Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts – Less Time, More Skin = Better Breasts
Cooking up a few chicken breasts should be a fast, easy, and delicious experience, but for many people it's actually a slow, hard, and disappointing one. There are several reasons for this, and hopefully this demo for how to pan-roast chicken will eliminate them.
The most important factor is doneness. By "pan-roasting," you can easily monitor the internal temp, and as I recommend in the video, start the pan sauce when the meat reaches about 150 F. By the time your sauce is done, and the chicken is covered in its hot, buttery goodness, it should have reached 155-160 F., which is what I shoot for.
At this temp, the chicken will be perfectly safe, while remaining moist and tender. I know many recipes, and reference sites, call for longer cooking times, and internal temps of 165-175 F., but that's just crazy. Unless, you want tough, dry meat; in which case, that works wonderfully.
Also, I think it's very important we leave the skin on. Not only does this add a lot of flavor, but also much-needed moisture. Even if you've been brain-washed into thinking the skin is "bad" for you, which it isn't, you can peel it off before you eat it, but I recommend leaving it on during the cooking process.
And yes, we'd be getting even more flavor and moisture if we just left the breasts on the bone, but the whole point is for this to be fast to make, and effortless to eat. Otherwise, we might as well roast a whole chicken.
If you're not into creating your own boneless, skin-on breasts, like we did in the video, you can have the butcher at the market do this for you. You'll have to go to a larger store where they cut up their own chicken parts, and tell them exactly what you want, but they'll hook you up at no extra charge. I really hope you give this easy, and very effective technique a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 portions:
- 4 boneless, but skin-on chicken breasts
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs, optional
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup *vinegar
- 4 tbsp cold butter, cut in smaller pieces
- a splash of chicken broth or water, if needed to thin sauce
- *I used apple cider here, but literally any vinegar will work. Some of my favorites are sherry, balsamic, rice, and champagne vinegar.