A Case for Chicken Breast
“Chicken breast is dry and chicken thigh is delicious” is the most common opinion among people who consider themselves culinarily knowledgeable. Chicken thigh, leg, or wing (the dark meat of the chicken) contains more fat, the bone adds flavor during cooking, and so these cuts are superior to the boring, dry breast. Nonsense, if you ask me.
The fatter the better has been my motto for years, so I always left chicken breast alone. When cooking a whole chicken, I invariably went for the leg and condemned people who preferred breast. What idiots, preferring to chew on a dried-out piece of meat. In all my snobbery, I completely missed all the wonderful things chicken breast has to offer. What a shame.
Buttermilk
Yes, for many dishes chicken thigh is the way to go, but not for quite a few others. It was this crispy chicken by Nigella Lawson that made my faith in chicken thighs waver. Don’t be put off by this blogger’s ugly photo; the recipe comes from Nigella’s book Kitchen, and it’s a wonderful dish. Nigella first marinates the chicken in buttermilk and Worcestershire sauce. The buttermilk also changes the texture of the chicken, keeping it wonderfully tender while frying.
Flattening
The most frustrating thing about chicken breast? One side is always much thicker than the other. No wonder the rest of the chicken is bone-dry by the time the inside is cooked through. The solution? Flatten it. Wrap the chicken breast in plastic wrap or put it in a freezer bag and pound away. Use a rolling pin, a frying pan, or a knife with a broad blade (and hit it with the flat side, naturally); I don’t care. Make sure the fillet is equally thick everywhere and say goodbye to dry chicken for good.
You then coat Nigella’s flattened, marinated chicken in a mixture of breadcrumbs, cayenne pepper, thyme, celery salt, and Parmesan cheese. Sorry, but if you don’t like this chicken, you might as well become a vegetarian.
Breading
Chicken breast is especially your best friend when you’re going to bread the meat. Thigh meat takes a long time to become delicious. Many people cook it until it is just barely pink inside, but it isn’t truly delicious at that point. For genuinely tender meat, cook it a little longer than you think necessary. That extra time in the pan is disastrous for any breadcrumbs, which will have burned long before your thigh reaches its peak. It’s no coincidence, then, that this crispy chicken with ranch dressing and this cordon bleu are made with chicken breast.
Poaching
One way to make sure the breast meat stays tender is to poach it. If you cook the meat in a large amount of liquid, it’s impossible to dry it out. For example, make this chicken poached in coconut, coriander, and lime by Donna Hay or poached chicken with asparagus and green herb dressing.
I admit that sometimes you have to pay a little extra attention to the preparation. When prepared properly, chicken breast has a soft and delicate texture that a thigh or leg cannot match. That doesn’t mean I don’t often eat chicken with the bone and skin on, but variety is nice. If you’re as much of a chicken snob as I used to be, do yourself a favor and explore the wonderful world of chicken breast; it won’t disappoint you.
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