Hi everyone!
It’s What’s Cookin’? Wednesday!
I love chicken… it’s such a versatile “meat” that you can make a different chicken dish every night for a week and still not get tired of it!
We don’t generally have split chicken breasts as a main course because they always seem to come out dry… or at least they did… until I found this fantastic recipe that makes them tender, juicy, and full of flavor each and every time!
I’ve discovered that the key for “chicken success” is to brine the chicken first. Then, season the chicken and allow it to set in the refrigerator prior to baking. These extra steps make the prep for this dish a little more time consuming, but I think you’ll agree… it’s soooooo worth it!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 quarts cold water
- 4 large bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (either cracked or ground)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1-2 cups chicken broth
- Butter
Instructions
- Remove "extra" fat from chicken and rinse chicken breasts under cold water.
- Dissolve salt and sugar in water, add chicken, cover (I usually use either a covered marinade dish or a gallon sized zip-lock bag).
- Refrigerate for 45 minutes, then rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry.
- After removing chicken from brine, arrange chicken breast halves in baking dish, bone side down.
- Combine basil, rosemary, black pepper, and sea salt in a small bowl (or an extra salt shaker).
- Pull skin back from each breast and sprinkle with spice mixture. Add a thin butter pat to each breast and replace skin.
- Rub outside of skin with olive oil and minced garlic.
- Add chicken broth to bottom of baking dish.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake chicken UNCOVERED in preheated oven until no longer pink and juices run clear (approximately 45 minutes, depending on your oven). If testing with a thermometer, the thickest part of the breast should read 165 degrees F.
- If you want a "crispier" skin, then place under the broiler for about 5-10 more minutes.
- Remove from oven and let chicken set under a foil tent for 5 minutes.
If you prefer different spices to those in the ingredient list, then by all means… EXPERIMENT!
I think next time I might even try drizzling some lemon juice on top for a little extra “zest”. As long as you brine the chicken and place the spices under the skin to keep them from burning, then your chicken should be AMAZING!
Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A COMMENT… I’d love to hear what you thought and what changes you made!
Enjoy…
Lynn