Meat and Poultry

Chicken

Κοτόπουλο · Kotopoulo

Chicken, the everyday roast of Greek Sunday cooking

Chicken carries none of lamb's festival weight in Greek cooking; it is instead the meat of an ordinary Sunday lunch, roasted whole or in pieces alongside potatoes in the same tray, rather than reserved for a specific feast day. Kotopoulo lemonato, chicken and potato wedges roasted together in a lemon, garlic and oregano marinade, is the clearest and most common expression of this everyday role.

The technique that separates a good version of this tray from a mediocre one is timing rather than seasoning: potatoes take noticeably longer than chicken to turn properly tender and golden, so giving the potatoes a head start in a hot oven before the chicken joins them is what lets both finish together rather than one being overdone while the other lags behind.

Bone-in, skin-on pieces are strongly preferred over boneless breast for exactly the kind of long, shared-tray roasting Greek chicken cookery favours, since the bone and skin both help the meat stay moist over a longer cooking time than a lean, boneless cut would tolerate well.

Photo: Raw chicken thighs.jpg by gran, CC BY 3.0.

Recipes with chicken

19 recipes on the site using it.

A bowl of pale golden avgolemono soup with shredded chicken, rice and a lemon wedge Greek SoupsGreek Avgolemono Soup Κοτόσουπα αυγολέμονο · 1h 30m · serves 6 Greek Side DishesGreek Lemon Potatoes Πατάτες λεμονάτες · 1h 35m · serves 6 Thin slices of veal in a pale garlic and parsley sauce with rice alongside Greek Main CoursesCorfu Sofrito Σοφρίτο · 1h 35m · serves 4 Greek Main CoursesHirino me Selino Χοιρινό με σέλινο · 2h 5m · serves 6 Greek Main CoursesTavas Ταβάς · 2h 55m · serves 6 A tray of Greek lemon chicken and potatoes roasted golden Greek Main CoursesKotopoulo Lemonato Κοτόπουλο λεμονάτο · 1h 35m · serves 4 Greek Main CoursesGamopilafo Γαμοπίλαφο · 2h 20m · serves 8 Greek hylopites egg pasta with chicken in tomato sauce Greek Main CoursesHylopites Χυλοπίτες · 2h · serves 6 A bowl of Greek trahanas soup, thick and rustic Greek SoupsTrahanas Soup Σούπα τραχανά · 30m · serves 4 A bowl of Greek giouvarlakia meatball soup in avgolemono sauce Greek SoupsGiouvarlakia Γιουβαρλάκια · 1h 15m · serves 6 A bowl of Greek kotosoupa avgolemono chicken and rice soup Greek SoupsKotosoupa Avgolemono Κοτόσουπα αυγολέμονο · 1h 50m · serves 6 Grilled yogurt-marinated chicken souvlaki skewers with charred edges Greek Main CoursesSouvlaki Kotopoulo me Giaourti Σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο με γιαούρτι · 37m · serves 4 A slice of Greek kotopita chicken pie showing layered phyllo and filling Greek Breads and PiesKotopita Κοτόπιτα · 1h 30m · serves 8 Greek SoupsSoupa Selino Avgolemono Σούπα σέλινο αυγολέμονο · 1h 55m · serves 6 Greek Side DishesRizi Pilafi Ρύζι πιλάφι · 25m · serves 4 A dish of Greek kotopoulo giouvetsi chicken and orzo in tomato sauce Greek Main CoursesKotopoulo Giouvetsi Κοτόπουλο γιουβέτσι · 1h 20m · serves 4 Greek Main CoursesKolokasi me Kotopoulo Κολοκάσι με κοτόπουλο · 1h 30m · serves 4 Greek Main CoursesKeskek Κεσκέκ · 4h 30m · serves 8 Greek Main CoursesBourani me Kotopoulo Μπουράνι με κοτόπουλο · 1h 15m · serves 4

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