Cooking Tips

Cooking up delicious chicken dishes for any occasion can be a breeze with the right tips. Whether you’re defrosting, preparing, cooking, carving, storing, or reheating chicken, following these tips will help you create a delicious, and safe-to-eat, chicken meal every time.

Defrosting chicken

  • Safely defrost chicken in the fridge to ensure a consistent and safe temperature.
  • Keep chicken in its original packaging while defrosting.
  • Defrost chicken in an oven dish or pan to catch any juices.
  • Always defrost raw chicken away from fresh vegetables and cooked meats.
  • Some chicken products are “cook from frozen,” so check the label for instructions.

Preparing chicken

  • Don’t wash or rinse chicken to prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen.
  • Use a clean plastic chopping board for raw chicken.
  • Wash utensils and surfaces with hot, soapy water after handling raw chicken.
  • Wash your hands thoroughly with warm, soapy water after handling.
  • Season your chicken generously before cooking.

Cooking chicken

  • Ensure chicken is cooked thoroughly before eating – cooking time depends on type and size of chicken cut and style of cooking.
  • Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature – it should be minimum of 76 degrees celsius.
  • If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cook until the juices run clear.
  • Roast, pan fry, deep fry, bake, grill, casserole, steam, hangi, or BBQ chicken to perfection.

Carving chicken

  • Rest your chicken before carving for juicy meat.
  • Use a sharp knife and take your time carving the chicken.

Storing chicken

  • Store raw chicken in the fridge or freezer at the appropriate temperature. Don’t consume if the best before date has expired.
  • Chicken can be frozen and then defrosted ideally in the fridge.
  • Store cooked chicken leftovers in the fridge or freezer for later use.

Reheating chicken

  • Reheat leftovers to at least 70°C for a minimum of 2 minutes.