Okay, so here’s the setup. I don’t know exactly why it is, but over the last few months I have been craving chicken. Fried, baked, whatever.
So, I ask the collected Dopers: What are the best chain resteraunts (or local Austin Tx resteraunts), grocery store brands, or make-at-home recipes that are good for chicken?
A chicken pollo
I can’t offer anything helpful, with the excpetion of pointing out Swanson’s Breast Meat that comes cans is a nice break from tuna salad.
Baked Chicken? I thought cakes and cookies were baked and chicken was (Oven) Roasted.
Home recipes? Hmmm…
Equal parts local honey and Colman’s Mustard (note the brand name 
), plus black & white peppers, smothered all over the chicken pieces available, and grilled or roasted.
Huge hunks of fresh sage, chopped down to a mush, mixed with chopped shallots, all spread over the chicken
Slice chicken breasts down the centre, and stuff with good cheeses (hard cheeses work the best, because they don’t melt too quickly)
I had a girlfriend who made this really great baked chicken… never did get the recipe at the time.
About the Swanson’s, is it cut up into little chunks? What’s the consistency? I take it that it’d be pretty hard to cook using it?
Oh, and, thanks for responding.
Sorry Gorrilla, I missed this post somehow.
What are black and white peppers? I’ve only seen them in red, green, orange, and yellow. Oh… are you maybe refering to both black and white pepper? Do you marinate the chicken in this mix? As for roasting or grilling, I live in an apartment and don’t have a BBQ grill, would broiling it be okay?
Is this in addition to the first bit of advice, like, steps in a recipe, or various recipes for making good chicken? (sorry if I’m dense)
Hrmmm… that sounds like a great way to make chicken parmigana. Mmm… chicken.
(And with that, I’m going to Popeye’s to get me some chicken n’ biscuits!)
Aha…yes, ‘pepper’ singular means the ubiquitous spice. And no, I can’t guarantee you’ll be OK broiling it (not least because I’ve never knowingly broiled in my life - what does that involve?!)
No, no, that was separate. Actually, get any traditional leaf herb and use it in a similar way, and you’ll be fine. There’s intricacies galore in a real English herb garden, but I’m not there yet…
Well, from my bachelor-guy perspective, broiling is when you put something in the oven and then set the oven to its broil setting. It cooks at, I think, about 500+ degrees and also only has heat on top.
Coolness, should I assume that I should cook them all the same, in terms of heat?
As Alton Brown is fond of saying, broiling is just upside-down grilling.
I recommend you get yourself a box of Oven Fry and make some oven-fried chicken. That stuff is GOOD.
Doesn’t look like it’ll be easy to google that… is it a brand name? Or a variety of boxed something some brand makes?
Mmm…chicken. /homer
If it’s the same stuff I’m thinking of, it’s shredded - sort of the consistency of canned tuna. I use it the same way - mix with mayo and spread on bread.
Before I cut fast food from my life I really liked Popeye’s Chicken.
But I like having only one chin better.
Hah, a good point. But damn, every once in a while… it’s very very good.
Pull one of the racks out of the oven and make yourself a beer can chicken, hon. There’s umpty-zillion threads about the best recipes, and lord knows how many more out there on the web. Yeah, I know you can’t eat a whole chicken by yourself in one sitting. But you’ve got all those leftovers for topping green salads, making sandwiches, etc., and chicken freezes well if you wrap it up well.
You can also make chicken pot pie. Boil up some chicken (leg bits work best for this) with whatever seasonings you like (I prefer lots of garlic and some Italian seasoning), then skin and bone your chicken. Chunk up your meat and put it back in the pot along with a pat of butter and assorted veggies. Boil for about half an hour to give your veggies some flavor. Put it all in a baking dish between two crusts and bake at 375 till golden brown on top. You can buy premade pie crusts or make your own (I roll out some biscuit dough for mine.)
If you have a crockpot, there are tons of delicious recipes for chicken. My personal favorite is lemon herb chicken. Basically, you put chopped up onion in the cavity and rub the skin with butter, then pop the chicken into the pot with assorted herbs and cook for four hours or so.
You can also take a chicken breast and pound it out kind of flat and thin (you can use a meat mallet, or a rolling pin, or a can), then layer it with ham and cheese. Roll it up on itself and secure with toothpicks, dip in milk and roll in bread crumbs or crushed cereal. Bake at 375 till juices run clear and coating is golden brown.
Ah… there were a lot of recipe threads and it was hard to search, guess I should’ve done better. /tail between legs.
And, thank you! I am sooo going to get on those, and go get a crockpot from mah grandparents.
Oh, and Smeghead thanks, although mayo has always struck me as… not-food.
Oh, you are silly, aren’t you? Take the stuff out of your chicken (I like the Perdue Tender and Tasty birds, which come without gross little packets inside) and rub the skin lightly with mayo. (Yes, I know it’s not-food, but it makes the skin all crispy and nice. And it’s a wonderful deep-conditiioning treatment for your hair.) Sprinkle with any kind of spices you like–I’m partial to Emeril’s Southwest Essence, myself. Open a can of beer, any kind of cheap crap will work fine. Use a churchkey (that pointy type of can opener that tears a hole in the lid) to put a couple more holes in the top of the can. Shake in some seasoning and throw in some lemon juice. Then tripod Mr. Birdie and bake him at 375.
Okay, Mozarella chicken (really simple):
Get a baking dish. Put some chopped onion on the bottom. Add chicken breasts (however much you want to fix), and top with chopped garlic. Pour a jar of salsa over it (about a jar for 3 breasts), the brand and spiciness per your own inclination. Cover. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350. Pull it out, uncover, top with shredded mozarella, and bake uncovered for about 10 more minutes (melts the cheese and thickens the sauce).
And I love Chik-Fil-A if I have to eat fast food.
Oh, here’s another one. I can’t remember where I saw this, but it’s not originally my recipe:
Get a can of crescent rolls. Unroll them, but don’t separate the triangular pieces. Lay it out in a big rectangle on a cookie sheet.
Chop up a pound of chicken, and stir fry until cooked (or use the canned chicken mentioned above). Mix in a bowl with 2 cups of shredded cheddar (or monterey jack, or a mixture), 1 tablespoon of dill weed (or to taste), a teaspoon of garlic powder (or to taste), half cup of chopped brocolli, and 1/4 cup chopped onion. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of mayo also, which works, but I’m not a big mayo fan, and honey dijon mustard works also (don’t use as much).
Spread the mixture down the center (lengthwise) of the crescent rolls. pull the edges up to the center (over the mix) and pinch shut to form the crust. (Sometimes I sprinkle more shredded cheese on top after this, but that’s mostly decorative). Bake per the crescent roll directions, and you have a flaky chicken-brocolli casserole thingy.
(Can you tell I’m not good at precision in recipes, or even in recipe names?)
Very fast, easy, and delicious if you like spicer food!
Cajun Chicken Boobs
Chicken breast
olive oil
Tony Chachere’s seasoning
lemon juice (1/4 cup?)
Season the chicken breasts with Tony Cachere’s (or similar cajun spice mix)
Heat an iron skillet hot enough that a drop of water dances/evaporates.
Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil into the skillet
Place chicken breasts in skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, sealing in the juices and forming a seasoning crust.
Reduce heat to medium and cook 10-15 minutes until chicken juices run clear.
Splash lemon juice over breasts, turning once.
Remove chicken to plate and pour the skillet drippings over the chicken breasts.
(We usually serve this with baked potatoes, a veggie and crusty garlic bread - yum!)
El Pollo Loco!
Hope they are around youre neck of the woods…
I’m on the road alot and I can always find them in CA. & Arizona.
My own Personnal Favorite,
Shake-and-Bake Chicken Wings with a Big Bottle of Ketchup.
