Boiling of chicken is one of the healthiest methods to prepare it; It is not how much you know how to cook chicken meat, but how well you season or marinate your chicken before boiling it. There are different ways to cook or boil chicken, some people boil chicken with the bones, other boil theirs without the bones (chicken breast) and others may evenprefer to boil their chicken without the skin (skinless chicken), some other people cook theirs with the skin on it. Whichever way you want to boil your chicken , it all depends on your choice and how you prefer it. The process of boiling chicken on a stovetop can be very fun and easy to carry out. The number one thing you have to know before you start to boil chicken is to decide whether you want to boil the chicken without the bone (boneless chicken, chicken breast) or together with bones.
Chicken is a versatile meat, it can be eaten on its own after being boiled, added to salads, or used to make chicken tacos and Jollof riceafter frying it.Before you start to cook a chicken, you have to dress and process the chicken propeerly beforehand and get all your marinades or seasonings ready in place. See how to properly dress and process a whole chicken. Chicken is a very tasty meat; it is juicy and easy to chew unlike other meat. The best time to marinate or season your chicken is when the chicken has already been thawed and left to lose excess water from the body. This means the chicken must have been taken out of the fridge and left to drain on the sink over night or at least 12 hours, to lose all its water.
Just before you cook chicken, make sure you season the chicken breast or whatever part of chicken you have with some healthy spices or chicken seasonings, these chicken seasonings add additional tasteand flavour to the chicken after it is cooked. The cooked chicken can then be used for soup White soup with chicken meat), shredded chicken sauce, porridge or chicken pepper soup and for other chicken gravies.
An easy way to cook chicken on a stovetop is to use a shallowpot that is big enough to contain the chicken, this will hasten the cooking time; and allowheat to spread to all the corners of the pot thus, touching all the chicken flesh and the bones as well.
Table of Contents
What part of chicken do I choose from?
If you dont know the parts of chicken to choose, I have few options here in which you can choose from.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Bone-in chicken breasts
- Skinless chicken tenderloins
- Bone-in chicken thighs
- Chicken drumsticks
- Whole chicken
How long do I cook or boil chicken breast?
The question of how long to boil or cook your chicken breast and cutlets depends on the type of chicken you are boiling, the Cornish white broiler cooks faster than old layers and the native chicken (local chicken), the later has a tougher skin or flesh than the former which means it will requires a longer time to cook properly. Generally, a normal chicken takes approximately 20 minutes to cook properly on a medium heat, which means that the old layer or the native chicken may take about 30 minutes to cook on the same amount of heat. However, thick chicken breasts will take about 25 minutes, while thinner, flatter pieces and smaller chicken breast cutlets will only need about 15 minutes. On the other hand, bone-in chicken breasts will cook for about 30 minutes, while a whole chicken will cook for about 1 hour or 1 hour 30 minutes.
How to season/ marinate chicken before cooking it
Marinating of chicken infuses the meat with better flavour and keeps it moist while you cook it, the process of seasoning or marinating chicken is another aspect to consider before baking or cooking chicken directly on heat. You can use a dry marinate to season your chicken or the dry rubs; I usemore of the dry rubs for most of my chicken recipes.
While there are so many chicken marinades, some easy to find chicken seasonings include, peppers, paprika, ginger, garlic, onions, nutmeg, curry, turmeric, thyme, oregano, chicken stock cubes and salt, however, you can use less or more of these ingredients to season your chicken breasts before cooking them.All you need to do is to combine the chicken with the marinade and toast it properly to combine; the seasonings or marinades will add lots of flavour and taste to your boiled chicken.
Ingredients for making boiled chicken
- 1500g of chicken breast, bone-in or skinless chicken
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of curry or turmeric
- teaspoon of black pepper
- teaspoon of chilli pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium garlic, grated
- teaspoon of nutmeg, optional
- teaspoon of oregano, optional
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- 4 scotch bonnets, optional
- 1 stick of celery or parsley
- Salt to taste
Ingredients for seasoning chicken
Steps on how to marinate/season and boil chicken
- Cut chicken into your preferred sizes and rinse with clean water.
- Place the chicken you want to use in a shallow dish or in a sealable plastic bag.
- Add the onions, curry (or turmeric), thyme, 2 seasoning cubes, garlic, ginger, pepper and salt.
- Toast the chicken to coat with the seasonings and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 5 hours before broiling.
- If you are using the wet marinade, marinate your chicken with your preferred marinade and coat it well, refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
- Bring the chicken from the fridge into a shallow pot, cover the pot and allow chicken to boil for 5 minutes on a low heat before adding water.
- Add about 1 cup of water to the chicken to boil properly. Allow chicken to cook until the insides are no longer pink. Cook time will vary depending on the size and the type of chicken.
- Once the chicken is cooked, strain the cooking liquid and save the broth as stock for soup or rice, recipes. Chicken stock can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
- Enjoy chicken as it is or use it for salsa or salad recipe.
Easy steps on how to marinate/season and cook chicken with pictures
1. Cut chicken into your preferred sizes and rinse with clean water.; for faster cooking, cut chicken into smaller pieces.
Chicken cutlets- you can cook your chicken with the bones on it or without the bones
2. Place the chicken you want to use in a shallow dish or in a sealable plastic bag.
3. Add the onions, curry (or turmeric), thyme, 2 seasoning cubes, garlic, ginger, pepper and salt.
4. Toast the chicken to coat with the seasonings and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to 5 hours before boiling; this will enable the meat to bring out more flavour.
5. If you are using the wet marinade, marinate your chicken with your preferred marinade and coat it well, refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
Process of marinating chicken
6. Bring the chicken from the fridge into a shallow pot, cover the pot and allow chicken to boil for 5 minutes on a low heat before adding water.
7. Add about 1 cup of water to the chicken to boil properly. Allow chicken to cook until the insides are no longer pink. Cook time will vary depending on the size and the type of chicken.
Boiling of chicken on a stovetop
8. Once the chicken is cooked, strain the cooking liquid and use the broth as stock for soup or ricerecipes. Chicken stock can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
You can use a fork to pierce the chicken to see if it is soft
9. Enjoy chicken as it is or use it for salsa or salad recipe.
Boil chicken is served in a plate
Boiled chicken can be served as chicken pepper soup; it is best paired with white rice or yam