Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
No Result
View All Result

Kitchen confidence: How to make chicken breasts more exciting this week

Food24
Jess Spiro by Jess Spiro
September 2, 2019
in Cooking Guides and Tips
0
Kitchen confidence: How to make chicken breasts more exciting this week
4
SHARES
22.4k
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

Ah, the humble chicken breast. No cut of meat is more sought after and yet so poorly treated. As chicken breasts are often readily available, affordable, lean and easy to cook, it’s a freezer staple. But its accessibility comes at a price, as chicken breasts easily dry out and can become a bit bland. We’re here to help you get over your love-hate relationship by showing you how and why it really is one of the best cuts of meat around.

ALSO READ: How to shop once in a week and feed yourself every night

Why they deserve more respect than we give them

If you’ve ever cooked with chicken, you’ll know why it’s such a popular meat. The mild flavour means it can handle nearly any flavour compositions you throw at it – be it Thai, Italian, Chinese or Spanish, and everything in between. And while most of us would put a glistening roast chicken at the top of our dream dish list, not very many would say the same of the chicken breast, and it’s understandable. Generally sold off the bone, and skinless, chicken breast lacks all of the supporting flavour that a whole chicken does. However, that just means you need to support it a little more. Think about what you love about roast chicken: fat seeps from the skin and flavour comes from the bone. Apply that to your chicken breast by adding your own fat and flavour.

pasta


The best ways to cook them

The internet will tell you the best way to ensure moist chicken breasts is by slowly poaching them – I’m inclined to agree, provided you’re poaching them properly. It’s not a case of whacking them into a pot of water and boiling them furiously – this will only result in tough, stringy chicken. Place the breasts in a saucepan, pour in just enough water to cover them, add a bit of salt and aromatics – like garlic and thyme or rosemary – and place over a medium heat. Once the pot starts to simmer, cover with the lid, and lower the heat to the gentlest simmer, then allow it to cook for 10 minutes or so. Remember, as with any cut of meat, chicken breasts require resting time, so once you remove them from the water, leave them to sit for 5 or so minutes before slicing.

If poaching isn’t your thing, you can also think of your chicken breasts in the same way you would a steak. Get a pan nice and hot, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sear off your chicken breasts. Only flip them once they’re nicely golden, with a good-looking crust, then repeat on the other side. If you think they need a bit longer to cook through, simply lower the heat in the pan to allow them to finish cooking without burning – you can even baste them with butter during this time. Once again, leave them to rest before cutting.

Take them to flavour town

One surefire way to make a chicken breast more interesting is by marinating or brining before cooking. Pop them into a spicy or barbecue-style marinade at least 30 minutes before cooking and you’ll taste the difference. Even a bit of yoghurt can become the punchiest marinade when mixed with chopped garlic, thyme and rosemary. You can also marinate cooked chicken: simply toss it into a dressing for a couple of minutes before serving.

chicken

 

Think outside the box

The best thing about chicken breasts is that they truly are endlessly versatile, so embrace that by using them in all the multitudes of ways they’re perfect for. Look beyond putting them into curries (although this is one of the best ways to use them!) and try making schnitzels by batting them out slightly and coating them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Grill your marinated chicken over some coals or on a grill pan for a quick mid-week braai. You can even slice them up for your own chicken kebabs. Try your hand at making your own fried chicken, or cut into smaller pieces to become chicken nuggets – and resist the urge to order in.

ALSO READ: How to cook for a big crowd and pull it off like a ninja

Tags: chickenCooking TipsGuidesPoultry


Related Posts

Make your own chai spice with our quick and easy guide
Cooking Guides and Tips

Make your own chai spice with our quick and easy guide

August 11, 2022
5 sides to make with your curry this winter
Cooking Guides and Tips

5 sides to make with your curry this winter

August 10, 2022
The do’s and don’ts of cleaning your air-fryer
Cooking Guides and Tips

The do’s and don’ts of cleaning your air-fryer

August 8, 2022
Next Post
3 koe(k)sister recipes you should be making this Heritage Day

3 koe(k)sister recipes you should be making this Heritage Day

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food24 Team Loves

5 easy vegetarian soups to make this winter

5 easy vegetarian soups to make this winter

July 18, 2022
kitchen design

How to design your kitchen: 5 key considerations

July 18, 2022
This is the key to the perfect cheese sauce

This is the key to the perfect cheese sauce

July 12, 2022
pressure-cooker-lamb

Why you should pressure cook lamb

July 12, 2022
grocery store

5 new things we’ve spotted in supermarkets

June 29, 2022

Recent favourites

  • The do’s and don’ts of cleaning your air-fryer

    The do’s and don’ts of cleaning your air-fryer

    9 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 sides to make with your curry this winter

    6 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • We reveal the results of our smooth apricot jam Food24 taste test

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 tips for making perfectly fluffy mashed potatoes every time

    7 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Make your own chai spice with our quick and easy guide

    5 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get weekly access to our best recipes, tips and tricks

Sign Up
Footer

Quick links

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Win

Collections

  • New Recipes
  • Festive
  • Baking
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Braai Recipes
  • Lunchbox
  • South African Recipes
  • Pasta Recipes

Other links

  • Advertise with Food24
  • Editorial Policy
  • How to Pitch
  • Contact us

Not in the mood to cook?

Visit eatout.co.za to find the perfect restaurant near you.

eatout.co.za

© 2020 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

  • About us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • New Media
IAB
No Result
View All Result
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Win

© 2019 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms below to register

Subscribe to Newsletter

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Close
Food24
Recipe Disclaimer

All recipe content is the responsibility of the party from whom such content originated. You agree that you use the content on Food24 at your own risk. Please read our editorial policy.
Close
Food24
Get the latest recipes delivered to your inbox weekly
Promotional Newsletter

Be the first to receive information about competitions and special offers from Food24 and it's partners.

You have successfully been subscribed!
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Make sure you have completed all required fields.
I don't want to see this again