Chicken breasts may be affordable, a healthy source of protein, and one of the most commonly found refrigerator foods in America, but it's nonetheless an ingredient that few people have mastered. Chicken breast is remarkably easy to render tough and dry if poorly handled, which has converted many home cooks to the more forgiving thighs and legs. While there's nothing wrong with dark meat alternatives, chicken breast doesn't have to be unpalatable, and it can actually be as moist and flavorful as any other part of the bird. You just have to know how to treat it. Here's the biggest mistake you're making with chicken breasts.
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00:00There's a good reason why skinless chicken breasts are found in so many healthy recipes.
00:06Simply put, as far as meat goes, they're pretty darn good for you.
00:10A single 3.5-ounce serving of skinless chicken breast contains a whopping 30 grams of lean
00:16protein, and they're versatile enough to easily find a home in practically any weeknight dinner
00:22recipe. If you're batch cooking for the week, chicken breasts are an obvious choice. They'll
00:28be nice with rice on Monday, and could be the starring ingredient on Taco Tuesday.
00:33Toss them with a little garlic and olive oil and serve with pasta, and voila,
00:37Wednesday's dinner is served. Of course, if that chicken doesn't taste any good,
00:42then you're not gonna make it past Monday. This is the predicament known in certain
00:47corners of the internet as Hashtag Struggle Chicken. Coined by healthy recipe YouTuber
00:52Fit Men Cook, this term refers to chicken that, in his words,
00:57"...is drier than the Sahara Desert and tougher than Michelin tires."
01:01And if you find that you're relegating your chicken breasts to the back of your fridge
01:05because you just couldn't get them right, then you may just be making a very common mistake
01:10when preparing your poultry. This mistake might actually be traced to the meat you bought at the
01:15grocery store. You need to buy chicken that's air-chilled instead of water-chilled. Chilling
01:21is the process used to bring a chicken's temperature down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or
01:26lower within four hours of slaughter, and most poultry plants accomplish this temperature dip
01:31by submerging the meat in a large vat of chlorinated water. But air-chilling locks
01:36in more moisture and flavor, even if it does usually result in a pricier bird.
01:42It's also possible that your chicken will come out all stiff and chewy because you didn't
01:46tenderize it. All you have to do is wrap the raw chicken in some paper or plastic wrap,
01:52grab a meat mallet, and, well, you know the rest.
01:56"...Habiton."
01:59Of course, both of these issues will become more and more obvious as the week progresses.
02:04And your Monday night meh chicken is likely to become barely tolerable on Tuesday.
02:10And by Friday, there's a good chance you'll have just gone vegan.
02:13No! God! No! God, please, no! No! No! No!
02:22If you want to have perfectly moist and tender chicken every single time,
02:27then roasting is a quick and efficient way to get it. Start by brining and drying your
02:32chicken breasts. Then brush them with a little butter and add any rubs you want to include for
02:37flavor. Roast your chicken at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. Be patient, though,
02:44because you'll want to wait at least 15 more minutes before you dig in.
02:48According to food blogger Ali Martin, this final step is absolutely critical. She explains,
02:54If you give your freshly baked chicken breasts a brief rest,
02:58it will finish cooking and lock in all of those delicious juices,
03:02resulting in the most tender and juicy and delicious baked chicken.
03:06Even if you get everything right, though, there's a good chance you won't be too excited by those
03:11leftovers after a few days have gone by, especially if you've made the mistake of microwaving it.
03:18As the days progress and your uneaten chicken waits idly in the refrigerator,
03:22its moisture naturally evaporates. But there are a few ways you can maintain the meat's juiciness.
03:29The first is to wait until your freshly cooked chicken has cooled to room temperature before
03:33you wrap it up and stick it in the fridge. This will keep it moist for up to four days.
03:39And if you're chopping it up into little pieces before you put it in storage containers,
03:43put down the knife and back away slowly. Leftover chicken tastes much better when
03:48you wait to carve it until right before you're ready to eat it. If all else fails,
03:53you could plunge it into soup, use it to make chicken salad,
03:56or pan simmer it in a simple sauce to add back some moisture.
04:00With enough new flavors to distract your taste buds,
04:03you might even forget that your once-plump poultry has seen much better days.