PART 1 – HOW TO TENDERIZE THE CHICKEN BREAST

You will need three things here (affiliate links):

1. Cutting Board: https://amzn.to/3u7rUCp
2. Needle Tenderizer: https://amzn.to/3ueg619
3. Tenderizing Mallet: https://amzn.to/3vU1HI0

I use red cutting boards for meats. The cutting board will take a lot of abuse during this process. You will want one that SITS FLAT AGAINST THE COUNTERTOP. Some have little legs or elevations to them. The pounding will cause them to bounce.

The needle tenderizer should have a “springboard.” The one in the link above has a round disk that is spring activated. When the needles penetrate the meat, the little springboard “pushes” the meat back as you pull the needle tenderizer back from the meat. Even with the little springboard, the meat will want to stick to the device. Needle tenderizers without that little springboard are frustrating to use. Period.

The tenderizing mallet is used to “flatten” or “spread out” the chicken meat. I don’t use plastic wrap for this process. Many people do and that’s A-OK. This is not a debate-like issue; it’s just a preference.

Why Tenderize?

My grandfather, Pops as we all called him, would ask questions like, “Good morning Sulae! How’d that bed sleep?” Or daddy would get a new car, “Hey! That’s a fancy car! How’s it drive?” And, at dinner and on my sixth serving of bar-b-que ribs, “Hey Sulae! How’s them ribs eatin’?”

We all know the problem with plan old chicken breast: It don’t “eat good”…not at all. But, we also all know that it seems to be the most sought after pieces of the bunch that can be pulled from that bird. For me? I prefer chicken thighs…and as things go…my wife and son don’t care for the dark meat. Chicken breast and chicken thighs are both chicken, but they have different chicken “flavors” and textures. Chicken thighs are just easier to eat…plain and simple. I want my chicken breast to be as easy to eat as chicken thighs.

Tenderizing the chicken breast meat is the solution.

I’ve seen stores sell thin-sliced chicken breast meat and folks thin-slice the chicken at home. Thin-slicing does help create a piece of meat that will more evenly cook…but will still be tough.

Bottom line: Tenderizing the chicken breast before cooking is the way to go. It’s an extra step but really doesn’t take that long. The meal will be more enjoyable and the leftovers won’t be neglected to the point of spoiling and being tossed.

PART 2– HOW TO BEER-BRINE CHICKEN BREAST

Equipment you will need for this part (affiliate links):

1. Large Bowl
2. Zipper Bags (2.5-Gallon Size: https://amzn.to/498YEtD)
3. Measuring Spoon
4. Drying Rack (https://amzn.to/3OjNz0W) or Tray (https://amzn.to/3vWR6fy)
5. Paper towels

Remember this ratio: 12:1. For every 12-ounces of beer, you will add 1-Tablespoon of salt. Believe it or not…SALT IS MORE IMPORTAINT THAN THE BEER.

I am a registered nurse…imagine that! And, I know that there is a “low sodium” movement. I’m okay with that…only…I don’t really watch my sodium all that much. I watch the 1000 other things that I feel are a real problem. Regardless of whatever we all think about salt, it’s salt that makes a brine a brine. You will need the salt to make the brine “work.”

With that being said, if you are looking to reduce your salt intake, then forego the brining. I suggest you tenderize and then cook your chicken.

YOUR CHICKEN WILL NOT TASTE AS SALTY AS THE BRINE.

I cannot taste “salty” for you. What do I mean? Salt tastes salty…but how salty something is depends in the one tasting the meal. Two people can sit down to have a meal. One may add salt feeling the meal is not salty enough. Another may not enjoy the same meal because he or she feels the meal is too salty.

For me…subjectively…this twelve to one (12:1) beer to salt ratio is perfect. The ONE HOUR limit I put on my time-in-the-brine is perfect as well. I’ll brine my tenderized chicken breast meat for only ONE HOUR and then pat dry the chicken breasts before storing or cooking.

In-The-Brine-Time

Normally, you’d brine a piece of meat for hours or days. This chicken meat has been tenderized and has been “opened up” to receive that brine more readily. If the chicken sits too long in the brine, it usually becomes too salty…for me.

If you are worried about too much salt or over-salting / over-brining the chicken breast for your and your family’s subjective taste preferences, consider a trial run using only two chicken breasts. I know. I know. If it comes out too salty or under-salted, the two chicken breasts may be ruined and wasted. Then again…so goes trying new recipes…I know I’ve been disappointed by the ingredients another person’s recipe called for. And the good news: When I modified that recipe, it worked perfectly. Same goes with this one.

If you are preparing this recipe for the first time: DON’T try it with a bunch of chicken; start with two or four chicken breasts and TRY IT FIRST to make sure you have your in-the-brine-time where you want it.

PART 3 – HOW TO COOK THE CHICKEN BREAST

FYI: You can forego the searing in oil and go straight to the oven as a bake…I’ll explain…

I am a proponent of Maillard Reaction. Cooking is chemistry…plain and simple…our kitchens are our in-house chemistry laboratory (and some of y’all are mad scientists). The Maillard Reaction happens when we sear our meat. A “chemical reaction” occurs “between amino acids and reducing sugars to create melanoidins.” Well, that’s what Wickipedia says anyway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction). I just know that whatever happens during pan searing or pan sautéing results in the food tasting more delicious (it’s why toasted bread tastes better than a plain-from-the-wrapper slice does).

I use oil to pan sear the chicken first. Then, after the chicken is toasted up really well, I finish the chicken in the oven on a grill pan. This allows for the excess broth AND oil to drain away from the chicken…and we don’t use too much oil either…about a tablespoon per chicken breast.

Too Much Oil! In the video, I inadvertently added too much oil for those first two chicken breasts and it seemed like they were being fried more than being pan seared. It’s okay to pour some of the oil off if you’ve added too much.

Too Little Oil! Too little oil causes problems too. The pan will dry out and the chicken will just burn.

This is why we pat dry and sear the chicken in batches.

Cast iron is the cookware of choice to get the Maillard Reaction…heck…it’s just the cookware of choice, right! To get that nice, seared crust, the meat’s immediate surface area must reach about 300°F / 148-150°C. That means the cast iron must be hotter than that to get the meat’s surface that temperature.

Now, meat will not sear if there is moisture at the surface. We need to sear the meat at a very hot temperature to keep the broth from flowing resulting in boiled meat.

Water boils at 212°F / 100°C. If water or the moisture from the chicken is bubbling around the surface of that chicken, then it’ll work like a radiator in the car. It’ll keep the chicken’s surface area at 212°F / 100°C and you’ll not reach the required 300°F / 150°C for the Maillard Reaction to occur.

This is the reason we pat-dry the chicken after brining the chicken and why we “flour” our chicken before we start cooking it. We dust the chicken with flour before we add it to that pan. We want the moisture in the chicken and not at the surface of the chicken (there’s a “but” in there I’ll cover later).

Will the chicken meat absorb some of the oil?

“Heck yeah!” – Napoleon Dynamite

If you are looking for chicken breast without oil, then “heck yeah,” there too! Just forego the pan searing and bake the chicken. Will the baked chicken taste as good as pan seared chicken that has been finished in the oven? The simple answer is, “No.” But, will it taste good? Again…“Heck yeah!”

Sauté / sear your chicken in batches. WHY? There is an eternal battle that has always existed between cast iron and the food. The hot cast iron tries to heat the food and the cooler food tries to cool the cast iron. It’s like warm water from the faucet; there’s no “warm” water coming from the hot water tank…it’s either hot or cold water. The two waters “mix” to create “warm” water. Too many chicken breasts in a single cast iron skillet or pot will cool the pot rather than the pot heating the chicken. The broth will flow and the chicken will boil.

How many chicken breasts can you sauté/sear at a time. Here’s my suggestion:

10.25-inch Skillet: 1-2 chicken breasts

12-inch Skillet: 2-3 chicken breasts

15-inch Skillet: 3-4 chicken breasts

I have a 17-inch skillet. The problem then becomes the size of your burner on the stove. The center of that very large skillet will be the area that’s the hottest. You may could fit 4-5 chicken breasts in that large 17-inch-er, but you’ll not get that sear you’re looking for.

Considering Camp Cast Iron Dutch Ovens:

Take the diameter of your oven and multiply that by two. That number tells you how many charcoal briquettes to place under your Dutch oven. I often will even add more than that number.

10-inch Camp Dutch Oven: 1-2 chicken breasts

12- inch Camp Dutch Oven: 2-3 chicken breasts

14-inch Camp Dutch Oven: 3-4 chicken breasts

16-inch Camp Dutch Oven: 3-5 chicken breasts (maybe)