Boneless skinless chicken breast is the most favorite cut of poultry in the United States and with good reason: they are low in fat, quick and easy to get ready and highly versatile. This remarkable cut of poultry can be grilled, sauteed, broiled, poached, fried and baked. There is a downside however to this cut of meat: they are rather low in fat. You may be asking: "What is wrong with that? That makes them wholesome right?" Yes, they are a healthier way to eat, but because they are low in fat, they are also low in moisture and that makes them very susceptible to over cooking. Nothing is less tasty than a dry and overcooked piece of meat.
There are two ways to make determined your chicken is not overcooked. The first way, and the most spoton in my opinion, is to use an instant read thermometer. I own a handy petite electronic thermometer with a voice alert feature. It is highly spoton and has never let me down. The other recipe for checking doneness is by pricking the meat with a fork. If the juices run clear, then it is done. I think the first selection is much safer, but you can be the judge.
Chicken Salad
There are well hundreds of combined recipes and methods for cooking chicken breast, far too many to cover in this article, so I will talk about two very favorite methods.
One of the easiest and tastiest ways is to marinate and grill them.
Below is a great marinade recipe:
Grilled Chicken Breast With Citrus Herb Marinade
Ingredients:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons of Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1/3 Cup of Freshly Chopped Parsley
1/3 Cup of Freshly Chopped Basil
1 Clove of Garlic Minced
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1/4 Teaspoon of Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Directions:
Step 1: Mix together everything, accept the chicken breasts, in a large bowl. Step 2: Add chicken to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for some hours. Step 3: Get you grill nice and hot and oil the grates to prevent the chicken from sticking. Step 4: Grill chicken about 4 minutes per side or until done.
Another remarkable way to cook chicken breasts is by baking them in foil in the oven. The foil helps keep the meat nice and moist while cooking. What you put inside the foil is only petite by your imagination, but to make things easier, I have included a great recipe below.
Chicken With Sun Dried Tomatoes And Kalamata Olives
Ingredients:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
10 - 15 Kalamata Olives Pitted and Chopped
8 - 10 Sun Dried Tomatoes Cut Into Thin Strips
4 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Freshly Chopped Basil
2 Tablespoons of Freshly Chopped Parsley Salt and Pepper to Taste
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat Oven to 450 Degrees F
Step 2: In a bowl, merge the olives, tomatoes, basil, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Step 3: Cut 8 Squares of Aluminum Foil (Cut them large, about 18 inches square)
Step 4: Grab 2 squares of foil and place one on top of the other.
Step 5: Grease the foil with some olive oil
Step 6: Place a chicken breast in the center of the foil and spoon some of the tomato and olive aggregate on top
Step 7: Loosely fold the foil over the chicken forming a tent and seal tightly
Step 8: Repeat this process for the remaining chicken breasts
Step 9 : Place the wrapped chicken breasts on a baking sheet and place in the pre-heated oven
Step 10: Bake for practically 20 minutes or until done. To check for doneness, cut a small slit in the foil to allow the steam to escape and then determined unfold the foil. Check for doneness with an instant read thermometer. The internal climatic characteristic should read 160 degrees F.
Step 11: Let the chicken breasts stand for about five minutes before serving.
The Many Ways to Cook Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
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