There isn’t a better meal than a well cooked chicken breast with some healthy spices and side vegetables. Chicken breast is one of the leanest meats available and it’s relatively inexpensive. You can cook delicious chicken breast every time in less than 30 minutes. There’s only a few simple steps that you need to know.
Defrost
Plan your meals so that the meat has time to defrost. Take the chicken out of the freezer the night before you’re going to cook it, and place it in the fridge.
Before you start to cook, if the meat isn’t completely thawed out you may still have to let it soak in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to thaw it out completely. Make sure the chicken is wrapped up in a bag or its original packaging while it soaks.
Wrinse And Cut The Fat
Now that the chicken is completely thawed you can take it out of the packaging. Don’t get the raw meat all over the kitchen. Raw meat has bacteria that can make you really sick if you ingest it.
Make sure you disinfect the counters and sinks that the raw chicken as been in contact with when you’re done.
As soon as you take the chicken out of the wrapping, rinse it off and place it on a cutting board so you can cut any extra fat off.
When you’re buying the chicken try to buy the leanest and most high quality meat that you can find. Even the leanest meats will still most likely have some fat on it. You’ll recognize it by its white rubbery texture. Just take a few minutes to cut the bigger pieces off.
Season It
This is probably the easiest part of the whole process. If you are baking the chicken gently rub a thin layer of olive oil on the surface. Then take a fork and poke holes on both sides so that it cooks all the way through.
There’s hundreds of different variations of seasoning chicken breast. One of my favorite flavors is called Montreal Chicken. You can also create your own flavor by adding anything like garlic, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, paprika, or just salt and pepper. Baking the chicken with a variety of vegetables can also give it some flavor.
Baking It
Baking the chicken is just one way to do it. All you have to do is set the oven to 350 degrees and leave the chicken in there for 20 to 30 minutes. If you cover the chicken with aluminum foil it will end up juicier. This is probably the way to go if you are baking it with vegetables as well.
Cooking it uncovered will make it a little crispier. You might also want to flip the breasts over about half way through the cooking time.
Stir Fry
Using the stove top is another way to cook your chicken. You can easily cut the chicken breasts up and throw it in a pan with some olive oil and veggies. This will cut your cooking time down significantly. The smaller pieces let the meat cook all the way through quicker.
If you plan on cooking this way, you can season the chicken any way you want as it cooks in the pan. Keep it on a medium/high temperature for about 12 minutes and then reduce the heat. You won’t hurt it if you let it sit there while you go work on another portion of your meal.
There are multiple different ways to cook chicken, and hundreds of flavors you can add to it. Cook delicious chicken breast every time and make it your “go to” meal option. You might also be interested in Is Organic Food Really Better For You?. You’ll find out why it might be wise to take a look in the organic food section for your meat and produce. If you liked this article, please give us a shout out on facebook.
About Adam Pegg
