Nigerians are pretty predictable, which is not always a bad thing because not everyone likes surprises. So on that note, I feel like most of us already know what we’ll be having/cooking this week, but what if I tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way? Let’s try to be adventurous this year and not just boil the chicken in ginger and garlic, fry it and call it a day. Here are six different, and sometimes, better ways to cook your chicken (meat). 

1. Quality Marinade,  barbecue sauce and grilling 

Any self-respecting marinade should contain acids like vinegar, orange or lemon juice for tenderizing, and spices for flavour and oil.e. Oils like canola, soy and olive oil are great for marinades and you can add some local spices like scent leaves or uziza to give it an unusual, distinct flavour. After marinating, grill it and glaze with your barbecue sauce.

2. Baked Chicken

The major problem with cooking chicken, especially the breasts,  is ensuring it is well spiced and doesn’t turn out bland, and I think stuffing the whole chicken with herbs and spices like oregano, parmesan, even scent leaves, add your own twist to it. Lay the chicken in a bed of herbs, citrus - slices of orange or lemon and spices, go all out! Your guests would definitely be thrilled with evenly spiced chicken. 

3. Chicken curry sauce

You can never go wrong with chicken curry and the fact there’s an entire song dedicated to this dish is more proof, word to Mr Eazi. It makes for a great sauce and can be eaten with practically any carbohydrate, in fact, anything. Don’t look at me like that, yes, even yam.

4. Try braising

Braising involves cooking with both wet and dry heat, typically, the chicken is sautéed with herbs first and then a small amount of liquid is added and it is slowly cooked in the liquid for a longer period of time. This method, outside of marinating for a long time is the most effective in infusing spices into the chicken, the downside is that this method requires a long time.

5. Try a steak instead

Steak is fancy enough for Christmas, and there are many ways it can be prepared: grilled or pan-seared, these are the easy ways of preparing steak. The only downside is that it’s more expensive than chicken or turkey. But we’re all for trying new stuff, right?