Want tender chicken breast? Try marinating it in this

I previously sang the praises of brining chicken (in pickle juice, for example!), and we also told you how to put chicken breast that never dries out on the table if you always apply these chicken tips. But there’s another top ingredient you can use to make chicken breast wonderfully tender, and you may well have it in your fridge as standard…

Because it’s so versatile and so delicious! Dipping paprika-flavored crisps in it is a brilliant idea (although there are very strong opinions that this should only be done with Turkish yoghurt, sorry Steffi!), with some delicious seasonal fruit and granola stirred in, it makes a fantastic breakfast, and it’s indispensable in a fresh yet rich potato salad. So what is this star ingredient? Greek yoghurt!

Silky-smooth result

Greek yoghurt is perfect for marinating raw chicken. The lactic acids break down some of the enzymes in the meat, making it more tender, while the fat that penetrates the meat will help it turn beautifully golden-brown when you fry it later.

Marinating couldn’t be easier

You can add a generous amount of salt: a heaped teaspoon per 250 ml of Greek yoghurt may seem like a lot, but the chicken can handle it perfectly well. Just use full-fat yoghurt (10% fat works best and tastes best), but if you only have the 2% variety, stir in a spoonful of olive oil.

• Mix the Greek yoghurt with the salt in a bowl or medium-sized dish and stir in 2 tsp of herbs you like.
• Cut 2 chicken breasts in half crosswise (horizontally) to make them flatter and place them in the marinade. Make sure everything is well coated, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (but no longer than 8 hours, otherwise they can become mealy).
• When you’re ready to continue preparing the chicken, wipe off the marinade with a paper towel; too much yoghurt left on the chicken can burn in the pan.
• Discard the marinade afterwards.

A fridge staple

But you can do countless things with the rest of that tub of yoghurt! I pretty much always have a container or bowl of some kind of yoghurt dip in the fridge; I spread it on a slice of toast with some raw vegetables on top for lunch, and when I get hungry in the middle of the afternoon, I dip slices of raw courgette into it (getting some extra vegetables in, too). In the evening, in front of the television, it comes in handy again for dipping paprika-flavored or plain crisps, nachos or old-school Bugles. In short: great stuff!

Also read:

• 6x breakfasts with Greek yoghurt
• Try stirring sriracha into your yoghurt, too
• Recipe: easy spicy chicken satay