How to cook ground chicken so it doesn't taste like disappointment?

[zxcvbob]

I bought a couple of pounds of close-dated fresh ground chicken recently.  I made taco meat with one, and it's edible but not great. (rather than the MSG in the taco packet enhancing the taste of the chicken, the chicken seems to have enhanced the MSG 🤣)  The other pound needs to be cooked soon or frozen or given to the dogs.  I'm not sure if it's all white meat or mixed white and dark; it's very light colored (of course) and 93% lean.

Something Asian-ish?  Especially SE Asian.  It also might be good made into patties (but what kind of sauce?) as long as you don't accidentally try to make a hamburger with it 

I suspect it's a terrible substitute for ground beef and a poor sub for ground pork or even turkey, but probably good in its own right if I knew how to cook it.

I think Mike uses a lot of ground turkey...

[K Frame]

Yes, I use primarily ground turkey. I've not bought actual ground beef (80/20 for burgers) for going on 2 years or longer. The last time I bought actual beef was a rib roast for our Christmas dinner last year.

That said, ground turkey is a lot more like ground beef in consistency, and an pretty far away from ground chicken. I don't use ground chicken, I don't like the consistency. It is way too mushy for me.

That said, the only advice I can give you is, because chicken is perhaps the blandest meat there is, you're really going to need to ramp up the spices and experiment, especially if you normally eat ground beef.

Mentally you're comparing what you're used to with ground beef against the chicken and no matter what you're going to be disappointed until you get used to it. So, again, ramp up the spices.

[zxcvbob]

Yes, I use primarily ground turkey. I've not bought actual ground beef (80/20 for burgers) for going on 2 years or longer. The last time I bought actual beef was a rib roast for our Christmas dinner last year.

That said, ground turkey is a lot more like ground beef in consistency, and an pretty far away from ground chicken. I don't use ground chicken, I don't like the consistency. It is way too mushy for me.

That said, the only advice I can give you is, because chicken is perhaps the blandest meat there is, you're really going to need to ramp up the spices and experiment, especially if you normally eat ground beef.

Mentally you're comparing what you're used to with ground beef against the chicken and no matter what you're going to be disappointed until you get used to it. So, again, ramp up the spices.

I thought I might try something like this but sauté and crumble the meat with the marinade ingredients, and go big on the fresh hot peppers
https://eatup.kitchen/asian-chicken-tacos/#cookbook-recipe-3405

I also have some of that salty Korean red pepper paste that starts with a 'G'.  I've never really figured out how to use it.  I might use that for half of the soy.

[K Frame]

"I also have some of that salty Korean red pepper paste that starts with a 'G'.  I've never really figured out how to use it.  I might use that for half of the soy."

Gochujang.

I love the stuff.

My most common way to use it is when I don't really feel like cooking. I'll make a packet of Ramen noodles with some frozen broccoli. Occasionally I'll chunk up some chicken or sear some frozen shrimp.

Before I get all that prepped, the Ramen powder goes into a bowl with about 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, some rice wine vinegar, some soy sauce, some sesame oil, and as much gochujang as I feel like throwing in. Then I'll whisk it all up to mix it.

Then, while the Ramen and the shrimp/chicken is cooking, I'll keep giving it a stir every few minutes.

Finally, the raman and broccoli go into the sautee pan with the chicken/shrimp and the gochujang sauce. Give it a good mix, turn the burner on for a few moments if it needs a temp touch up, plate, and eat.

[zxcvbob]

I reheated the last of the taco meat today for lunch.  Put it in a small skillet with a little bacon grease and some sliced onions and peppers and a couple of chopped cherry tomatoes. Cooked until the tomatoes disappeared and the other vegs were done and the meat dried out a little.  It was actually good -- no qualifiers. 

I think the main things that helped were a little more fat and overcooking the meat a little so it was dry.

[JTHunter]

You might also try cooking the chicken with some pork sausage.  A pound of chicken and 12 oz. of sausage should give you enough fat and seasonings to help the chicken.  Then, it takes on the taste of the pork (to a degree) and can be used with canned soups to give them more protein, pasta dishes, etc.

[zxcvbob]

"I also have some of that salty Korean red pepper paste that starts with a 'G'.  I've never really figured out how to use it.  I might use that for half of the soy."

Gochujang.

I love the stuff.

My most common way to use it is when I don't really feel like cooking. I'll make a packet of Ramen noodles with some frozen broccoli. Occasionally I'll chunk up some chicken or sear some frozen shrimp.

Before I get all that prepped, the Ramen powder goes into a bowl with about 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, some rice wine vinegar, some soy sauce, some sesame oil, and as much gochujang as I feel like throwing in. Then I'll whisk it all up to mix it.

Then, while the Ramen and the shrimp/chicken is cooking, I'll keep giving it a stir every few minutes.

Finally, the raman and broccoli go into the sautee pan with the chicken/shrimp and the gochujang sauce. Give it a good mix, turn the burner on for a few moments if it needs a temp touch up, plate, and eat.

Do you boil and drain the ramen like they were quick-cook spaghetti noodles?  I have a packet of "creamy chicken" ramen, and some fresh broccoli that needs to be used up.  I could do that and add half a pound of the ground chicken where you use the frozen shrimp.  Mix the other half pound with a pound of greasy hamburger meat and do something hamburger-y with it, like maybe meatloaf.

[K Frame]

"Do you boil and drain the ramen like they were quick-cook spaghetti noodles?"

Yes. And I boil the broccoli in the same pot as the ramen. I normally put the broccoli in just before the ramen is done, more to defrost and heat it than to cook it, as I like it to maintain some crunch and a firmer texture.

[zxcvbob]

I just made more taco meat with it to use it up, but instead of using a packet of taco mix (they are always too salty anyway, even the reduced sodium ones), I cooked the meat with a beef bouillon cube and some Hungarian paprika that has gotten old and turned more brown than red.  That got it some nice color and a little "beefiness" even if the texture is not there.  Then seasoned it with some dried minced onion, black pepper, a little garlic powder, and a big spoonful of Penzey's "3000" chili powder.  I thought it would need a half teaspoon of cornstarch to get the spices to stick to the meat but it seems to be working without that.  I also mixed in some diced red sweet peppers from the garden to use them up and to make it look nice.

It's not great but it's good, and that's all I was hoping for.  It's better than the stuff often turns out made with beef and packaged taco mix.

I'll try some of the Asian stuff at a later date when I'm feeling adventurous.

[Brad Johnson]

Another ground turkey user here. Jennie-O brand. We buy it in the Sam's bulk packs. Comes out to about $3.20 a pound so not only healthier than ground beef, but also cheaper.

Downside is it doesn't brown so well as ground beef, but for what we use it for it doesn't really matter.

Brad

[Northwoods]

Ground chicken can be excellent but needs at minimum 25% dark meat, 50% is ideal. Mixing pork fat in is good as it's more saturated than chicken fat, but still neutral in flavor.

I have a bunch of old hens to cull.  Whatever we don't feed the dogs I'll probably grind.

[K Frame]

If I had old hens I wouldn't grind them...

I'd make Coq au Vin with them or other dishes that are cooked low and slow.

The amount of flavor a stewing hen has compared to the 9 week old birds that you can get at the store? Well, the 9 week old birds don't have any flavor.

That's one thing I miss about living in semi-rural Pennsylvania -- I could get stewing hens pretty regularly.