Our Best Chicken Recipes in 2016

There's a reason that everything unknown "tastes like chicken." It's because we want it to taste like chicken. It's the most versatile, customizable, and crowd-pleasing meat on the planet. From battering and frying to coating in koji to smothering in yellow adobo, you can cook chicken in just about any way imaginable, and over the past year, we did. These were our best new chicken recipes in 2016, and yeah, there's soup.
Alex Lau1/22Pounded Lemongrass Chicken
This aromatic Vietnamese-inspired dish calls for pounding the chicken breasts to a uniform thinness, which eliminates any dryness.
Alex Lau2/22Chicken Milanesa With Ranch Sauce
This irresistible matchup of crispy and creamy releases more dopamine than a bag of Cheetos.
Alex Lau3/22Filipino Chicken Adobo
Depending on your personal preference, you can brush off and discard the peppercorns before cooking, or leave them on for stronger flavor.
Photograph by Travis Rainey, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy4/22Buttermilk Fried Chicken
The egg-enriched buttermilk mixture makes for an especially crunchy and craggy coating.
Alex Lau5/22Herbed Chicken Salad over Crispy Rice
As you’re crisping the rice for this chicken salad recipe, the leeks and carrots may look very dark. Don’t be scared or angry at us; the veggies aren’t burnt, they’re just deeply caramelized and will add lots of flavor to the final dish. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Alex Lau6/22Elizabeth Street Café's Chicken & Rice Soup
Sticky rice is worth using for this porridge-y, comforting chicken soup recipe; it releases lots of creamy starches and helps builds nice body as it cooks.
Danny Kim7/22Pietro’s Chicken Parmesan
At Pietro’s, the cooks deep fry the chicken cutlets in a large, wide skillet, which allows the oil to come up to temperature very quickly and stay there once the cutlet is added. Smart, but potentially messy (it’s a lot of oil!). If you have a Dutch oven with high sides, that will minimize splatter—we’d feel rotten if you got burned.
Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott8/22Braised Chicken Thighs With Squash and Mustard Greens
Don’t have an acorn squash for this chicken thighs recipe? Use butternut. Not into mustard greens? Use kale, Swiss chard, or spinach.
Peden & Munk9/22Grilled Chicken Wings With Shishito Peppers and Herbs
Steady medium heat is best for grilling wings; they need time for the fat to render and the skin to crisp.
Alex Lau10/22Fennel-Rubbed Chick-etta
The traditional stuffed pork roast is so delicious but so laborious. This chicken has all the same garlicky, herby flavors—not to mention lots of crispy bacon bits—and it’s optimized for a weeknight meal.
Alex Lau11/22BA's Best Fried Chicken Sandwich
This sandwich is engineered for maximum impact. Each element is awesome, but it’s the way they come together that puts it over the top. Mmmmm, yeah.
Alex Lau12/22Ginger Cashew Chicken Curry
Instead of chicken, this curry recipe is really good with boneless pork chops. Cut into ½" pieces and proceed as written. Check out step-by-step photos here.
Alex Lau13/22Roast Koji Chicken
If possible, plan in advance for this easy chicken recipe; letting it chill for 2 days after being seasoned has a huge impact on the flavor and also gives the skin time to dehydrate, which magnifies its crispy potential.
Alex Lau14/22Chicken Stew with Cannellini Beans and Dried Cherries
If you’re not following our weekly meal plan and not making the Grilled Cheese (though you really should; it’s delightful), which you need wheat bread for, use country loaf or sourdough bread, crusts removed, for optimal breadcrumbs for this chicken stew recipe. Check out step-by-step photos here.