- 3 months ago
Tired of dry, overcooked chicken? Nicole’s got you covered! In this video, she shares 7 juicy chicken tricks that will upgrade your cooking game—whether you're pan-searing, slow-cooking, air frying, or poaching. These easy, foolproof methods help you get tender, flavorful chicken every time, no matter your kitchen setup. Whether you’re meal prepping, grilling for a crowd, or just trying to avoid another dry chicken dinner, these tips will help you make chicken that’s juicy, not chewy.
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00:00I've got seven ways to show you how to cook a boneless skinless chicken breast without drying
00:04it out. Some key points to remember when it comes to cooking boneless skinless chicken breast
00:08are that they're super lean so you're going to have to incorporate some fat in some way or gently
00:14cook it so that it doesn't dry out. Because it doesn't have the fat in it to keep it moist inside
00:20you have to know what you're doing so I'm here to teach you that. I'm going to start with when
00:23you want to get a chicken breast straight up that's when you want to incorporate flavor you
00:27want to see caramelization and that's what we're going to do. I'm going to start with my favorite
00:31way to cook a chicken breast which I like to call the restaurant way because this is the way I learned
00:36how to cook them when I worked in a restaurant. I think this is the way chefs do it because it's
00:42just smart it's fast and it works every time. I'm going to do a little garlic powder and onion powder
00:48so I season one side and then I season the other side when we get it in the pan. I don't always buy
00:53organic but when I'm buying chicken I generally do because you find that the chicken is just a
01:00little more like natural looking it doesn't they're not these big huge chicken breasts where it's like
01:06really thick on one end and really thin on the other so you're going to start on the stove and
01:11finish in the oven and you want to have your oven set to 375. Get your skillet hot. The first step
01:19in achieving flavor to just plain boneless skinless chicken breast is to get some caramelization
01:25because color equals flavor. I'm just going in with a little olive oil. Season side down first. I'm
01:31going to cook it undisturbed until it releases easily from the pan and while it's down I'll season the
01:37other side. Don't rush the step it will tell you when it's ready. If it sticks a little bit it's not
01:43ready. You'll also know it's about ready when you see that it's starting to cook along the sides.
01:50If you can't see anything happening it's not ready. You want to try to get as much surface browned as
01:56you can. Okay it's releasing pretty easily so I'm gonna go ahead and flip it. So we've started to
02:02develop some flavor along the bottom of the pan. We want to release that because the juice at the end
02:09is going to help make this end product perfect. You can do that with just a little bit of water
02:13you can use some remnants of chicken broth if you have any in your fridge or my personal favorite
02:20a little bit of white wine. Then you can turn off the heat and put this pan straight into the oven.
02:32The moisture is going to help it just kind of steam and cook a little bit more evenly instead of just
02:37really hot on the outside because a lot of problems people have when it comes to cooking
02:41plain chicken is that they're cooking it so fast on the outside that the inside doesn't get cooked
02:47and then the outside is dried out. So this is good insurance. All right depending on the size of your
02:53chicken breast 15 to 20 minutes in the oven these should be perfect. Now with all of these you have
03:01to let this rest for about five to ten minutes but you can already tell the liquid gold the deliciousness
03:08that has formed at the bottom. That is from the natural juices of the chicken mixing in with a
03:13little of that wine. All right when it's time to cut into the chicken another thing to remember is
03:20you want to go against the grain so you look which way the fibers are kind of running and then you want to
03:25cut against that. They're not always running straight down so if you cut this it might be a little too
03:31chewy. Looks to me like they're going a little bit this direction so I'm going to do a little more on
03:38a bias cut. Like butter, tender, juicy. Look at that. I mean look how easy this cuts. Literally I'm using like
03:49hardly any force. It's the knife is just sliding right through it
03:57and there's flavor. There's flavor in that chicken breast. The perfect chicken breast. One and done.
04:10So good. This next method my boss sent me because he wanted me to try it out. This one was found on
04:15tick tock. The lady that made it says she learned it from a chef. So very similar to the other way
04:20although this one does not finish in the oven. It finishes on the stove. Season it however you like.
04:25Sear it just like we did in a little olive oil and you let it sit for five minutes. You don't touch it.
04:30When the five minutes is up you flip it and you add in one cup of water or chicken stock and then cover
04:35the pan. It said two to four minutes based on what kind of pan you're using. A thicker metal pan like four
04:42minutes. This is a thinner one. So probably closer to two minutes. So I will set two minute timer.
04:50Heat off. Set 15 minute timer. 15 minutes is up. Oh looks good. Okay so I looked for which way the
05:00fibers are running. These are running a little more straight down. So I'm going to go a little more
05:04straight across. It works. I was a little skeptical that it might not cook all the way through just
05:10sitting there. But it is also tender. Juicy.
05:19That works just as well. Pan seared. Chef instructed. It's like they know what they're talking about.
05:25It might be slightly less tender but still better than just boiling it to death. Okay that works.
05:33Another way for flavorful chicken in the air fryer. This incorporates so much flavor because it
05:37caramelizes the outside. We get a lot of that like almost grilled flavor but in a really fast method.
05:44First step is to season. I really like a marinated chicken going in there but I'm just going to do
05:51a simple seasoning but to help that seasoning stick and to add moisture adding in a little fat. So I'm
05:57going to coat it with some oil. Toss that around. Dang. I wish I wouldn't have touched. I should have used the tongs.
06:04Now I'm going to wash my hands again. A little lemon pepper. Some Cajun seasoning. Maybe a little paprika
06:12to help with color. In my marinades I like adding something kind of sweet in here also so that it
06:18you know caramelizes those sugars in there. Okay I'm going to give it a toss in here and then let it
06:23sit for just like about three to five minutes while I preheat the air fryer. I like to preheat the air
06:31fryer even though they say that is not required. I just think you get better results. If I'm trying
06:36to crisp things a lot then I always go 400 or if yours goes higher I always choose a higher temperature
06:42but chicken is the exception to me. I usually do 360 or 375. Even though we have a little fat on there
06:48I still like to spray the basket and then in we go. Now you're going to want to flip these halfway
06:55through. Even though air circulates all around it still cooks you know a little unevenly on either
07:01side and you want both sides to be beautiful. You want to go 16 to 18 minutes flipping halfway through.
07:09You know the drill though unfortunately we got to let it rest. Okay air fryer how did you do?
07:15Looks pretty good. I'm really getting my protein in today guys.
07:23I don't know how it does it. It really gives you kind of that grill flavored experience and I just
07:27love that so much. That's packed with flavor which is what I love. It's also probably the easiest because
07:34it really doesn't require any babysitting other than one little flip in the air fryer. So for the
07:40ease factor and flavor winner winner chicken dinner on the grill. This one I think intimidates a lot of
07:47people because again it's hard about timing and getting it cooked on the outside with caramelization
07:54with the inside not being raw. A couple key things to remember when it comes to chicken breast on the
07:59grill. I think these are the most you know important things. The first is to make a more even piece of
08:06chicken. You've always got this thin end down here and a fatter end so what happens on the grill is
08:12you're waiting on the fatter end to cook and by then the thinner end is all dried out like beef jerky.
08:17If you're using a plastic cutting board you can just put one piece of plastic on top otherwise you
08:20can put one on the bottom one on the top and you just want to use a rolling pin or a mallet or a skillet
08:27and you want to kind of pound the fatter end. It doesn't have to be as thin as that end but you want to
08:32you know even out the plate and fill a little bit. So this increases the surface area. It looks like
08:37you have a bigger piece of chicken and it will cook more evenly. See how much better that is?
08:42Second key point when it comes to grilling your chicken breast is to marinate them. Don't just
08:47season it and put on the grill. It's just not going to be good. It's lemon juice. When you're using lemon
08:52juice though this isn't a marinade you want to do like the night before because it starts to cook the
08:57chicken. A little olive oil. A little oregano. They use seasoned salt. I'm just going to do a little
09:02more cajun seasoning. A little bit of honey. Whenever you're creating the marinade we've talked about this
09:08before you want flavorings. You want an acid. You want a fat and you want something sweet. Okay
09:16I always love to marinate in a plastic bag because I think it happens faster because there's less air
09:21than just putting it like in a casserole dish. So I like to just kind of mix it in there and then toss your
09:27meat or whatever in. Contrary to how I cook steaks with chicken I'm a flipper so I do like to sear
09:35it on the first side and then I start flipping but then I kind of flip throughout as necessary. What I
09:40think is important is to start with the grill hot so that you get those good grill marks and then turn
09:45it down. That way you can control it and go a little lower and slower to mimic the process that happened
09:50in the oven. Look at that juicy grilled chicken with beautiful grill marks. Let's see how
09:56we did. Juicy. See the juice? Flavorful because you can look at it and see the flavor. When color
10:03equals flavor this one's the winner. Now when a recipe calls for cooked chicken you don't have to
10:07run to the store and just pick up a rotisserie. These are the best ways to do it and it's not
10:11boiling them to death in water although I am going to show you a water method. My favorite way to cook
10:16chicken when a recipe calls for cooked chicken is this way. Stick your chicken straight into a casserole
10:21dish. You can do this with as few or as many pieces as you want. I also do this with chicken thighs
10:25if I'm doing my gumbo or something like that. I'm gonna do a little salt and I mean I only do just
10:31one side. A little garlic powder, Greek seasoning, whatever you want to do. I don't add any liquid here
10:36or anything. Cover it tightly with foil. I like to do it a little lower and slower so I go 325
10:44for about 50 to 60 minutes. It'll be perfect. See remember we didn't put any liquid in there.
10:58It made its own but you gotta let it sit. You just gotta let it do its thing.
11:03About 20 minutes. It's perfectly tender. Look juicy. How do it taste?
11:17That's the way. This makes the best chicken salad right here and then when you're making your chicken
11:24salad just a little side tip. Use a little bit of that flavorful juice right there. It's a secret
11:32people don't know about. Just a little bit. Okay that slices nicely and you can also shred it.
11:38However you want to do it. Whether you want diced or shredded you've got to try this oven method.
11:45Do you need shredded cooked chicken? Best way to do that? A crock pot. I've been wanting to show you
11:51all this method. You've heard me say it in other episodes but people overcook it in this crock pot.
11:56Don't do that. Don't do it. Chicken thighs are really the way to go because
12:01they really don't overcook. But there are so many recipes that are like put your chicken breast in
12:05here and cook it for eight hours. Sure if you want to choke. There is just a tiny little formula. It's
12:12put the chicken in. Season it however you want. The only thing I would say is to add some sort,
12:18just a tiny bit of liquid or a sauce of choice. It's going to help the process. So I'm going to do like
12:24just a little salt and pepper, a little garlic powder. You could do something like an enchilada
12:30sauce. You could do a tomato sauce. You could do a buffalo sauce. I'm going to do just and I've got
12:36like half a jar of salsa. So I'm going to add that. Okay and that's it. You don't have to add veggies.
12:41You don't have to add quarts of liquid or anything like that. Just a little sauce and seasoning and let it
12:47go. Now listen. When it comes to the cook time, don't ever do it. If you're going to be gone for a longer
12:55period of time, then go low. But five hours would be the absolute tops. I think it's more like four
13:01to four and a half. I like to go high for two to two and a half hours and it's going to be perfect.
13:09It's going to be juicy and it's still going to shred. It's been two hours and 20 minutes. Let's see.
13:19Will it shred? Yes. Is it cooked? Yes. I could have stopped 15 minutes ago. What's good about doing
13:28crockpot chicken is that you usually put it back in and let it reabsorb all of that liquid in there.
13:34So at the end of the day you get juicy saucy chicken for whatever you need it for. So next
13:39time you need cooked shredded chicken and you don't want to babysit at all, put it in the crockpot.
13:48Gone are the days when you boil your chicken. You never should boil your chicken. I know people say
13:53boil but really they just mean like simmer or poach and that's what we're going to do. This is the
13:57perfectly poached chicken. To be honest, I have never done this way but it is so intriguing that I have to
14:04go. So you can flavor your water however you want. I'm going to go kind of classic, okay? Just like
14:09onion, celery, carrot, a little garlic. So we're going to get our liquid going. I am starting with water
14:16and you want enough to cover the chicken completely by like an inch or two. Going in with my flavorings.
14:24Some garlic, toss that in and then salt and pepper. We're not going to just drop the chicken in right
14:30now. We're going to bring this to a boil so that all those flavors can kind of infuse as the water
14:35heats up. I always have like a little chicken broth leftover from whatever project I was doing. You can
14:40toss that in there, enhance the water. So now I'll just bring that up kind of like tea. We're like slowly
14:46infusing that water and it smells so good. This is like the smell like when you were sick and your mom
14:51would make chicken soup. Okay, so here's where the method comes in. Your water is boiling, yes. We're going to put the
14:58chicken in and then we're going to bring that water just to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil,
15:03turn off the heat, cover it and let it sit for 15 minutes. All right, my bubbles are starting to come
15:08back so it's reaching that boiling temperature. Cover it and then turn off the set timer 15 minutes.
15:1415 minutes starting now. Okay, 15 minutes is up. Will it be cooked through and tender and juicy?
15:21This is a two-for-one special. Now you have chicken broth that you can use for something else.
15:26Oh, that smells good. Now this one you can decide if you want to shred it or slice it,
15:32you know, or dice it depending on what you're making. Let me first see how it tastes.
15:38I am going to make a bowl of chicken salad with this. Whoa, it works. Let me see if it shreds.
15:46Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So you can decide however you want to serve it up. Do not boil your chicken.
15:55You have all the tools you need to serve up tender, juicy, flavorful chicken breasts. If there's
16:01any other kitchen tips you would like to know more about, let me know in the comments. See you next time.
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