How to cook chicken breasts?

[HolidayGlowTime]

Got a couple of family members round tonight, doing roasted veg with chicken breast and got a white sauce to heat up and pour over.

But not sure how to cook the chicken breasts for maximum flavour and so they don't dry out?

Is that a combination you've done before? The white sauce is not something I'd have thought of with the other components.
Chicken breast does go dry quite easily, but I'd suggest marinating before roasting and then making sure you don't over cook.

I'm not a fan of chicken breasts because of their tendency to be very dry, but occasionally I make a recipe where I stuff them with a dollop of Boursin and wrap each one in prosciutto.

This video goes into a lot of detail, but the most important takeaway is to thin out your chicken breast either by cutting or bashing to a single thickness before cooking.

If you have a meat thermometer, then use it! Getting rid of bacteria is a function of time and temperature, not just temperature so as long as the chicken holds a a lower temperature for a long time, then it’s just as safe to eat. This page is my go to (it’s says it’s for sous vide but the Pasteurisation time table is applicable to all cooking methods). Chicken will usually rise in temperature internally for a few minutes due to carry over cooking.

Brining your chicken will also make the texture more forgiving, as it changes the cell structure making it less likely to squeeze our moisture. I prefer dry brining as it’s cleaner and easier. Just sprinkle salt over both sides of your thinned chicken breasts and leave for around an hour up to overnight in your fridge on a wire rack so air can circulate.

I'd bash them with a meat mallet or rolling pin to thin them out a bit. Marinate in lemon juice and olive oil and some sort of seasoning mix then griddle

😋😋🥲

I would:
Wrap chicken in a piece of bacon, and cook in the oven for about 20 mins (way less time than the packet says). Make sure it is cooked through, but it doesn't need as long as most packets say.
Add some rosemary potato cubes to the meal
Ditch the white sauce.

I do this often..I serve chicken breast, roast carrots & parsnips, mashed potato & peas or brocoli.
I like to serve it with a cheese sauce ( think swiss chicken) rather than a white sauce though. If I make white Sauce I stir in wholegrain mustard to make it creamy mustard sauce.
Anyway - I first pan fry my chicken breasts in a pan with butter & garlic ( whole crushed bulbs ) once they have a nice colour, I put them in the oven to cook through covered with tin foil..keeps them moist. Yum.

I wouldn't thank you for the white sauce sorry :(

Stuff with Boursin and wrap in bacon is an excellent option.

Not for tonight as it’s roasted veg but I occasionally boil chicken breasts for shredding for wraps etc. They are really tender and tasty.

I too was going to suggest stuffing with Boursin and wrapping in bacon or prosciutto. I've also used chorizo inside also.

I've recently discovered brining chicken. I've only done a whole chicken, but it would work with breasts too. Ideally. I leave overnight though, so might be too late, but keep in mind for next time. I tweak the herbs depending what I have. The flavour is really noticeable in the chicken and it comes out incredibly moist.

www.recipetineats.com/chicken-brine-recipe/

Not a combination I've done before, but it's DH who's arranged it so I've mostly let him crack on.

Just had a look and it's a white wine sauce.

I'd either seal the chicken in a hot pan and then cook actually in the sauce, or if its not a sauce you can do that with then for foolproof not dry chicken those oven bag things are good. I've only done it with the kits that comes with the spice mix but it's always really juicy and tender. You can buy the bags on their own I think.

Seal the chicken in a hot pan (in batches if they crowd the pan) then finish in the oven. I would personally split in half, fill with blue cheese and wrap in streaky bacon/pancetta first but not if you aren't fans of delicious cheese

That's pretty much my favourite way of doing them too!

OP - even just the wrapping them in bacon part would protect them while they're cooking.

I'll second the suggestion to stuff the breasts with something... (a pp mentioned boursin, which is delicious. You could also try feta and a little dried tomato with some fresh herbs, then wrap in prosciutto or pancetta).

If you're 100% against stuffing, I'd wrap in foil and keep a very close eye on the time, then take out as soon as they're done ('rest' them covered in foil and a tea towel for insulation until the other components of the meal are finished, if you need to).

When I cook chicken I'm always paranoid I've undercooked it. If someone else makes it for me I never question it haha

My answer is "longer than recommended"!

I have no idea why using blue cheese has never crossed my mind, but I'll be giving that a go soon, thanks for the inspiration!

Just a quick tip for stuffing chicken... rather than cutting the breast in half, pierce one side of the breast with your knife and move from side to side to make a pocket. It might be a little tricky to stuff the breast, but it's worth it because it ensures the stuffing stays put. If you have the time, you can chill the stuffing in the fridge which will make it easier to handle.
If you wrap the chicken breast with something, ensure the wrapping securely covers the stuffing hole for extra 'stay put' security.

You can also make a Boursin sauce by just stirring in a saucepan. Comes out as a lovely and creamy pouring sauce. Add a little milk if required.

I add milk to Stilton and let that melt in the oven too, over chicken or mushrooms. Rather nice, quick and easy.

What about a creamy mushroom sauce? You could add tarragon or Marsala wine.

Or a creamy mustard sauce, I think Mary Berry does a nice one.

Butterfly the chicken breast then bash it until it’s thinned then pan fry in plenty of butter. I’ll be honest white sauce with roasted veg is a funny combination? Why not turn the chicken into an escalope with panko breadcrumbs and Dutch the sauce

So I'm roasting sweet potato/red onion/peppers.

We usually have it with salmon and really enjoy it, but one of our guests doesn't like fish so we agreed we'd do chicken instead. DH grabbed the sauce when shopping, and we don't really have the time today to go and grab anything else 🤷🏼‍♀️ but now not looking forward to serving what we've got!

Is it boneless skinless or bone in skin on? If the former marinate then cook in the sauce with foil to keep in moisture, if the latter roast uncovered on top of skin-on rough cut potatoes, some lemons, garlic, rosemary (tray bake style) about 35-40 mins with sauce on the side ( or better yet leave that sauce in the fridge to eat with fish another day and make some gravy with the tray juices, butter, wine, thyme, sage). Crispy skin, moist meat yum.

The roast veg and the chicken sounds great. The wine sauce sounds better than the white sauce I thought you were going with. Serve it with a smile.

Do you have a meat thermometer? I was awful for over cooking and drying out chicken breasts before I got one because I was worried about poisoning people. The thermometer gives you the confidence to stop when their done.
Chicken with roasted sweet potatoes and peppers is lovely. I'd probably sack the white wine sauce off because I'm not convinced it's the best fit with your choice of veg. I'd either butterfly, dust the chicken with paprika and griddle, but then add a side of coleslaw so something a bit wetter or stuff the chicken breasts with garlic butter or nduja.