Recently, I was watching “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” the delightful food documentary based on Samin Nosrat’s best-selling novel, when Nosrat said something that some food nerds might think of as controversial.

She gleefully declared: “Chicken. It’s really not cool to say, but it’s my favorite, favorite meat.”

Same, Samin. Same.

Maybe it’s because chicken is so versatile, maybe it’s because I find it comforting (it was the thing I craved most when I was a vegetarian for a few years in the 1990s), but chicken is my go-to protein, especially at home.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I order my favorite meat at a restaurant and the preparation is lacking imagination, or worse, ruins the bird. This happens more often than you might expect, especially given that most of the chefs I talk to say that chicken is one of the most frequently ordered items on their menu.

But I’m not here to dwell on the negative. I’d rather spend my time talking about the chicken dishes I swoon over. Here are five that show incredible technique and flavor profiles, all from chefs who clearly share my love for the bird.

Crispy all natural half chicken at Meritage ($26). This dish is the gold standard for a deceptively simple, simply delicious chicken preparation. The half bird is cooked under a brick to ensure maximum skin crispiness, but it retains every bit of juice. It’s served with a rich, decadent veal jus, some sauteed spinach and roasted potatoes. “It’s the only menu item that hasn’t changed a bit since we opened,” chef and owner Russell Klein said. “People would revolt.” Those people include me. 410 St. Peter St., St. Paul; 651-222-5670; meritage-stpaul.com

Jerk chicken at Stewart’s ($18). Chef Jason Hansen based this kicky little number on dishes he’s cooked for family and friends on his day off. The preparation of the intensely flavorful dish is anything but simple: The cooks cure the chicken overnight in salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice then braise it the following day in lemon and orange juices, molasses, soy sauce, vinegar and aromatics like garlic, scallions, ginger and cilantro. Fresno and habanero peppers are added for heat.

Finally, when the chicken is almost done, they take it out, thicken the braising liquid and use it to glaze the chicken while they grill it to make it ready for the plate.

The perfect peas and rice the chicken is served atop contains jasmine rice, cooked in coconut milk and lime juice, and Red Island Sea Peas, which are a smaller heirloom field pea, or bean, cooked until just tender. 128 Cleveland Ave., St. Paul; 651-645-4128; stewartsminnesota.com

Chicken at Pajarito ($18). You might skip right over the wood-fired entree section at Pajarito (and their tacos are so good I wouldn’t necessarily blame you), but if you did that, you’d miss out on this killer chile-fueled chicken dish.

Chef Stephan Hesse said the restaurant has changed the preparation on its chicken a few times, but no matter what they do, it’s always a top seller. Currently, the chicken is rubbed with dried chiles, garlic, oil and oregano and cooked on the wood-fire grill. The bird itself is juicy and delicious, but the sweet corn, basically like a Mexican version of creamed corn, it’s served upon is what takes it over the top.

The kitchen cuts corn from the cob, cooks it with a little garlic, shallot, cream and milk until the corn gets soft. They strain the solids out, and to that corn milk they add to more corn, poblanos and fresnos along with an herbaceous drizzle of chimichurri.

It’s so good my husband and I fought for the last few bites. Next time, I’ll order my own. 605 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-340-9545; pajaritostp.com

Pan roasted chicken breast at The Lexington ($25). When chef Jack Riebel told me that his chicken dish was inspired by Meritage chef Russell Klein’s, it made sense to me. Both are classic chicken dishes, just executed really well. Riebel’s technique is different, though. The restaurant cuts all its own chicken, so the modified airline cut is their doing. Then they take that free-range chicken and brine it with some pickling spice, salt and brown sugar.

After the brining is done, they air dry the meat, to ensure crispy skin. Then they sear it in a pan with rendered chicken fat, garlic and herbs to crisp the skin, and finish it in the oven, basting it frequently.

The result is well-seasoned, juicy chicken with crisp skin. It’s served with a roasted garlic jus made from a stock reduced from the chicken carcass (waste not, want not!) that is livened up with some white wine and garlic, along with earthy wood-ear mushrooms and slices of sweet kohlrabi. 1096 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-289-4990; thelexmn.com

Butter-basted poussin (for two) from In Bloom ($35). When we ordered this dish, we were eating a whole lot of other things, too, but it was the first to disappear.

A poussin is a fancy French word for young chicken, and In Bloom serves them whole, using its wood-fire grill to impart all kinds of flavor in a several-step cooking process.

First, chef Thomas Boemer said, they stuff the bird with mirepoix (chopped celery, carrots and onion), butter and herbs. Then they hang them over the fire in something they call a trapeze.

“The way the fire cooks it, it sort of dries out that skin,” Boemer said.

Then the bird is finished in the wood-burning oven, which burns at 800 degrees, further crisping the skin and imparting a deep, dark color at the same time. The bird never dries out, though, because of the vegetables and butter that are stuffed inside.

During truffle season, the bird is served on giant croutons and adorned with slices of the prized mushrooms, but since truffle season has ended, Boemer said they are serving it on a cornbread and sausage stuffing. Both presentations have the same goal — using bread to soak up the juices from the chicken, making for some irresistible bites. 928 W. Seventh St., St.Paul; 651-237-9630; inbloomstp.com