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Chicken is the primary meat in the diet of most meat eaters since it is cheaper than other kinds of meats and as it may be cooked in so many various methods. Frying is probably the most familiar method of them all for cooking chicken still there are many others such as roasting, jerking, barbequing and baking.

Especially for an individual aware of the fat and cholesterol that fried chicken may have, these other methods are really good choices nevertheless the one we will focus on mainly is baking.

How To Bake Chicken

Required Tools

Paper towel

Sharp knife (optional)

Baking dish/roasting pan

Oven

Meat thermometer

Required Materials

Whole chicken sliced into smaller parts/chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

Fresh or dried herbs (oregano, thyme, tarragon or rosemary)

Olive oil

Marinade (optional)

Seasoning of your choice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit; if you are using a whole chicken, get rid of the giblets in the inner cavity and then rinse the chicken thoroughly with water. If you opt to slice the chicken into smaller pieces, go ahead and do that now using a sharp knife; then pat the chicken dry with the paper towel and season the chicken properly using the salt, pepper, herbs and any other seasoning you desire.

Lay the chicken in the baking dish/roasting pan and rub it with the olive oil and marinade (if you decide to use it). You can additionally add herbs of your choice to the top of the chicken for further taste and aesthetics.

Place the baking dish/roasting pan inside the oven with the chicken in it and leave it uncovered; bake the chicken at 350 degrees for 1-1½ hours or until it is golden brown and thoroughly cooked in its entirety.

To be positive the meat is cooked put the meat thermometer into the widest section of the chicken; if the temperature is 170 degrees or more then the chicken may be taken from the oven. Another method to confirm if the chicken is cooked is to use a sharp knife and cut the fattest section of the chicken; if it is cooked the meat will not be pink and the juices running out of the chicken will be transparent.

You can now share the chicken by itself or with whatever you choose; if you used a whole chicken leave it to cool for 10 minutes prior to cutting it up. For a whole meal serve it with rice or mashed potatoes and peas or corn.

Tips and Warnings

It is crucially important that the chicken is thoroughly cooked before you eat, partly cooked chicken can result in food poisoning and deadly parasites.

Be certain to wash any surface which the raw chicken touches including your hands to avoid contaminating other foods and items with any bacteria that can be on the chicken; soap and water will often be adequate but you can use a mixture of bleach or some other cleaning agent with water to guarantee a proper clean.

To cut the rawness of the chicken cut a lemon in half and rub it all over the chicken before you cook it; you could also rub the chicken with vinegar, inside and out if it is a whole chicken. If you don’t mind the additional sourness you can leave it as is, if you do mind, simply wash the chicken again.

There are a few types of baked chicken available including baked sweet and sour chicken, baked chicken in mango sauce, or curry flavored baked chicken. If you want to attempt any of these kinds you can check out a few of the recipes available online.

Find more information here on how to bake chicken.