This recipe takes some time but the reward of a perfectly juicy, flavorful chicken breast is worth it. I won’t keep you waiting… Brine it, Dry it, Baste it, Bake it.
First, start off with the best chicken you can buy. Today I went to Whole Foods but my local farmer’s market has the best chicken for even less money. We’re going to make a simple brine for the chicken to soak in for an hour, then we’re going to air dry it for at least an hour. The brine infuses the meat with deliciousness and the air drying means it won’t steam itself in the hot pan, yielding a beautiful crispy skin. Then we’ll bring the chicken up to room temperature for two reasons; one, it won’t drop the temperature of the hot pan and two, it’ll cook more evenly. These are all critical steps, so no short cuts! Once the meat is prepared, we’ll start cooking on the stove top and finish in the oven. This is so good I already want to make it again!
Perfectly juicy and flavorful Chicken Breast.
4
servings10
minutes30
minutes2
hours2
hours40
minutesThis recipe takes some time but the reward of a perfectly juicy, flavorful chicken breast is worth it. I wonāt keep you waitingā¦Ā Brine it, Dry it, Baste it, Bake it.
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Ingredients
2 Whole Split Boneless Breasts, skin on
2 cups Water
1/4 cup Salt
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tray Ice Cubes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Butter
Salt ands Pepper
Directions
- Brine:
- Bring the water to a boil and add the salt and sugar.
- After the salt and sugar have dissolved, move the brine to a large container or bowl and add the ice cubes. Let the brine cool completely, add the chicken and move to the fridge for at least 90 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
- Line a cooling rack with two layers of paper towels and place the breasts on top. Put two more layers of paper towel on top, press firmly, then move to the fridge for an hour.
- Pan Roast:
- Remove chicken from fridge to get to room temp. Preheat oven to 400Ā°F. Put sheet pan in oven.
- Over a medium-high flame, heat a tablespoon of olive oil until it shimmers.
- Season the dry, room temp chicken with some salt and pepper. Then, in batches, place one full breast skin-side down in the hot pan.
- Weigh the chicken down with a heat proof plate and cook for 2 1/2 minutes to brown the skin.
- Remove chicken from the pan and let rest on a clean platter. Clean the pan well and repeat with the other breast.
- Place one of the full pieces of chicken in the pan skin-side up.
- Add 1Tbsp of butter and baste for 2 minutes. The skin should be nice and golden. Set aside on the platter with all the pan juices and repeat with the other piece.
- Bake:
- With oven mitts, remove the very hot sheet pan from the oven and place the chicken breasts skin side up. Spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken.
- Put the chicken in the 400Ā° oven and cook for 5-15 minutes, until they reach an internal temp of 150-155Ā°F.
- While youāre waiting, clean and dry the pan and the platter.
- When the chicken is done, put them on the platter with all their juices and ten the foil over top. Rest for 5-10 minutes.
Notes
- If you’re only making one whole breast, you can halveĀ the brine and save a few of the cooking steps (and eat sooner).
- If you can’t find boneless, skin on breasts, check out this Cook’s Illustrated guide to debone them https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/8229-boning-a-split-chicken-breast
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