Guides · 3 min read ·
Buying and Handling Chicken: Cuts, Desi vs Broiler, and Kitchen Safety
A practical guide to chicken in a Pakistani kitchen: broiler vs desi chicken, the cuts butchers offer (karahi cut, boti, boneless), how much to buy per person, freshness signs, storing and thawing, whether to wash raw chicken, and cooking it safely.
Chicken is the most-cooked meat in Pakistan: it’s cheaper than mutton and beef, quick to cook, and every family has a dozen favourite chicken dishes. But buying it can be confusing, especially for someone setting up a kitchen for the first time or cooking desi food abroad. Here’s what to ask for, how much to buy, and how to handle it safely.
Broiler or desi chicken?
Broiler (farm) chicken is what most shops sell: fast-growing birds raised on farms, usually sold at about 1–1.5 kg dressed weight. The meat is soft, mild and cooks quickly, in about 25–35 minutes in a salan.
Desi (free-range) chicken comes from village birds that grow slowly and move around. The meat is firmer, darker and more flavourful, with a richer broth, but it’s more expensive and takes much longer to cook: 60–90 minutes or a pressure cooker. Many families save desi chicken for yakhni, soups and slow salans, or for when someone is unwell.
Recipes on this site assume broiler chicken unless they say otherwise. If you use desi chicken, increase the cooking time and add water as needed.
The cuts a Pakistani butcher offers
In Pakistan chicken is usually sold skinless, weighed and cut in front of you. Know what to ask for:
- Karahi cut: a whole bird cut into 12–16 small bone-in pieces. For karahi, salan and qorma.
- Biryani cut: larger bone-in pieces, often 8 per bird, so they don’t fall apart during dum.
- Boti / boneless cubes: for tikka, handi, Chinese dishes and rolls. Ask for thigh (raan) boneless if available; it stays juicier than breast.
- Breast (seena) fillets: for zinger, nuggets, sandwiches and quick stir-fries.
- Leg pieces (leg quarters): for roasting, tandoori chicken and broast.
- Wings: cheap and good for hot wings.
- Mince (qeema): ask the butcher to mince boneless thigh, or thigh and breast together.
- Bones and carcass: often given free or cheap; perfect for stock.
How much to buy
| Use | Per person |
|---|---|
| Bone-in curry (karahi, salan, qorma) | 200–250 g |
| Biryani | 150–200 g bone-in, with plenty of rice |
| Boneless (tikka, handi, stir-fry) | 150–180 g |
| Fillets for burgers | 1 small fillet (100–150 g) |
A 1.2 kg broiler cut for karahi feeds 4–5 people with roti.
Signs of fresh chicken
Fresh chicken is pale pink, moist but not slimy, and smells of almost nothing. Avoid meat that is grey, sticky, or smells sour. Buy chicken last on your shopping trip and get it into the fridge quickly, especially in summer.
Storing and thawing
- Fridge: raw chicken keeps 1–2 days at 4°C or below, on the bottom shelf in a covered container so juices can’t drip onto other food.
- Freezer: portion it into meal-sized bags, flatten, label with the date, and freeze. It keeps well for several months.
- Thawing: thaw in the fridge overnight, never on the counter for hours. In a hurry, thaw the sealed bag in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes, then cook straight away. Don’t refreeze raw chicken that has thawed.
Should you wash raw chicken?
Many Pakistani cooks wash chicken thoroughly, sometimes with vinegar, salt or flour, and it’s a strong habit. Food safety agencies (such as the UK’s Food Standards Agency and the US CDC) advise not washing raw chicken, because splashing spreads bacteria like Campylobacter and Salmonella around the sink and worktop, while cooking kills them anyway.
If you choose to wash it (for example, to remove bone splinters or blood), do it gently in a bowl of water rather than under a running tap, keep everything else out of the sink, and wash and disinfect the sink, tap and nearby surfaces afterwards.
Keeping the kitchen safe
- Use a separate board for raw meat, or wash the board in hot soapy water before cutting vegetables or salad on it.
- Wash your hands with soap after handling raw chicken.
- Marinate in the fridge, not on the counter, and discard leftover marinade or boil it before using it as a sauce.
Cooking chicken safely
Chicken must be cooked all the way through: 75°C in the thickest part, or until the juices run clear and there’s no pink near the bone. A cheap kitchen thermometer takes the guesswork out, especially for fried chicken and big pieces. Leftovers should be cooled quickly, refrigerated, eaten within 2–3 days and reheated until steaming hot.
For a first chicken dish, try chicken salan; for the classic, chicken karahi.
