Poussin chicken, when prepared correctly, can make for an excellent meal and a great source of protein. Specifically, a poussin chicken refers to a young chicken with tender and flavorful meat. However, if you're planning to prepare a poussin chicken—whether it be for a family dinner or special event—you'll want to make sure you know what you're doing, as there are some differences between cooking a poussin chicken and cooking standard chicken thighs or breasts.

DO Rinse Inside and Out

Because with a poussin chicken you'll be cooking the entire chicken at once, you'll want to be careful to rinse the chicken with cool water. Be sure to do this both inside and out, followed by pat drying the chicken with some paper towel. This will help to ensure that any seasoning you apply to the chicken will adhere properly while also helping to rinse off any bacteria that could be lingering on the skin of the bird.

DON'T Forget to Brush with Oil

Unless you want chewy skin on your cooked chicken, you'll want to make sure that you carefully brush the entire surface of the poussin chicken with a quality olive oil before placing it in the oven. This will help to get the skin nice and crispy while also protecting it from burning. At this time, you may also want to consider lightly seasoning the bird; you can do this with just a little bit of salt and pepper.

DO Cook without Opening the Oven

Because opening the oven constantly to check the temperature of your bird will let a lot of the heat out and potentially prolong the cooking time, it's important that you cook your chicken for the entire necessary time without opening the oven. Depending on the size of the chicken, you should generally cook it for around 15–20 minutes at high temperature, though you can cook it at a lower temperature for longer if you want juicier chicken.

DON'T Slice and Serve Right Away

Poussin chicken is similar to other meats in the sense that you should allow it to rest for several minutes before you slice it. Otherwise, you'll end up losing a lot of the juice and flavor, resulting in a dry and boring bird. For the best results, wrap the chicken in tin foil to create a steam trap before serving, which will help to trap the juices in and result in the tastiest bird.

Look for poussin chicken for sale in your area and then get ready to eat the tastiest bird of your life by following these instructions.