Sautéed Chicken

The tastiest way to sauté a whole chicken is to cut it up into 2 breasts and 2 thighs and sauté it in butter or olive oil. Always use a pan just large enough to hold the pieces. If the pan is too big, the juices run into the exposed parts and burn. Cover any spaces with the chicken giblets and the chicken back. Start the chicken skin side down so that the skin renders its fat and turns crispy. A nonstick pan is handy, since chicken skin can stick. If you don’t have a nonstick pan, move the pan quickly back and forth on the burner during the first few minutes of cooking. If the chicken is sticking when you try to turn it, cook it for a few minutes more. It will often come loose when the skin cooks a bit longer.