Chicken help please?

[kezlehan]

Hello fellow cooks! I need your help if you'd be so kind!

I love to cook this casserole Beef & vegetable casserole recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food
However, what with the price of beef lately, I want to adapt it to use chicken instead. Obviously this will alter the whole recipe. Can anyone tell me what changes I should make to the recipe to adapt it for chicken breasts? Obviously no beef stock, but I didn't know about the Worcestershire sauce and also the cooking time? When to add chicken, how long for?
Basically I'm looking to make a chicken casserole. I know how to do a beef one and I love it, how can I adapt it to make it suitable for chicken?

Thank you and sorry if I sound stupid! I'm a novice!

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by kezlehan

Hello fellow cooks! I need your help if you'd be so kind!

I love to cook this casserole Beef & vegetable casserole recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food
However, what with the price of beef lately, I want to adapt it to use chicken instead. Obviously this will alter the whole recipe. Can anyone tell me what changes I should make to the recipe to adapt it for chicken breasts? Obviously no beef stock, but I didn't know about the Worcestershire sauce and also the cooking time? When to add chicken, how long for?
Basically I'm looking to make a chicken casserole. I know how to do a beef one and I love it, how can I adapt it to make it suitable for chicken?

Thank you and sorry if I sound stupid! I'm a novice!

You certainly don't sound stupid! Very good questions.

Maybe sub chicken broth, leave out the Worcestershire, try a bit of red wine or sherry instead. The chicken will already be browned, so you may want to reduce the cooking time. Basically, the dish will already be cooked, so you don't need to do it for as long as the beef. Keep tasting till you get what you want.

Good luck!

[kezlehan]

Originally Posted by Dawgluver

You certainly don't sound stupid! Very good questions.

Maybe sub chicken broth, leave out the Worcestershire, try a bit of red wine or sherry instead. The chicken will already be browned, so you may want to reduce the cooking time. Basically, the dish will already be cooked, so you don't need to do it for as long as the beef. Keep tasting till you get what you want.

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice! We're really feeling the penny pinching lately and so are having to cut back on our cooking expenses, but I don't want to lose my love of meat.

I will try this out during the week and report back with what I ended up doing. I can't wait to experiment, but at the same time I'm kind of scared because I don't want to end up ruining dinner!

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by kezlehan

Thank you for your advice! We're really feeling the penny pinching lately and so are having to cut back on our cooking expenses, but I don't want to lose my love of meat.

I will try this out during the week and report back with what I ended up doing. I can't wait to experiment, but at the same time I'm kind of scared because I don't want to end up ruining dinner!

Don't worry, you won't ruin anything! Playing with your food is the best part of cooking!

[ella/TO]

Just don't cook it too long....chicken breasts dry out quickly...good luck!!

[kezlehan]

Thanks everyone. Would adding the chicken breasts later help? As in cook all the veg and sauce and stuff, and then add the chicken towards the end of the cooking? So I can still get a nice sauce like I do with the beef casserole?

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by kezlehan

Thanks everyone. Would adding the chicken breasts later help? As in cook all the veg and sauce and stuff, and then add the chicken towards the end of the cooking? So I can still get a nice sauce like I do with the beef casserole?

Sure! Why not? I think that's a great idea!

Cooking isn't an exact science, unlike baking.

[kezlehan]

Originally Posted by Dawgluver

Sure! Why not? I think that's a great idea!

Cooking isn't an exact science, unlike baking.

Excellent, I am getting excited! So I'm thinking of adding the chicken breast about half way through the simmering of 1.5 hours? So after about 45 minutes? Then a low simmer for the rest of the time? Honestly I feel like such a newbie! I really am when it comes to chicken though, we just don't eat it for some reason. Now I realise how versatile a meat it is!

[Kayelle]

Kez, I wouldn't cook that cubed chicken breast longer than 15- 20 min. or so, just until it's no longer pink. Like Ella said, the idea is to get it to "done" and no more.

If you are starting to use chicken more, you might like to try one of my favorite chicken recipes. It sounds like you like "stick to the ribs" recipes, and this is certainly that. There are many tried and true chicken recipes here at DC that you might also enjoy. Good luck, and happy cooking.

Kayelle's Chicken Paprikash

[kezlehan]

Originally Posted by Kayelle

Kez, I wouldn't cook that cubed chicken breast longer than 15- 20 min. or so, just until it's no longer pink. Like Ella said, the idea is to get it to "done" and no more.

If you are starting to use chicken more, you might like to try one of my favorite chicken recipes. It sounds like you like "stick to the ribs" recipes, and this is certainly that. There are many tried and true chicken recipes here at DC that you might also enjoy. Good luck, and happy cooking.

Kayelle's Chicken Paprikash

Thank you it's a big help I mean it. I'm in charge of my mum's bank card lately due to some issues, and so I'm looking to cut down on costs. Hence the chicken idea.
I appreciate all your replies and I'll be sure to reply back how it went :)