Can you cook raw chicken in sauce?
In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “can you cook raw chicken in sauce” with an in-depth analysis of whether or not you can cook raw chicken in sauce. Moreover, we are going to discuss different ways to cook raw chicken in sauce.
Can you cook raw chicken in sauce?
Yes, you can cook raw chicken in a sauce as the cooking of raw chicken in the sauce can add a specific and infused taste and flavor to the base of the product.
It is relatively a slow process that results in a soft and tender chicken enriched with the taste of flavorings added in the sauce. The thickness of the sauce should be maintained to allow the sauce to be reused for cooking some other products.
It is worth mentioning that the raw or uncooked marinade does not come in contact with any other foods or else it can result in cross-contamination.
Cooking in Liquid:
To cook the raw chickens in liquid, care should be taken in cooking the temperature to a safe internal temperature that will both remove the health hazards as well as maintain the texture of the food. The liquid used as a base is called the chicken stock and the chicken cooked in liquid is called the parboiled.
Different ways to cook raw chicken in sauce
Raw chicken can be cooked in sauce in three ways: simmering, stewing, and poaching. All three ways involve heating or cooking the chicken in liquid but the temperature may vary slightly from one method to the other.
Simmering:
This cooking method involves heating the liquid or sauce just below the boiling point. Small bubbles come out of the surface at this temperature continuously. The whole cuts of chicken are flipped in the liquid when cooked at a temperature below the boiling point of the liquid.
Stewing:
The chicken should be cut small in this type of cooking and uniform pieces should be totally immersed in liquid and cooked slowly through simmering.
Poaching:
Poaching is another method of cooking raw chickens in liquid and has been known as a traditional way of cooking chicken that has been obtained from tender cuts. In this method, chicken cuts are directly placed into the sauce without any pre-heat treatment, such as baking or frying.
This process may result in the dish with more infused and tender chicken due to the absorption of more water as compared to the absorption in chicken with a hard or already crispy surface due to preheating treatment.
Raw chicken cooked in sauce vs. Pretreated chicken in the sauce:
Sometimes, chicken is pretreated with any heat treatment before adding it into the sauce, such as fried or browned, which is an additional step taken to enhance the flavor or maintain a certain texture of the product. While on the other hand, cooking directly into the sauce is an easy method without any extra time needed.
But, one can also get the same or even more delicate and soft chicken cuts through an easier method by just placing the chicken directly into the sauce. Moreover, this may reduce the cooking time by eliminating an additional step that also needs some effort.
You can read how to make creamy garlic chicken here.
The texture of chicken:
When the chicken is directly placed in sauce, the water or liquid tends to move from outside to the inside of the chicken making the texture of the chicken more tender. The slow cooking in liquid also allows the minimum shrinkage of proteins present in chicken. The chicken juice will also move out of the chicken and get infused in the sauce giving the liquid a unique and delicious flavor and aroma.
Chances of contamination
Certain microorganisms are present in the raw chicken that require specific heat treatment to be deactivated and killed. We also know that there is a risk of contamination when cooked and uncooked food come in contact with each other.
Therefore, one may think that the raw chicken may contaminate the sauce but this is not true. It is fine to add the raw chicken in the sauce that is continuously in a gently heating state. As long as the sauce is heating steadily, the heat can constantly transfer from the exterior to the interior of the chicken thus, allowing the alleviation of microbes completely from the dish.
Temperature conditions
One of the most important things to be considered is to cook the chicken to a safe internal level of temperature. As we know that certain microbes reside in the chicken that can be killed at an appropriate temperature, which is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Moreover, if the chicken is not cooked at the appropriate temperature, an undercooked chicken will give a ruined or spoiled aroma and flavor on consumption and overcooked chicken will be more tender that will make the flavor of the product bland. Therefore, the temperature should be checked properly while cooking by using a thermometer.
Other FAQs about Chicken that you may be interested in.
Can you freeze chicken livers?
Can you freeze chick fil a nugget?
Conclusion:
In this brief guide, we answered the question “can you cook raw chicken in sauce” with an in-depth analysis of whether or not you can cook raw chicken in sauce. Moreover, we discussed different ways to cook raw chicken in sauce.
