Calories and Weight
Chicken Breast can be a very low calorie option. There are about 116 calories in 100 grams of chicken breast meat, which works out at about 162 grams in an average size breast of 140 g. However this refers to raw uncooked meat. Roast chicken breast will come in at about 171 calories in a 100 gram serving or 342 calories in a whole breast taken from a roast chicken.
You need not worry too much about the numbers though, just tell yourself that this is a low calorie option, but the real calorie count depends of course on how you cook it and what you serve it with. Plain steamed meat will have fewer calories, but few would want to eat it like that. Chicken is a bland meat at any time and the breast meat the blandest of all so we marinade with honey, serve it with rich sauces or perhaps mayonnaise - and then of course the calorie count goes higher. The lowest calorie count would probably be steamed chicken cooked with herbs for flavour and then with salad or steamed vegetables or perhaps mixed into a stir fry. But we need calories for energy so as long as there is a balance between calories consumed and those used all will be well.
Cooking Chicken Breast
This is one of the most versatile of meats - being fairly bland it can be enhanced in so many ways. Being a quite thin joint it cooks quickly, and if you buy it boned it is the easiest meat to prepare, either complete of cut into dice or slices. If you serve it with herbs and spices then you will need very little salt and there are only 3.2 grams of fat in every 100 grams. It can be served appetizingly both hot or cold, in a sauce or by itself and goes comfortably with many basic carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, pasta, quinoa etc. It can be included in a first course, in a risotto, a salad, a roast dinner, a curry and that is just a beginning.
Chicken Breast Temperatures
Unfortunately raw meat can be a source of infection unless care is taken. Most of this is common sense. Use a clean chopping board kept especially for raw meat. If using frozen meant defrost it completely before using so that cooking is even. If strong raw chicken in the fridge keep it covered and place it low down where it cannot drip on to other foods. I f cooking a whole chicken it should reach a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 75 centigrade – easily measured with a cooking thermometer. A boneless breast will take 20-30 minutes in the oven, 25-30 minutes simmering in a liquid and 6-8 minutes each side under a grill/broiler. If you are cooking it with the bone in these will take 30-40 minutes in the oven, 35 to 45 minutes simmering in a sauce and about 10-12 minutes under a grill/broiler.
Other things to consider
What happens to the rest of the chicken? They are almost certainly being sold at a lower price per 100 grams than the breast you are buying as an easy option. That is because they have more waste in the form of bone etc, but this can also mean that they have more basic flavour. This can be easily compensated for by adding flavour.
Organic, free range, barn - each of these common labels has a specific meaning , though sometimes they come in combinations - it is possible for instance to have organic barn chickens and free range chickens that aren’t organic. Organic free range chickens are the most expensive, but are generally considered to be the best tasting, but also you need to take into consideration that these chickens have lived the most natural lives. If you think they are too expensive, perhaps you ought think of free range chicken as a treat, rather than an everyday option, but everything depends upon your priorities.
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