For my inaugural food column, I’m going to tell you so much more than you ever wanted to know about properly cooked chicken breasts.
First, it will be tender and smooth – almost like cut play-doh. There will be no graininess. And if it pulls apart into CHICKEN-FLESH STRINGS, please just deposit it, softly but promptly, in the trash. No one should have to look at that on her plate and the fact that some restaurants will actually charge money for such chicken still fills me with the kind of horror that prompted Carrie Nation to take to the streets with an ax. (Am I overreacting, yes, probably, but it’s my column and I’ll whine if I want to).
Second, once in your mouth, this chicken will fill your mouth with flavor and slide across your tongue like, well, the only analogies I can think of right now are kind of dirty. Suffice it to say it should be a rather sensual experience. It should NEVER gum up and stick to your tongue and the back of your teeth the way cold, leftover turkey does. That’s just wrong. And so unpleasant…
How does one achieve such perfection? Well, here are a few mistakes most people make.
1. Using a shallow, nonstick skillet without a lid.
2. Cooking the chicken the same amount of time every single time, regardless of the incredibly infinite variations in temperature, moistness and who-knows-what-all that occur every time you cook.
3. Adding liquid to the pan while the chicken is still cooking, thus BOILING the poor bird to death (along with the flavor)
4. Cooking the bird until it’s done, then cooking it for a few more minutes to kill all the germs. Someone who does this deliberately ruins it because she can’t trust her own eyes to tell her when done is done.
And how could one fix all these common mistakes?
1. Use a heavy-bottomed skillet with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Watch every pan of chicken like it’s the first pan of chicken you’ve ever cooked in your life – and adjust for individual circumstances. Cooking is not one-size-fits all. If the oil is spitting, lower the heat. If the chicken is oozing more moisture than usual, spoon some of it out before the meat boils. If chicken is starting to scorch and stick, add a little more oil (carefully – I have so many scars from doing this) or lower the heat just a touch.
3. If you want to make a pan sauce (there is a general-purpose recipe below) remove the chicken from the pan, set it on a plate in the microwave to keep warm (you don’t turn on the microwave, it’s just a good place to keep something warm for about 15 minutes if necessary), and then deglaze the pan. “Deglaze,” by the way, is a cooking term that means: pour liquid into the pan and stir to scrape the browned bits off the bottom.
4. Train yourself to know what a cooked chicken looks like. And trust yourself enough to eat it. Once you have enough practice, you can tell by pressing with the flat side of a knife or fork– an uncooked chicken breast is squishy, an overcooked one is hard. The first 20 or so times, though, press it with a knife to see how it feels. Then cut it open to see how done it is. It’s undercooked if the juices are pink or there’s a gelled-looking layer in the center. It’s perfectly cooked if the flesh is smooth and white and the juices are clear, with just a little bit of a yellow tint. It’s overcooked if, as I said above, you can see grainy texture or, shudder, shreds of flesh. Or, you could just buy a meat thermometer to test the chicken’s internal temperature and cook until it registers 170 degrees.
How to Cook Fowl That Isn't Foul
Following are general-purpose directions for perfect pan-sautéed chicken. Once sautéed, you can cut the chicken into cubes and serve it with pasta and sauce, slice it and serve over a salad, top with your favorite sauce or salsa, or, if you prefer, just eat it plain.
1. Pour 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil into a 10-inch or so skillet. (Note: Cooking with olive oil will lengthen the cooking time because it has a lower smoke point, so if you substitute it, you’ll have to cook the chicken longer at a lower temp.) If you don’t have a 10-inch skillet, use enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Place pan over medium-high heat. Usually, this is the second to the highest mark on the stove dial, but not always. (Note: if you are using an electric stove, you will have to lower the heat slightly as you cook, because the burners keep getting hotter). Cook until oil shimmers, and just begins to pop.
3. At the first sign of popping oil, place two boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the pan. Do not stir or move them unnecessarily. Make sure they have at least an inch between them – do not let them touch. Cook until the first side is browned and crispy – by browned, I mean about the color of dark oak cabinets. This should take about five minutes.
4. Flip the chicken, using tongs or a fork. Cook until the new side is browned. This will require less time, probably about three minutes.
5. Cover the pan; lower heat to medium-low and continue to cook until done – probably about 12 minutes, but times will vary. Do not check the chicken for the first eight minutes. Tip: if you are using an electric stove, switch to a new burner set at medium-low heat, because the first burner will take longer than 10 minutes to cool.
~~ Liz
