It is rich in fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E, and B vitamins, and valuable mineral substances like iron and phosphorus. The mineral composition of poultry is in no way inferior to that of mammalian meat. Chicken meat contains 3 times more iron and is richer in sulphur and phosphorus. Poultry meat is an important source of B vitamins, especially of vitamin B12, folic acid and vitamin PP. The internal organs contain more vitamin A than subcutaneous fat. Poultry fat is rich in saturated fatty acids which make them biologically active. They have a low melting point and very good digestibility. Since it is very scanty of connective tissue (sinews), which makes it easily digestible, chicken meat is a preferred food for people with digestive disorders. It is suitable for children because it does not overload their delicate digestion system. The consumption of poultry in the evening guarantees your sound sleep. Chicken broths and soups made of chicken meat and sub-products increase gastric secretion and improve digestion. The aforementioned qualities make poultry meat a preferred and healthy food for children and adults as well as for sick people recovering after surgery or severe illnesses.

100 g of chicken meat/thigh contains 119 kCal, 4 g of fat, 20 g of protein. Good quality chicken meat can be recognized by the solid meat, stretched skin and muscular legs. Corn-fed chickens are yellow in colour.

Practical tips

• You need a fatter chicken for a roast than for fricassee.
• If you want to roast a broiler quickly and skillfully, cut it open in front, take out the breastbone and spread out the chicken without breaking the backbone. It will take the shape of a frog. Roast in oven or grill.
• A roasted chicken cooks best when the oven door is left open.
• To keep tender chicken meat that is cooked in the oven, do not salt in advance but only when you take it out of the oven (while still hot)
• Your roast chicken will taste better if you put some tarragon inside. Never add water when roasting a chicken, its own juice will suffice. If the sauce is clear, your chicken is ready. If it is pink, you need to cook the chicken some more.
• Roasted hens – older and tough poultry can be made tender and delicious, if you rub a mixture of 3 or 4 table spoons of cooking oil, 2 table spoons of lemon juice and 2 or 3 minced cloves of garlic in them before roasting. This proportion is for 1 kg of meat.
• It is recommended to grease the insides and outside of the chicken that you plan to roast with 2 or 3 spoons of melted butter, 2 spoons of lemon juice and 2 cloves of smashed garlic.
•  When cooking a whole chicken, the meat becomes much more flavorful if rubbed well with lemon.
• White poultry meat will become tenderer, if left in milk for a few hours before cooking.
• If you are cooking a roll of minced meat or meat you can place the minced meat on an oiled sheet of aluminum foil to roll it up easier.
• If you like your chicken soup nice and strong, you should start boiling the meat in cold water, so that its juices can be extracted gradually.
• When cooking fricassee, do not remove the fillet from the bones but cut the ribs. The fillets cooked together with the bones become more flavorsome. Remove the bones just before serving.
• The meat for schnitzels should be taken from the shoulders or the fillet. Cut it in thin slices crosswise to muscle.
• Pound each schnitzel, season on both sides with black pepper and mustard and dip in melted butter.
• Place in a closed container in the refrigerator. In 2 or 3 hours fry the schnitzels.
• If your cholesterol is high, remove the skin from the chicken, as it contains a lot of fat.