Mastering Tender Chicken Breastesses!

Friends,

I can't tell you how many times I've cooked chicken breasts that came out.........nightmare-ishly dry.
Whenever I realized that I wouldn't be able to cook my chicken breast on a pan all the way through, I would cut it into pieces and finish cooking it.
After that failure, I started cooking my chicken breasts after butterflying them, because then they're thinner.
But recently, after graduating from college, I found a way to cook chicken breasts without overcooking them and without poking holes all throughout the chicken to check it's doneness.
No, you don't need a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast. Nor do you need a longer cooking time. You don't even need to use the oven.
Albeit, I'm no professional cook or chef. I'm also not a crazy experienced cook who is in the kitchen very hour of the day. This is just something I learned through my mistakes. If a professional were to read this and scoff at my "attempt" to give advice, oh well.

I don't know how often you cook chicken breasts over the stove, but I do it pretty often because I love to make salads with it for a healthy but incredibly filling meal. A moist and flavorful chicken breast on a bed of various fresh vegetables....yummy! I love my white meat! *Ahem* Please leave your dirty thoughts at the door.......actually I really don't mind them ;)

Oh, by the way, one cooking faux pas that many people never seem to realize: WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER HANDLING RAW CHICKEN!!!
And another, never cook frozen chicken!!! Make sure that it's been completely thawed IN THE REFRIGERATOR. It boggles my mind when people try to cook frozen meat in general.... I guess I gotta keep in mind also that not everyone watches the Food Network 24/7.

Okay anyways...so here's how it's done:
1. This step is pretty much common sense, but drizzle some oil (whatever kind you prefer) and melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan. I'm sure you can do without the butter. But I like the flavor.
2. Trim off any fat off the chicken breast. This is only because I cannot stand fat/skin on my chicken...only when it's cooked properly. Like...fried. HaH.
3. Pound the chicken with the back of your knife, just to work it up a teeny bit, not to flatten it.
4. Liberally salt and pepper both sides.
5. Cook one side over medium heat for about four minutes, and here's the trick: place a piece of aluminum foil over the pan while that side is cooking. This basically steams/slightly cooks the other side at the same time. Caution: Just gently place the foil over pan, don't be foolish and try to wrap it around the sides and burn your fingers off. Plus, you want some air traveling through so not too much water forms in the pan.
6. Flip the chicken and cook for another four to five minutes. Make a tiny slice to see if the chicken is cooked thoroughly, meaning very very very very little pink to no pink at all.

With this method, I was able to enjoy juicy chicken breast pieces tossed in my salad. So yummy!

Oh, and I actually ate half of a cabbage today and Googled its nutrients because I was scared that maybe I should calm down on my cabbage consumption. But I found out, that it's low in calories, great for weight-loss plans, and one of the top cancer fighting vegetables! So....eat on!!!

I'm really trying to eat healthy from now on. Granted...I did consume 1/3 of a tub of Mocha Cheesecake ice cream in the past two days -__-...but you know, a girl's gotta compensate for her once-a-month sufferings, if you know what I'm talking about. And! Today, I got more than enough of my vegetable servings so there! Half a cabbage, an entire carrot, 1/8 of an onion, and the protein of a chicken breast. I'm quite satisfied.

Let the healthy food excursions continue!




{eSeul}