Posts from Poultry

I'm a big fan of casseroles. I mean, what's not to like about throwing all the ingredients into a dish, putting it in the oven to bake, and then bringing it right to the table to serve?

But with the onset of spring, I'm ready to say goodbye to super-heavy casseroles and embrace slightly lighter versions. This BBQ chicken casserole — with quinoa, black beans, and corn — fits the bill perfectly.

With the arrival of spring this week, we're looking to lighten up our meals and reach for the fresh produce that is slowly returning to farmers markets and grocery stores. When lighter chicken options are on the menu, it's easier to break out of the routine of soups, stews, and hearty pastas. With that in mind, here are the 24 chicken dishes that will be in rotation in our kitchens all spring.

I'm a chef who has worked in professional kitchens for about a decade now, including some that are considered among the best in the world. One of my favorite things to do as a chef is make staff meal, the meal that restaurant workers make and eat themselves.

Most restaurants have very thin profit margins, so staff meal ingredients have to be cost-effective. Enter: ground meat. Ground meat tends to be economical and lends itself to varied preparations. The recipes that follow are five ways I would turn ground meat into a staff meal in a professional kitchen. Some of these recipes I have served my fellow chefs, and some I might have to make for staff meal in the future. Regardless, they're still recipes that work in our home kitchens, and bring a sense of discovery to a routine ingredient we almost always have stored in the freezer.

Q: I was wondering about frying chicken. I use a resealable bag to put my flour in, along with my spices, and then I shake my chicken pieces in it. There seems to be a lot of flour left after I am through shaking; is this same flour OK to use in my chicken gravy?

Arguably the two greatest things about shopping at a butcher are the freedom of choice, and the wealth of knowledge your butcher can offer. Buying meat from a butcher allows you to buy exactly what you want, in the exact quantity you want – something that's not an option with pre-packaged meat. For some helpful advice on how to get the most out of a visit to the butcher, I talked to Ryan Fibiger of Fleishers Craft Butchery.

Chicken's versatility has earned it a place on the table at least once a week. And while a golden roast chicken will always be a classic favorite, and chicken breast maintain their claim to ease, heartier cuts like chicken thighs and blank-canvas options like ground chicken allow us to do even more with the bird. Doing more now includes making these hearty chicken empanadas.

This recipe is a bit of a departure from the usual Chinese wonton. Pork and shrimp are far more common fillings for wontons than turkey, but substituting turkey for pork makes these dumplings leaner and healthier, without any great sacrifice in flavor.

Ground turkey is a versatile ingredient that can be rolled into meatballs, shaped into burgers and meatloaf, and crumbled into sauces. And in the right form, it proves to be the lean, lighter alternative to ground beef. It has the potential to make for a flavorful meal, as long as it's used correctly.

Q: When dredging chicken cutlets, do you the use flour, buttermilk, and eggs before coating in breadcrumbs?

Sent by Phyllis

Do you love chicken tikka masala? If so, you're in luck — this comforting bowl of soup plays off the flavors of the Indian restaurant favorite. Intensely spiced, with coconut cream and crushed tomatoes to round it out, this soup is sure to become a weeknight dinner staple.