cooking chicken breasts

[torakris]

I know, I know most you probably refuse to let chicken breasts in your house.... but for me I prefer them over thighs in salad like preparations.

The best way I have found to cook them is a way a Chinese friend taught me by simmering a whole chicken in a large pot of simmering water with some aromatics until just done.

However whole chicken are difficult to find here (and very expensive) and sometimes I just need a quicker method for just breasts.

Another difficulty is that I can not buy breasts on the bone in this country and thus amleft with boneless chicken breasts (with skin).

What can I do with these to get the juiciest most flavorful breasts possible?

poach? steam? microwave?

[ducphat30]

Here is a suggestion to help keep them juicy, especially for a salad is to season them up with salt and pepper, some fresh herb and sliced garlic. Place them on a lightly greased sheet tray with a PROBE THERMOMETER. Set it for 150 degrees, and set the oven for 200 degrees. Allow the breasts to cook slowly, and then let them rest until they are room temperature before using them in a salad. Works great for all types of salad, they can be seared first for additional flavor, and then finish them in the oven same as above.

Temperatures are Fahrenheit (sp?)

[Dave the Cook]

A variation on ducphat's low-temp method: poach in 160 F chicken stock to 150 F.

For optimum results when cooking in the oven, brine them first, especially when employing the searing option.

The point of both these methods is to handle the proteins gently, so they don't seize and squeeze out any more moisture than necessary.

[torakris]

so basically there are no fast methods, say 15 minutes or less from pan to table...?

[tommy]

brine, dry, s/p, cook skin side down in a good amount of oil. pour off excess when skin is crispy. flip. finish in oven. aside from brining, about 10/15 minutes active cooking time.

[Malawry]

Another slow-cook variation, when you have time: Put some sliced lemons in a shallow pan. Top with seasoned chicken breasts and lace with fresh oregano. Top with more lemons. Pour in olive oil to mostly cover breasts. (Don't bother with the expensive stuff, this is where you use the Costco type oil that's not extra-virgin.) Poach slowly in cool oven. Num.

[Bombdog]

I like to season, as stated above, then grill them. Other than warm up time for the grill, 15 minutes is plenty of time.

As much as I love thighs, we frequently grill boneless, skin on, breasts for salads.

DOH, there's several seasonings above. I meant what ducphat said. We do something very similar.

Edited April 9, 2004 by Bombdog (log)

[Larry]

I usually just toss them with some olive oil, some salt and pepper and grill them just until they're done. As long as you don't overcook they won't be dry.

[TrishCT]

Or...You can pound the breasts a little bit, dip in flour seasoned with a healthy dose of salt and pepper, dip in an egg wash (egg beaten with a tablespoon of water), and pan fry till golden in 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs butter. Very quick and the chicken is flavorful and juicy.

Edited to add: I just realized that your idea of salad is probably with mayonnaise... my suggestion was for the grilled ceaser type of salad... apologies...

Edited April 9, 2004 by TrishCT (log)

[Fat Guy]

so basically there are no fast methods, say 15 minutes or less from pan to table...?

Just poach them in simmering stock. They'll come out fine. And if you're confident in the quality of the product, go to 145. A lot of the best restaurants actually use 141 as the target for chicken breasts.

[Jaybert41]

I think that if what you are looking for here is a quick method of cooking chicken breasts for a salad and still retain some moisture, then pounding them out is a step in the right direction. For several reasons I think that size manipulation would be the biggest factor given your circumstances. By slicing the breasts into thin (dare I say) sashimi sized pieces you can 1. Maintain a little more moisture and better texture by needing to cook them less to reach internal doneness, 2. Introduce more flavor to more surface area, 3. cook them rapidly. That is how I cook chicken for such needs as well as for tacos, burritos, pita wrap sandwiches, etc.

[Jinmyo]

I know, I know most you probably refuse to let chicken breasts in your house.... but for me I prefer them over thighs in salad like preparations.

Grrrr....

But smoked chicken breast is not bad in salads.

But not as good as roasted ham.

[Jinmyo]

I usually just toss them...

Quite agree.

[rajsuman]

Or if your microwave is anything like mine, try the defrost setting for 10 minutes. And there you have it... speedy cooked chicken

Suman

[Ruth]

Sous vide is the way to go - 40 min preferably vacuum packed or, at a pinch, tightly wrapped in plastic, at 140° F. You can sear them on the skin side before serving. I like to marinate them before bagging - olive oil, a little rice wine, herbs, s&p. Freeze the wine and oil before vacuuming to prevent them from being sucked out into the machine.

Edited April 9, 2004 by Ruth (log)

[Susan in FL]

Surprising replies. For boneless, skinless chicken breasts to slice for salads, I just briefly lightly saute them in butter, S & P... only until just cooked through and they retain the juices.

[tommy]

I usually just toss them...

Quite agree.

[aidensnd2]

I've found the best way is to either poach them in a flavored chicken stock much like you would for a whole bird, or to steam with a marinade over them which you can then use for the dressing. Either of these methods should get you from pan to table under 15 minutes.

[torakris]

Edited to add: I just realized that your idea of salad is probably with mayonnaise... my suggestion was for the grilled ceaser type of salad... apologies...

Actually my idea of a salad is usually Asian style with some vegetables like carrots, cucumber, and celery and either a spicy soy based dressing or a sesame based one.....

thus I don't want to really strongly flavor it.

I like the ideas though and they can work for all kinds of applications

and I knew Jin couldn't stay away!

[Rachel Perlow]

So would you prefer them grilled & sliced or poached & diced?

Also, is it true that chicken breasts are cheaper than thighs in Japan?