Feathers fly this Australia Day

Specialty meat retail franchise company, Lenard’s Pty Ltd , is out to set the record straight on the country’s most popular Australia Day meat. And it’s not lamb.

Each year, the average Aussie meat lover consumes more than 38 kilograms of chicken, which is more than two and a half times that of lamb (14 kilograms), and founder of the chicken franchise, Len Poulter, said it’s easy to see why.

“Just like Mr Kekovich said, the most important factor affecting Aussies and their long-weekend celebrations this year is the threatening economic crisis,” Mr Poulter said.

“Chicken is less than a third of the cost of lamb, meaning hungry Australians can feed three times as many mates or eat three times the amount of food – I’d argue you couldn’t get more Australian than that!” he said.

According to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation, most Australian chicken meat is consumed within our own country, with only two per cent being exported overseas and none being imported.

“This gives Australians a little piece of mind that when they’re feasting on chicken on Australia Day, they are enjoying something that’s 100 per cent Aussie made,” Mr Poulter said.

“Chicken is among the leanest and most nutritious meats and is perfect for an Australia Day barbecue – It’s easy to prepare, budget-friendly and tastes great.

“In the week leading up to Australia Day our stores order more than 200 tonnes of chicken and struggle to keep up with demand for our most popular barbecuing products.”

Australians widely regard themselves as the world’s greatest backyard chefs, willing to experiment with flavours and cooking styles, the trend going beyond just throwing another chop on the grill.

Some Australians have made a national sport out of turning delicious cuts of meat into charcoal. So the team at Lenard’s retail chicken franchise has some tips for cooking the perfect Australia Day BBQ – with chicken.

1. Preheat your barbecue for approximately 30 minutes before cooking. It not only needs to heat up, but you may also need to let it cool down a little before cooking.
2. When cooking a variety of products, always place the thickest pieces closer to the heat source and the smaller cuts near the edges.
3. Use long-handled, stainless-steeled tongs. Unlike short-handled ones, they don’t tend to squeeze the chicken as much so you don’t lose the juices.
4. Chicken is leaner than many red meat cuts, so it may stick to hot barbecue plates. To prevent sticking, spray a little cooking spray, or brush oil on to the cooking plate before lighting the barbecue.
5. To avoid ‘charcoal chicken’ that is raw inside, either use a lower heat, turn the product frequently or elevate the chicken away from direct heat using a rack.
6. Using the hood on a kettle or hotplate barbecue can reduce cooking times and result in juicer chicken.
7. Avoid using over-heated hotplates. It will overcook the outside of your chicken and dry it out. For best results, use a medium warm setting on the hotplate and increase the heat to crisp up the skin once the chicken is cooked through.
8. You’ll know when the chicken is cooked through when the juices run clear after pierced with a fork. There is no such thing as medium or rare cooked chicken!
9. Never re-use the plate used to transfer raw chicken to the barbecue; use a clean one.
10. Never leave chicken sitting at room temperature for extended periods of time; always get your leftover chicken into the fridge as soon as possible.