Chicken is always there for you. You most likely have some kind of chicken in your refrigerator or freezer right now, waiting to fill almost any recipe need. If you’re wondering just what to do with it this time, you’ll find more than 500 answers in The Chicken Bible.
We love chicken because it’s the ultimate blank culinary canvas. It works with every flavor imaginable and with every technique. We’ve included dinner options for every night of the week, from a quick dinner such as Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Artichokes and Spinach (ready in just 30 minutes) to a whole chicken with One-Hour Broiled Chicken and Pan Sauce (delivers really crisp skin and moist meat) to better-than-store-bought chicken fingers or nuggets for the kids. You can also deploy chicken fajitas or tacos or lettuce wraps for a fun time at the table. Fancy some fried chicken? One of our 20 recipes will keep you happy, from Extra-Crunchy Fried Chicken to Nashville Hot Fried Chicken to Karaage, a supercrispy boneless Japanese version. And if wings are your thing, you can choose from more than a dozen different kinds, starting with classic Buffalo Wings.
Chicken is the basis for all kinds of comfort food we want. Make a pot of Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup (using a whole chicken to provide both the broth and the meat) or Matzo Ball Soup. Or prepare Classic Chicken Pot Pie or updated Chicken Shepherd’s Pie with its rustic topping of boiled chunks of potato. There’s plenty of chicken and pasta, too, such as rich Chicken Bolognese with Linguine and the always-popular Chicken, Broccoli, and Ziti Casserole.
Having people over for dinner? You’ll find major meal inspiration. Make elegant Chicken Cordon Bleu, Coq au Riesling (a subtler take on coq au vin), or Two Honey Roast Chickens with an easy pan sauce made from the drippings. If you are hosting Thanksgiving, you can take the pressure off with Perfect Roast Turkey and Gravy or try something new with Koji Turkey (both serve 10 to 12).
Taste the world via our recipes that celebrate chicken dishes from various cuisines, such as Chicken B’stilla from Morocco, Murgh Makhani from India, and Chicken Pad See Ew from Thailand, as well as numerous stir-fries and tagines. Or explore regional American favorites like Chicken Riggies (from Utica, New York), Kentucky Burgoo, and Alabama Barbecued Chicken.
So, chicken won’t let you down and neither will The Chicken Bible. Turn pro with everything chicken you need in one place. And even if you already eat a lot of chicken, you’ll be inspired to eat even more—and be very glad of it.
When shopping for chicken and turkey, you’ll find many options at the supermarket, including a variety of parts, cut-up birds, and whole birds. Here is a listing of the various cuts of chicken and turkey that are in the book and how we used them.
The tenderloin (also called a chicken tender) is the flap of meat that’s loosely attached to the underside (or rib side) of a boneless, skinless breast. You can buy packages of them or find them as a bonus on boneless, skinless breasts.
Uses Cut up for stir-fries and chicken fingers or shallow-fry for Scampi-Style Chicken (this page).
A cutlet is a made by cutting a boneless, skinless chicken breast in half either horizontally or crosswise with the thicker piece cut horizontally (see this page). You can buy cutlets ready to go at the grocery store, but they are often ragged and vary widely in size and thickness. It’s better to cut your own from boneless breasts.
Uses Sauté, bread and shallow-fry, or make into sandwiches.
A split breast, or breast half, that has had the bones and skin removed. They can weigh between 4 and 8 ounces each but we typically call for 6- to 8-ounce breasts.
Uses This versatile cut does it all: sauté; poach; bake; grill; use in salads, soups, and stews. Cut into cutlets, kebabs, or nuggets or stuff for a company-worthy dinner such as Chicken Kiev (this page).
Split chicken breasts have bones and skin, and weigh between 10 and 12 ounces each. Be sure to buy breasts that are the same size so that they will cook at the same rate. To ensure evenly sized pieces, we prefer to buy a whole breast and split it in half ourselves.
Uses Roast (easier than a whole chicken), stuff and bake, make soup or chili, fry, grill, or make an inspired meal in your Instant Pot such as Pressure-Cooker Chicken and Couscous with Chorizo and Saffron (this page).
This piece has both bones and skin, and usually weighs about 1½ pounds. Whole breasts can be cooked as is or split in half.
Uses Bake or roast.
The thigh consists of all dark meat and is rich with fat. Thighs that have bones and skin weigh between 5 and 7 ounces.
Uses Abundant fat and collagen help keep thighs moist when baking, frying, or grilling whole. They’re our go-to for braises, soups, chili, and Chicken and Dumplings (this page).
A thigh that has had the bone and skin removed.
Uses Include in stews, curries, braises. Holds up well for frying without skin and bones in Karaage (this page). Stir-fry, broil, cut up for kebabs, or grind for chicken burgers (this page).
Dark meat with bones and skin weighing between 5 and 6 ounces each. Look for full, round tipped drumsticks that are evenly covered with skin; a poorly butchered drumstick will have the top lopped off with the meat.
Uses Roast, braise, bake, broil, or try grilling Grilled Spice-Rubbed Chicken Drumsticks (this page).
A whole chicken leg is comprised of a thigh and a drumstick in one piece. It is also known as a thigh-drumstick piece. When a portion of the backbone is attached to it, it is called a chicken leg quarter.
Uses Roast (faster than a whole chicken and still provides drippings for gravy), make rich soup (matzo ball and pho) or a sheet-pan dinner, braise for Chicken Marbella (this page).
You can cut through the wing joint of a whole chicken wing to create drumettes and flats (see this page).
Uses Fry, oven-fry, roast, grill, grill-fry, make broth, cook in your pressure cooker or slow cooker.
You can purchase chicken backs or save them up in the freezer after butterflying a chicken. Necks usually come in a bag with the giblets.
Uses Make broth.
Prepackaged ground chicken is made from either white meat or a mix of white and dark meat. Dark meat has a higher fat content. Do not buy ground breast meat (also labeled 99 percent fat free).
Uses Make burgers, Bolognese, Hearty Chicken and Cabbage Soup (this page), Phyllo Pie with Chicken (this page).
Raw sausage is made from chicken meat, salt, spices, and water and either prepared skinless or in a pork casing. Also available precooked.
Uses Make skillet dinners and pasta sauce, or make a homey Chicken Sausage Hash for Two (this page).
Whole chickens can range dramatically in size, from 2½ to 7 pounds. Small, young birds that weigh between 2½ and 4 pounds are called broilers or fryers. Slightly older birds that weigh between 5 and 7 pounds are called roasters. A stewing chicken is an older laying hen and is best used for stews since the meat is tougher and more stringy. A 3½- to 4-pound bird will feed four people.
Uses Roast, skillet-roast, cook en cocotte, vertical roast (in the oven and on the grill), make soup, slow-cook your way to Herbed Chicken with Warm Spring Vegetable Salad (this page).
A whole chicken that has been cut, had the backbone removed, and been flattened. Also known as butterflied.
Uses Roast, broil, or grill.
This small hen weighs about 1½ pounds, and one whole bird will serve one person for dinner. Cornish hens feature small breasts and a high ratio of fatty skin to meat.
Uses Roast or grill.
Bone-in turkey breasts can range in size from 5 to 7 pounds and include both the skin and rib bones. They are usually sold fresh, not frozen, and come in two different styles: regular (aka true cut) and hotel (aka country-style). The hotel-cut breast comes with wings attached, as well as a bag containing the neck and giblets for making gravy.
Uses Roast, grill-roast, smoke, cook en cocotte, cook sous vide or in your slow cooker.
Boneless turkey breasts can range in size from 2 to 5 pounds. Often, two boneless breasts are packaged together in netting. The skin is usually left intact, but is often torn or ragged at the edges. For evenly sized breasts with skin that covers the meat, we like to buy a bone-in turkey breast and remove the bone ourselves.
Uses Stuff and roast.
Thin slices of meat, usually no more than about ⅜ inch thick, cut from the breast. Inspect packages of cutlets to find the most uniform in shape and thickness.
Uses Sauté.
Thighs have bones and skin and consist of all dark meat.
Uses Cook in your slow cooker, grind for burgers, or make superflavorful and tender Sous Vide Turkey Thigh Confit with Citrus-Mustard Sauce (this page).
A leg quarter consists of the thigh and drumstick in one piece.
Uses Roast as for Koji Turkey (this page).
As with ground chicken, ground dark meat has more flavor than white so make sure to buy ground turkey that is a mix of the two. Do not buy ground turkey breast (also labeled 99 percent fat free).
Uses Make burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, tacos, chili.
Whole turkeys range in size from 10 to 24 pounds and are sold fresh, frozen, and mail order. A bag containing the neck and giblets can usually be found in the body or neck cavity.
Uses Roast, grill-roast, use the carcass for stock.
Heritage turkeys are often only available via special order or mail order. They have long legs and wings, a more angular breast and high keel bone, almost bluish-purple dark meat (a sign of well-exercised birds), and traces of dark pinfeathers in the skin around the tail. They have an even ratio of white to dark meat and require special cooking instructions.
Uses Roast.
When you buy a whole chicken or turkey there is usually a small bag in the cavity containing the neck and giblets. The giblets consist of the heart, gizzard, and liver. The heart is the small dark-colored organ. The gizzard is the grinding organ from the bird’s digestive tract, recognizable by a butterfly-shaped strip of connective tissue. The liver is the brownish flat organ.
Uses Make gravy.
Boneless, Skinless Breasts
Americans roast plenty of whole chickens, but they cook even more chicken breasts. For that reason, we decided to evaluate this most popular cut. The test kitchen’s winner is Bell & Evans Air Chilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts. Thanks to 12 hours of aging before being boned, our favorite chicken breasts were tender and megajuicy, not to mention full of clean, chicken-y flavor.
Whole Chickens
We did an extensive tasting of eight brands of whole chickens and can highly recommend these two brands.
The test kitchen’s winning whole chicken is from Mary’s, a large, family-owned farm in California. Mary’s Free Range Air Chilled Chicken, which is air-chilled and has a higher percentage of fat than most brands. Calling its flavor clean and its meat juicy and very chicken-y, our tasters dubbed this brand “really perfect.” Our runner up is Bell & Evans Air Chilled Premium Fresh Chicken; it had the highest fat percentage of any bird in our lineup. Tasters found its white meat to be perfectly moist, with concentrated chicken flavor, and really fresh and clean-tasting.
We tasted 120 pounds of supermarket turkey to find the best-tasting bird. We avoided those listing anything other than “turkey” on the ingredient list (and you should, too).
Our winner is from the same company that produces our winning chicken and heritage turkey. Mary’s Free Range Non-GMO Verified Turkey has relatively high fat levels and is fed a vegetarian diet. As a result it has clean, robust turkey flavor and is very tender, with a juicy texture. Our Best Buy, at half the price of our winner, is Plainville Farms Young Turkey. Tasters especially liked the texture and rich, meaty flavor of the dark meat, which had the highest fat level in our lineup. It was so good there was no need for gravy.
Our top-pick heritage turkey is also from Mary’s. It has everything we’re looking for in turkey, with rich, full flavor and naturally moist meat. Price is a big factor when considering a heritage turkey. One can cost upwards of $10 per pound; plus, required overnight or two-day shipping can nearly double the price.
Chicken is endlessly versatile, pretty low in fat, and relatively inexpensive. It’s no wonder it is America’s favorite type of meat. There is a multitude of chicken choices at the supermarket with potentially confusing labels and a range in cost. Here’s what we think is helpful to know when buying chicken and turkey.
USDA Organic isn’t all hype; it is a tightly regulated term: The poultry must eat organic feed that doesn’t contain animal byproducts, must be raised without antibiotics, and must have access to the outdoors (how much access, however, isn’t specified). Similar-sounding terms including Raised Without Antibiotics, Natural and All Natural, Hormone-Free (empty reassurance since the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, does not allow the use of hormones or steroids in poultry production), and Vegetarian Fed and Vegetarian Diet can be misleading and are often unregulated or not strictly enforced.
How the chicken was processed makes a big difference in its flavor and texture once cooked. Simply put, buy a natural bird, one that has no artificial ingredients added to the raw meat. We prefer to buy air-chilled rather than water-chilled birds. The latter method (which soaks the bird in a chlorinated bath after slaughtering) causes the bird to absorb water. The water gain must be shown on the product label, so if you see the phrase “contains up to 4% retained water,” you know the bird was water-chilled. Besides the fact that you are paying for the water, the water dilutes the chicken flavor and makes it hard to crisp up the skin during cooking. Air-chilled chicken is typically more tender, likely because the slower temperature drop gives enzymes in the meat more time to tenderize muscle tissue.
Avoid chickens that are “enhanced” (injected with broth and flavoring) because they will have a spongy texture. Also avoid “pre-basted” or “self-basting” turkey (injected with a salt-based solution to increase perceived juiciness) because it often tastes weak and washed out, mushy, and waterlogged. Look for an ingredient label—if the turkey has been injected you should see a list of ingredients. We found the flavor of kosher turkeys to be mild and sometimes spongy. We prefer to salt or brine untreated turkeys because they have a clean flavor and are juicy without being mushy. Also, untreated turkeys are slightly higher in fat than the injected turkeys, which means more flavor.
Koshering is a process that is similar to brining; it involves coating the chicken or turkey with salt to draw out any impurities and then rinsing it multiple times during processing. Buying a kosher bird allows you to skip the step of brining. Kosher birds are also all-natural and contain no hormones or antibiotics.
The USDA doesn’t regulate the weight of chicken parts, so be aware that a package might contain pieces that vary dramatically in weight, which can make it hard to ensure that they cook at the same rate. With prepackaged chicken parts, you can’t really tell what you are buying. In packages of split breasts and leg quarters, we found that the largest pieces could weigh twice as much as the smallest. Buying parts individually from the meat counter lets you select similar-size pieces. If you have the time, consider buying a whole chicken and butchering it yourself (see this page). It is the best way to ensure that parts are the same size.
Looking for a bargain? Buy drumsticks. When we cooked bone-in chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings and then stripped the meat from the bones to determine the price per edible ounce, we found that drumsticks were the cheapest and wings were the most expensive.
It’s important to refrigerate poultry promptly after bringing it home from the store and to keep it refrigerated until just before cooking. Bacteria thrive at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees. Keep your chicken and turkey in the coldest part of your refrigerator, generally in the back, where the temperature should be between 32 and 36 degrees. Place chicken packages on a plate or rimmed baking sheet to keep any condensation from dripping down onto other items in the fridge. Raw poultry will keep for two days. Leftover cooked poultry should also be promptly refrigerated and consumed within three days.
We don’t recommend freezing chicken in its supermarket packaging (unless it is vacuum-sealed) because most packaging has air gaps that cause freezer burn (and poultry is especially prone to freezer burn). Instead, we wrap each chicken part, including whole birds, tightly in plastic wrap and place the parts in a zipper-lock freezer bag, press out the air, and freeze the parts in a single layer. You can keep poultry frozen for several months, but freezer burn increases with storage time and after two months the flavor and texture will suffer. Never thaw frozen poultry on the counter; this puts it at risk of growing bacteria. Thaw it in its packaging in the refrigerator (on a plate or in a container to catch any juices). Count on 24 hours of defrosting in the refrigerator for every 4 pounds of bird, so a day for a whole chicken and three to four days to defrost a turkey. And don’t refreeze poultry: Its texture when cooked becomes significantly tougher.
Season Safely
Though bacteria can’t live for more than a few minutes in direct contact with salt (which dehydrates bacteria, leading to cell death), it can live on the edges of a box or shaker. To avoid contamination, premeasure salt and pepper and set it aside so you don’t need to reach into a box or grab a grinder with dirty hands.
Don’t Rinse
Avoid rinsing raw poultry. Rinsing will not remove or kill much bacteria, and splashing water around is likely to spread bacteria around the sink (and perhaps onto nearby foods such as lettuce sitting on the counter). And our tests failed to demonstrate any flavor benefit to rinsing poultry before cooking.
Wash Everything Else
Make sure to wash your hands, knives, cutting boards, and counters (and anything else that has come into contact with the raw bird, its juices, or your hands) with hot, soapy water. In lab tests, we found that hot, soapy water; a bleach solution; and undiluted vinegar were equally effective at reducing bacteria on non-dishwasher-safe cutting boards.
Learn your way around a chicken with these basic techniques. Practice preparing parts or a whole bird and then make and enjoy all of the recipes that use them.
A. Because a chicken breast is unevenly shaped with a thick and a thin end, it can be tricky to turn it into uniform cutlets. One way is to cut the breast in half horizontally, which yields two cutlets. Gently pound the pieces to desired thickness. The breasts will be easier to slice if you freeze them first for 15 minutes.
B. This cutlet-making method yields three similar-size pieces: Cut breast in half crosswise, and then split the thicker piece in half horizontally. The pieces will require minimal pounding.
To create chicken breasts of uniform thickness, simply pound the thicker ends of the breasts until they are all the same thickness. Though some breasts will still be larger in size, at least they will cook at the same rate.
For more equal parts, we don’t cut down the middle.
We halve our chicken breasts so we can cook the thinner tapered ends for less time. To help even out the difference between the tapered end and the thicker broad end, we cut each split breast closer to the broad end, creating pieces of near equal mass, not equal length.
Besides trimming fat and loose skin, we also trim the rib section so that the breast lies flat in the pan.
1. With breast skin side up, use kitchen shears to trim rib section, following contours of breast.
2. With breast skin side down, use chef’s knife to trim any excess fat and skin around edges of breast.
You can buy a package of split chicken breasts, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what you’re getting. Buying one whole breast and splitting it yourself guarantees evenly sized pieces.
1. With chicken skin side down on cutting board, place knife on breastbone and press firmly to cut through breast plate.
2. Using kitchen shears, trim off rib section of each breast half, following vertical line of fat from tapered end of breast up to socket where wing was attached.
Separating wings into two pieces makes them easier to cook.
1. Using your fingertip, locate joint between wingtip and midsection. Place blade of chef’s knife on joint, between bones, and, using palm of your nonknife hand, press down on blade to cut through skin and tendon.
2. Find joint between midsection and drumette and repeat process to cut through skin and joint. (Save wingtips to use for stock.)
With thigh skin side down (or skinned side for boneless, skinless thighs), check long side of thigh for cartilage and short side for fat pocket; trim with chef’s knife. Flip thigh and trim any loose skin (or any fat from boneless, skinless thighs).
When roasting or grilling drumsticks, we like to smooth the skin down over the meat so that it covers as much surface area as possible, which helps the skin render evenly and prevents the meat from overcooking.
Some leg quarters come with the backbone still attached. Here’s an easy way to remove it: Holding leg quarter skin side down, grasp backbone and bend it back to pop thigh bone out of its socket. Place leg on cutting board and cut through joint and any attached skin.
Butterflying or spatchcocking a chicken means cutting out the backbone and pressing the bird flat. We’ve found the easiest way to do this is with a sturdy pair of kitchen shears.
1. Cut through bones on either side of backbone and trim any excess fat and skin around neck.
2. Flip chicken over and use heel of your hand to flatten breastbone.
Cutting up a whole chicken is relatively easy and guarantees evenly sized pieces. It’s also economical because you use the whole bird.
1. Using chef’s knife, cut off legs, one at a time, by severing joint between leg and body.
2. Cut each leg into 2 pieces—drumstick and thigh—by slicing through joint that connects them (marked by thin white line of fat).
3. Flip chicken over and remove wings by slicing through each wing joint.
4. Turn chicken on its side and, using kitchen shears, remove back.
5. Flip breast skin side down and, using chef’s knife, cut in half through breast plate (marked by thin white line of cartilage).
6. Flip each breast piece over and cut in half crosswise.
1. Using poultry shears, cut through bones on both sides of backbone; discard backbone.
2. Flip chicken over and use chef’s knife to halve chicken through center of breastbone.
Use sharp knife to slice down along both sides of breastbone to remove meat, keeping skin intact.
Pretreating chicken with salt, whether dry or in brine, helps it cook up juicy and well seasoned.
Salting causes juices inside the meat to come to the surface. The salt dissolves in the exuded liquid, forming a brine that is eventually reabsorbed by the meat. The benefits of salting over brining: It’s more convenient (no large container needed) and it does not add moisture to the exterior (meaning crispier skin). A con: It takes longer than brining.
Directions
We prefer to use kosher salt for salting because it’s easier to distribute the salt evenly. The two leading brands of kosher salt are not the same. We use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, which has a more open crystal structure; if using Morton Kosher Salt, reduce the amounts listed by 33 percent (e.g., use ⅔ teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt for 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal).
Salting chicken under the skin is a very effective way to season it.
Like other meat, poultry loses moisture when cooked, so brining can be a great way to keep it from drying out. Brining not only seasons the meat but also promotes a change in the structure of its muscle proteins. As the salt is drawn into the meat, the protein structure of the meat changes, creating gaps that increase its ability to hold on to water and stay juicy and tender during cooking. The benefits of brining over salting: It works faster and it makes lean cuts juicier since it adds moisture. The cons: It can inhibit browning on skin or meat exterior and it requires fitting a brining container in the refrigerator.
Directions
Dissolve the salt in the water in a container or bowl large enough to hold the brine and meat, following the amounts in the chart. Submerge the meat completely in the brine. Cover and refrigerate, following the times in the chart (do not brine for longer or the meat will become overly salty). Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
Do not guess at doneness: Use a thermometer.
Breasts 160 degrees
Thighs and drumsticks 175 degrees
Because breast meat cooks faster than thigh meat, you should take the temperature of both when cooking poultry.
For breast meat
Insert thermometer from neck end, holding thermometer parallel to bird. It should register 160 degrees.
For thigh meat
Insert thermometer at an angle into area between drumstick and breast, taking care not to hit bone. It should register 175 degrees.
Resting poultry after it is cooked is crucial. It allows the meat to relax and reabsorb its juices, so there’s less juice on the cutting board and more inside the meat itself. Small cuts like cutlets need only 5 to 10 minutes of resting time, a whole chicken 10 to 20 minutes. A big turkey, on the other hand, should rest for 30 minutes before being carved. To keep meat warm while it rests, cover it loosely with aluminum foil, unless it has a crisp coating or skin that you don’t want to turn soggy. To protect the bottom crust of grilled meat from turning soggy, set the meat on a wire rack as it rests.
There are multiple ways to get flavor into and onto poultry prior to cooking, from rubbing spices on the outside to helping them get directly into the meat.
Spice rubs and coatings are one of the simplest ways to add flavor, as they’re applied superficially—just coat and cook. And when you make your own rubs (see this page), you’re adding even more flavor.
Use a metal skewer to poke the skin of a whole chicken or thighs (or other part) 10 to 12 times. Pat dry with paper towels, rub skin with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
The best way to maximize seasoning and flavor is to separate the skin from the meat—to create space for an herb paste or butter. Your best tool is your fingers. Carefully slide them under the skin from the cavity side and sweep them back and forth to loosen the skin. Next, do the same from the neck side. Once the skin is separated from the meat, gently spoon in the paste or butter.
Use a boning knife to make several deep cuts through the chicken skin and into the meat—each slash should reach the bone. This exposes more surface area for a marinade and sauce to cling to and helps the chicken cook faster and more evenly.
Before you start, make sure that you’ve let your poultry rest so the juices can redistribute. We’ve found that a chef’s knife works better than a carving knife for this task. The same technique is used for carving a whole roast turkey.
1. Remove any kitchen twine. Start by slicing chicken through skin between leg and breast to expose hip joint.
2. Pull leg quarters away from carcass. Separate joint by gently pressing leg out to side and pushing up on joint. Carefully cut through joint.
3. Cut through joint between drumstick and thigh. Slice meat off drumsticks and thighs, leaving some skin attached to each slice.
4. Pull wings away from carcass and carefully cut through joint between wing and breast to remove wings. Cut wings in half for easier eating.
5. Cut down along 1 side following breastbone, pulling meat away from bone as you cut.
6. Cut breast meat crosswise into slices for serving.
Do not skip the resting step or there will be a flood of turkey juices on your carving board.
1. Run chef’s or carving knife along 1 side of breastbone. Use your hand (with towel if too hot) to pry entire breast half from bone while cutting, being mindful to keep skin intact if there.
2. Slice breast meat on bias. Repeat process with meat on other side of breastbone.
A good chef’s knife is invaluable in the kitchen for all kinds of poultry tasks, including butchering chicken and carving a roasted one. Our favorite is the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 8 Chef’s Knife ($31).
A paring knife handles detailed work like poking holes in poultry skin. We prefer 3- to 3½-inch blades, like the one on our favorite paring knife, the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 3¼ Spear Point Paring Knife ($7).
A good boning knife should have a narrow, straight, very sharp blade to easily maneuver around joints and bones and trim fat. We like the Zwilling Pro 5.5 Flexible Boning Knife ($110).
A good meat cleaver is a handy thing to have when chopping chicken and bones for stock. Our favorite is the Shun Classic Meat Cleaver ($160); our Best Buy is Lamson Products 7.25 Walnut Handle Meat Cleaver ($56).
A good pair of kitchen shears are life-changing. They’re ideal for butterflying a chicken, cutting out the rib portions from bone-in breasts, and much more. Our winning shears are Kershaw Taskmaster Shears/Shun Multi-Purpose Shears ($26.30).
We like to pound chicken cutlets and boneless breasts to a uniform thickness, so our meat pounder gets constant use. We prefer one that weighs at least 1½ pounds and has a vertical handle like our winning Norpro Grip EZ Meat Pounder ($19.99).
Unlike wood cutting boards, plastic ones require no maintenance and can be thrown in the dishwasher, a boon when working with poultry. Our winning large plastic cutting board, Winco Statik Board Cutting Board ($45), provides plenty of room to break down a chicken and stays stable when pounding chicken breasts and cleaving chicken parts.
For all our chicken and turkey trussing, we prefer a center-fed no-fray cotton or linen twine, such as Librett Cotton Butcher’s Twine ($7). Make sure your twine is labeled “food-safe” or “kitchen twine.”
A good stainless-steel skillet is our go-to for searing, sautéing, braising, shallow-frying, pan-roasting, and preparing one-pan dinners. Our favorite is the All-Clad D3 Stainless 12 Fry Pan with Lid ($130).
A nonstick skillet is good for cooking thin slices of chicken and turkey including in stir-fries. We like the OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Pro 12 Open Frypan ($60).
A sturdy rimmed baking sheet is a kitchen workhorse, great for exposing cuts of chicken to the oven’s heat and perfect for making a sheet-pan dinner. Our favorite is the Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet ($20).
The combination of a wire rack and a rimmed baking sheet is our top choice for roasting or broiling chicken parts, holding breaded foods before and after frying, and keeping food warm in the oven. We recommend the Checkered Chef Cooling Rack ($17).
Dutch ovens do it all. We use this heavy, deep pot for searing, braising, making stews and chilis, frying, and for sous vide cooking. Our long-time favorite is the Le Creuset 7¼ Quart Round Dutch Oven ($380). We also like the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Enameled Cast Iron Covered Casserole ($72).
The large Calphalon Contemporary Stainless Roasting Pan with Rack ($140) easily holds a big turkey or two chickens, as does our Best Buy Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless 16 Roasting Pan with Rack ($74).
A vertical roaster cooks a whole roast chicken evenly and crisps the skin all over. Our winner is the Vertical Roaster with Infuser by Norpro ($22).
A fat separator is a handy tool to have when making gravy or broth. The Cuisipro Fat Separator ($27) is versatile and easy to use.
A good digital instant-read thermometer is essential for testing poultry for doneness. Our favorites are the Thermoworks Thermapen Mk4 ($99) and Thermoworks ThermoPop ($29).
Our new favorite electric pressure cooker is the Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 8-QT ($139.95). It makes excellent pressure-cooked and slow-cooked food, and it sears and sautés food evenly.
Our winning air fryer is the Philips Premium Airfryer with Fat Removal Technology ($279.95). Our Best Buy is the GoWISE USA 3.7-Quart 7-in-1 Air Fryer ($60).
Our highly recommended immersion circulator is from Joule ($250).
Our winner is the roomy, well-designed KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker With Solid Glass Lid ($74).
The Weber Performer Deluxe Charcoal Grill ($439) and Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill, 22-Inch ($165) are the test kitchen’s favorite charcoal grills. The Weber Spirit II E-310 Gas Grill ($499) is our favorite gas grill under $500.