Dry chicken breast isn't inevitable. It has a precise cause: the breast is thicker at one end than the other. By the time the thick end is cooked, the thin end has dried out. Here's how to avoid it.
The step that changes everything: an even thickness
Put the breast between two sheets of baking paper and tap the thickest part with the bottom of a saucepan until it's an even 2 cm or so. Alternatively, slice it in half horizontally to make two thin cutlets, which cook faster.
Before cooking
- Take it out of the fridge 15 to 20 minutes ahead.
- Pat it dry with paper towel: a wet surface won't brown.
- Salt just before cooking, or 30 minutes ahead if you have time.
The cook, for 2 cm thick
- Empty pan, medium-high heat, until the water drop test says ready. Then a spoon of neutral oil.
- Lay the breast down, smooth side first, and leave it: 4 to 5 minutes. It releases by itself once it's golden.
- Flip, 4 to 5 minutes on the other side. If the outside browns too fast, drop to medium.
- Rest 5 minutes on a warm plate.
With a thermometer there's nothing to argue about: 74 °C in the centre for poultry. Take it off a degree or two before; the temperature keeps rising as it rests. Without one, cut into the middle: the meat should be white and the juices clear. Check this against your own country's official guidance.
The sauce, while it rests
Chicken leaves good brown bits in the pan. Three sauces suit it especially well: wholegrain mustard and cream, mushroom and cream, or lemon and caper for something lighter. The method is always the same — deglazing: a sauce in 30 seconds — and the pan sauce chart gives the pairings for every meat.
The exact quantities for these three sauces, and seven more, are in the 10 pan sauces in 3 minutes booklet.
The three mistakes
Uneven thickness. The thin end dries out while the thick end finishes cooking.
Cooking it “to be safe”. Past 74 °C, every extra degree makes it drier.
Cutting it straight away. Without a rest, the juice ends up on the plate.
If you'd rather have crisp skin
For a thigh or a skin-on breast the method is different: skin side down, medium heat, for a long time — crispy chicken skin.
A stainless pan does this very well: it browns evenly and leaves the brown bits that make the sauce. The pan we film with is 304 stainless with no coating, with the 25-recipe book free.
