Chicken / How to cook chicken breast
Chicken breast is our favorite cut of chicken. Boneless, plump
and lean. Usually split or cut in half when purchased at the grocery.
They are a many ways to cook chicken breast and many variations
beyond that. High in protein, low in fat, chicken breast is nearly
a perfect food. Chicken breast can be cut into any shape you want
and sauteed, stir fried, grilled, baked, broiled, poached, stripped
or even barbecued along with many other techniques, to wide in
range to cover here. Chicken breast is a favorite mainly because
it is easy and tasty.
Common ways to cook chicken breast
There are two techniques that come to mind when thinking of an
easy chicken breast recipe, grilling and pan frying (not deep
frying). Both are equally easy and with simple preparation can
an extremely tasty meal.
Grilling, the oldest preparation for chicken is simple and elegant.
There is something romantic about cooking over fire and coals.
Maybe it is a slight celebration for our dominance over chickens.
Maybe it is the primitive technique itself that makes grilling
a preferred method to cook chicken breast.
Grilling chicken breast
Obtaining a grilling temperature between 230° and 250°F,
is optimal. Using a charcoal
chimney,start your coals. Pour lit coals over an inch or two
of fresh coals and allow them to even out and become hot. Spread
out charcoal into an even layer and when it has an even layer
of ash approximately 1/2 the depth of a charcoal briquette you
are ready to grill. Place the grill at 4 or 5 inches above coals.
Slowly cook chicken until internal temperature is approximately
170 degrees and remove from heat. Let sit a couple of minutes
before serving.
Pan frying chicken breast
Pan frying chicken breast has two variations worth mentioning;
Pan frying and searing then baking.
Pan frying is easy. Heat a skillet or frying pan to medium and
drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan and allow
to heat through. Place chicken breast in pan and allow to cook
for 7 or 8 minutes or until brown and golden. Flip and repeat
until chicken breast is cooked.
If you would like to sear and bake chicken breast heat oven proof
skillet or frying pan to high and set you oven to 325 degrees
F. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and just as it begins
to smoke place chicken breast in pan. Sear until brown and flip
and repeat. pLace pan with chicken breast in oven and allow to
bake for 20 minutes. You can also pour 1/2 cup or so of chicken
broth or wine in pan before placing in oven to de-glaze the pan
as it bakes.
Chicken breast recipes /
marinades
Chicken can be flavored in many ways. Most should be applied
before cooking chicken breast with the exception of sauce. We
always suggest Knox's Dry Rub
but you will find other simple preparations below.
Knox's yogurt marinade
- 1 Tablespoon Knox's Chipotle BBQ or Jamaican Jerk dry rub
- 1 cup plain Yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon or Lime juice
Mix dry rub, yogurt and citrus. Pour over chicken or place in
ziplock bag with chicken and let marinade for at least 2 hours.
Lemon juice
Prepare chicken breast with salt and pepper and place in a bowl.
Cover with lemon juice and allow to marinade in the refrigerator
for at least an hour before cooking. You can also marinade in
orange juice.
Rosemary and oregano
Rub equal parts rosemary oregano and salt into chicken breast.
Cook as instructed above.
Garlic and olive oil
Crush 3 cloves of garlic and mince with 1 teaspoon of salt. Drizzle
chicken breast with olive oil and rub prepared garlic into chicken
breast. Place in refrigerator before cooking.
Italian Dressing
Place chicken breast in zip lock bag with Italian dressing and
allow to marinate for an hour before cooking.
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