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A chick is a young hen or rooster that has not yet become sexually mature. The taste of chicken meat is almost the same as the meat of an adult chicken, but its texture is juicier and more tender. In addition, a smaller carcass is more convenient for cooking. There are gherkin chickens on sale, the weight of which is no more than 300 grams.

The greatest value of chicken meat is the ability to provide the human body with animal protein at its low calorie content. It is this fact that contributes to the increasing turnover of the production of such meat. Science has proven that, without harming health, chicken meat can be eaten much more than the meat of other animals.

The weight of the carcass of a chicken grown by a farmer must be at least two kilograms. Today, chickens of a special meat breed – broilers – are mass-produced. Broilers began to be grown due to the fact that at the 8th week of life, the bird has well-developed muscle tissue, and at an older age – fatty tissue.

Nutritional value and beneficial properties

Due to its low calorie content and a set of nutrients, chicken meat can be considered one of the most valuable products.

The energy value of 100 grams of the product is 183 kcal.

Chicken meat is included in the diet of people who care about their figure and want to eat light healthy food. It is given to babies in the form of the first complementary foods. Due to the high content of phosphorus, potassium, essential amino acids and protein, the presence of this product is highly desirable in any treatment menu. In the case of regular consumption of chickens, cardiac activity and muscle function improve, and the elasticity of blood vessels increases. That is why chicken meat is recommended for people suffering from pathologies of the cardiovascular system and diabetes. Its use helps prevent the development of strokes, heart attacks and atherosclerosis, normalize blood pressure.

Chicken meat will strengthen the immune system (and it will cope with this task much better than pork or chicken). Nutritious chicken broth will help saturate the body and restore strength, despite the low calorie content.

Chicken meat has a beneficial effect on the nervous system. People whose diet is rich in this product are less likely to suffer from insomnia, depression, and anxiety.

Selection rules

How to choose the right chicken? First of all, it is worth evaluating the appearance. The skin should be a pale yellow with a pink tinge, and the meat should be a pale pink, but should never be bluish or grey.

If there is an unpleasant smell from the carcass, even a slight one, you should not buy it.

Use in cooking

You can cook many dishes from chicken meat. It goes well with cereals, vegetables, pasta. Chicken fillet is perfect for cooking children’s food – meatballs, steam cutlets, chops.

In the restaurant business, dishes from the thighs and drumsticks of a chicken chick are very popular. From this meat you can cook soufflé, aspic, pilaf, various salads. It is also used for first courses – hodgepodge, broth, borscht, soups, pickle. The chicken carcass can be smoked, boiled or baked whole. Any dish based on this product is always low-calorie.

In order for chicken meat to be truly dietary, it is necessary to completely remove the skin before cooking. The fact is that it contains a significant amount of histamine, which provokes all kinds of allergies. When roasted, carcinogens are formed in the skin. It is also recommended to cut off the fat from the abdomen with its further addition to the pate.

As a side dish, chicken goes well with vegetables: zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, onions. It can be stuffed with tomatoes and sausages, cheese with pomegranate, stewed in cherry sauce or sour cream, fried with apples. Grilled or boiled chicken is used for diet sandwiches.

What to cook?

Chicken-based dishes will be a wonderful decoration for a festive table.

The simplest option is chicken stewed in sour cream. First, it is dipped in boiling water for 5 minutes, then placed in a saucepan, an incomplete glass of sour cream, a small bay leaf, salt and pepper are added to taste. Everything is covered with a lid and stewed in the oven. Potatoes must first be cut into cubes and fried in oil until they are browned. Put it to the finished chicken in a saucepan, add butter mixed with flour (you need to take 1 teaspoon of one and the other), send everything to the oven and simmer for another 10 minutes. When serving, the chicken is cut in half and garnished with potatoes.

Another very simple but more sophisticated option is chicken with cheese and pomegranate. For this, the chicken is rubbed inside and out with salt and pepper. Cheese is crushed on a coarse grater, mixed with pomegranate seeds and the chicken carcass is stuffed, sewn up and placed in a preheated oven. Bake until fully cooked.

A very tasty and simple dish – baked chicken with apples. To do this, the carcass is cut in half, rubbed with a mixture of spices (salt, cumin and allspice). Peel the apples and cut each in half, remove the seeds and spread them on a baking sheet, seasoned with cinnamon. Halves of the carcass are placed on the apples, coated with mayonnaise, half a glass of water is added and baked until tender in a preheated oven, periodically pouring the resulting juice over the dish.

Quickly cooking chicken in a slow cooker. Before cooking, the carcass is rubbed with cognac marinade, left in the refrigerator overnight, and then placed in a slow cooker using the “Baking” mode. Cooking time – 40 minutes. Chicken is served with potatoes or rice.

The most famous chicken dish is tobacco chicken. This recipe came from Georgia and became popular in many countries. The original name – “tsitsila tapaka” – comes from the name of a special pan with a screw press or a heavy lid in which the chicken is cooked. Before cooking, the bones of the carcass are twisted out of the joints, the sternum is broken, and then the carcass is flattened under pressure. To give a plane, the chicken is beaten with a hammer. Rub the marinade well on all sides and put it under pressure for 10-12 hours. After that, over moderate heat, fry on each side for 30 minutes. When frying, juice is released, from which the sauce is then prepared. You can also use tkemali or garlic sauce.

In terms of taste, only Ararat chicken, a national Armenian dish, can compete with tobacco chicken. First, the carcass is fried, then boiled in a deep saucepan with fried flour, mushroom sauce, red pepper and cloves.

Another cooking option is to fry the chicken in breadcrumbs. To do this, it is pre-boiled, cut into pieces, salted, rolled in an egg, flour and breadcrumbs. Fry chicken slices in ghee until golden brown. Perfect for a festive lunch or dinner.

Harm and contraindications

Chicken meat can be harmful if cooked incorrectly because it may contain salmonella and histamine. Do not eat meat that has not been properly stored.

Although chicken meat is dietary, it is imperative to know a sense of proportion when eating it. The danger is the skin of the bird. In addition to the fact that it is very fatty, when fried, it is in it that many substances are concentrated that have a carcinogenic effect on the body. Histamine, which is part of the skin, can provoke allergic reactions. To get the most out of this product, it must be boiled or baked.

Eating chicken chick meat is not recommended for people suffering from urolithiasis.

Chicken meat is a healthy nutritious product that is widely used in both adult and children’s menus. Cooking with it is a real pleasure.