Getting moist, flavorful and tender chicken breasts can be a challenge even for skilled chefs. It's easy to overcook them and end up with a dry, tasteless breast that no one would enjoy for dinner. Well, say good-bye to that sad scenario and sad, dry chicken breasts forever.
Cooking chicken breasts in the oven may sound more complicated than it actually is. How do we keep the moisture of the chicken?
We've gathered here 3 different takes on a super easy method that guarantees perfect chicken breasts every time: "it's never failed me," Emma Christensen from
The Kitchn says. Her method differs slightly from
Kelsey Kinser's one or the
Yellow Bliss Road's one, but all of them are equally easy and render great results.
To cook the perfect chicken breasts in the oven, you'll need:
- Boneless and skinless chicken breasts,
- Salt and pepper,
- Seasoning and spices to taste (you can try garlic powder, paprika, oregano... Here, your imagination and tastes are the limit!),
- Olive oil or butter.
Now, what's the trick to keep their moist and flavor? If we follow Kelsey Kinser's recipe, brining the chicken before cooking it is key. You'd have to brine the breasts in salty, room temperature water for 4-8 hours or do it in warm water for 15-20 minutes if you'd rather do a quick brine. Before baking them, it's necessary to pat them dry before putting them in the oven. Yellow Bliss Road, on the other hand, skips the brining step, and states that the most important step is to rub the breasts with olive oil before baking them: "helps add moisture to the chicken and also helps the seasonings stick to the breast."
Both Kelsey Kinser and Yellow Bliss Road recommend preheating the oven to 450°F (232°C) while you season the breasts and then bake them for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken temperature has reached 165°-170°F (approximately 75°C), which is also the
government's recommended safe temperature for cooked poultry. They both also recommend letting them rest for at least 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving them. This step is important and it's what keeps the moisture locked inside the chicken breasts.
What's what makes The Kitchn's method different, you may be wondering. Well, Emma Christensen states that she learnt the "dry-poaching" trick in culinary school, and that it sounds much more complicated than it actually is. Basically, it consists of buttering a sheet of parchment paper and placing it over the seasoned breasts on a casserole dish. Tuck the chicken in and bake it. If you're following this method, Christensen recommends preheating the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Christensen's method takes a little bit more time in the oven. She recommends checking the chicken after 20 minutes, but adds that it usually takes up to 30-40 minutes to completely cook. Once it's done, serve the chicken immediately.
Now, what are the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, you may be wondering. Well, Christensen's method sounds more dependable, thanks to the parchment paper, the chicken basically retains all its juices, since the parchment paper "acts almost like the chicken's missing skin, protecting the chicken and preventing it from drying out."
The disadvantage of this method, however, is that the resulting chicken won't be golden on the outside, which can be a little bit less appealing to the eyes than Kelsey Kinser or Yellow Bliss Road's results. You can try the 3 approaches, keeping in mind that the oven you have may affect the result, and tell us which one was your favorite!
