Chicken is one of our favourites ingredients, but how many recipes do you have in your repertoire? Here are a few suggestions for delicious and exciting new ideas for something a bit different to brighten up meal times… 

Spatchcock chicken

Spatchcock or 'butterflied' chicken is a way of flatening a whole chicken in order to grill perfectly, so it's best to use a small bird. Portugese cuisine does this method well, with restaurants around the country displaying large rotisseries laden with spits of spatchcock chickens being slowly barbecued, often marinated in piri-piri sauce to add a good kick.

If you intend to grill using a normal barbecue, it is often best to pre-roast the chicken in the oven first to make sure it's cooked through, and then add to the coals for the last 20 minutes. On the barbecue itself, go for an indirect heat method – ie pile the hot coals around the edges and place the bird in the middle of the grill, with a metal dish underneath by the coals to catch the juices and protect your barbecue. You should also wet any wooden skewers before using so they don't set alight. Once cooked, chop up and serve pieces, along with a green vinaigrette salad.

Watch the video to see how to prepare your chicken...

Chicken escalopes

1. Thinly slice chicken breasts lengthways into flat escalopes. If not thin enough, cover with clingfilm and beat with a blunt instrument. Look to get at least 3 or 4 escalopes per breast. This method makes chicken go much further than normal, so you can make far more than you need for a meal as they make fantastic leftovers.

2. Set out 3 wide bowls next to each other: one of flour, one a whisked egg, one with plenty of breadcrumbs.

3. Using a fork to hold one corner, coat each escalope first in flour, then dip in the egg, then generously in breadcrumbs. Pile these up on a plate.

4. Heat a good amount of oil in a wide pan, and shallow-fry the escalopes several at a time. Make sure there is enough oil or the breadcrumbs will burn. Cook in batches, and pile up on a plate until they are all done. You can keep them warm in the oven until you are ready for them.

5. Serve with some lovely creamy dauphinoise potatoes (layers of potatoes discs, onions and grated cheese drenched in a white bechamel sauce and baked for 40 mins), plus sweetcorn and a crisp salad. Approx. per serving: 785 calories, 40.8g fat, 14.9g saturates, 9.9g sugars, 1.3g salt

Use any leftover escalopes in sandwiches with salad and mayonnaise.

Roast chicken with perfect stuffing

Roast chicken or turkey can often become quite dry due to the amount of time it spends in the oven. However by adding fresh stuffing under its skin, this method keeps the meat really succulent and moist, and the stuffing itself become delicious by being cooked with the juices. It's important to make enough stuffing to go round, so make more than you think and cook in a separate container. Here we show you how to make fresh stuffing really quickly, and how to stuff the bird under the skin.

Watch the video to see how to make and stuff your chicken or turkey...

Chicken tikka

A tikka marinade is much easier than many people think, and the meat can be left in the sauce, covered in the fridge for several hours or longer, until it's ready to be used, so it's a great method to prepare ahead. You can use either cubed chicken breast ready to be skewered, or chicken leg/breast (pre-cooked first), then put on the barbecue.

First rub the chicken with a wedge of lemon. In a bowl combine 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp tumeric, 250ml plain yogurt, small piece finely chopped ginger, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, chilli powder to taste (1 tsp or more). Add the chicken pieces, cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for several hours before grilling.

Chicken jambalaya

Jambalaya is a dream dish in terms of using whatever vegetables happen to be leftover in the fridge, and some storecupboard staples like tinned tomatoes and spices. It is generally a meal with a kick, a Creole-influenced dish similar to the paellas/risottos of this world. Take a look at our chicken jambalaya recipe for a basic guide, but remember that you can be flexible to experiment with whatever flavours you fancy.     

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