parsley, and sage. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover, and marinate 20 to 25 minutes in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the grill for medium heat.

3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Discard marinade, and place chicken on the grill. Cook for 10 minutes on each side, or until exterior is charred and juices run clear.