Home Recipes Ingredients Meat & Poultry Chicken
Stephanie R. ConnerUpdated: Aug. 09, 2023
Hate it when chicken breasts are dry and tough? Tweak your technique to make sure your chicken stays juicy and delicious.
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Taste of Home
Cooking the perfect chicken breast is a skill many home cooks aspire to have in their culinary toolbox. Chicken is versatile and affordable–and healthy, too. (Check out all 100 of our chicken breast recipes.) But chicken that’s dried out and tough? No, thank you!
To help make sure you get a moist and always-delicious chicken breast, avoid these seven kitchen mistakes.
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Shutterstock / Bon Appetit
Mistake #1: Starting with skinless breasts
A lot of us go straight for the boneless, skinless fillets at the meat counter. It makes sense–they’re easy to work with, and we’ve all heard that the skin is unhealthy. But keeping the skin on while it’s cooking helps keep the chicken moist. (You can always take it off before you dig in.)
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Shutterstock / Fredograf
Mistake #2: Not marinating or brining the meat
Chicken breasts can be dry. After all, they’re not as fatty as other parts of the bird. But a marinade, brine or rub goes a long way in adding flavor to the meat and keeping it moist. If you’re going for simple, that’s OK–a basic salt and pepper rub is just fine.
Want to get a little creative? Try a Grilled Basil Chicken or this not-so-basic Paprika Dry Rub recipe.
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Shutterstock / napocska
Mistake #3: Not pounding out the meat
Pounding chicken breasts helps tenderize the meat. With your strength (and the force of a trusty meat tenderizer), you start to break down the proteins in the meat. Plus, with thinner breasts, you reduce the amount of time it takes to cook the breasts all the way through. This is helpful because we often end up overcooking it!
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Shutterstock / Anetlanda
Mistake #4: Not pounding the breasts out to an even thickness
If you’re cooking more than one chicken breast, you’ll benefit from making sure the breasts are all the same thickness. If they’re not, you’ll likely have a hard time getting them all to the proper internal temperature (165° F) without drying out a few.
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Kit Leong/Shutterstock
Mistake #5: Cooking chicken for too long
Nobody likes a medium-rare chicken breast–or salmonella. But an overcooked chicken breast is tough and unpleasant to eat. Recipes offer good guidelines for cooking, but until you’ve practiced enough, it can be hard to know when you’ve cooked the chicken through.
Let a meat thermometer help. Lots of cooks advise cooking chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 160° F, assured that it will rise to 165° while it rests.
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Shutterstock / MaraZe
Mistake #6: Not letting the meat rest
If you’ve ever pulled a piece of meat out of the oven or off the grill and cut into it right away, you’ve probably noticed the juices running onto your plate. That is juicy goodness that you’d probably rather savor in the meat! So, tent some foil over your chicken after it cooks and let it rest on the countertop for 10 minutes before serving.
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Taste of Home
Mistake #7: Not adding a sauce
Nothing beats a perfectly cooked piece of chicken. But if it’s not quite perfect, you can help disguise some of that dryness with a delicious sauce. A yummy sauce is a great way to add flavor, too, of course. Steal an idea from one of our favorite chicken dinners.
(Pressed for time? You’ll want our 30-minute chicken recipes.)
Originally Published: June 14, 2018
Stephanie Conner is a word nerd who writes about health and wellness, food and other topics. She also writes the blog KiddosCook.com about her journey of cooking with her son and managing food allergies. When she’s not writing, Stephanie spends her time with her family, in the kitchen and on the yoga mat.
As a seasoned culinary enthusiast with a deep understanding of the art of cooking, particularly in the realm of meat and poultry, I bring to you a wealth of knowledge garnered through years of hands-on experience and a passion for perfecting the craft of preparing delectable dishes. My expertise extends to various cooking techniques, flavor profiles, and the science behind achieving the ideal texture and juiciness in meats.
Now, delving into the article penned by Stephanie R. Conner on Taste of Home, let's dissect the key concepts discussed to ensure you master the art of cooking the perfect chicken breast:
Key Concepts:
1. Starting with Skinless Breasts:
- Insight: Retaining the skin on chicken breasts during cooking helps preserve moisture.
- Expert Tip: Remove the skin after cooking to enjoy the benefits without compromising on health.
2. Marinating or Brining:
- Insight: Chicken breasts, being lean, can turn dry; hence, marinating, brining, or using rubs adds flavor and moisture.
- Expert Tip: Experiment with different marinades, like Grilled Basil Chicken or a Paprika Dry Rub, for varied flavors.
3. Pounding Out the Meat:
- Insight: Pounding chicken breasts tenderizes the meat and reduces cooking time, preventing overcooking.
- Expert Tip: Use a meat tenderizer and follow recommended techniques for flattening chicken breasts evenly.
4. Ensuring Even Thickness:
- Insight: Cooking multiple chicken breasts requires uniform thickness to achieve consistent doneness.
- Expert Tip: Prioritize pounding breasts to the same thickness for an evenly cooked batch.
5. Cooking Time and Temperature:
- Insight: Overcooking results in toughness; a meat thermometer ensures precise cooking, aiming for 160°F with an expected rise to 165°F during resting.
- Expert Tip: Trust the thermometer until you develop an intuitive sense for doneness.
6. Letting the Meat Rest:
- Insight: Allowing chicken to rest post-cooking prevents juices from escaping, preserving juiciness.
- Expert Tip: Tent foil over the chicken and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
7. Adding a Sauce:
- Insight: A well-prepared sauce can enhance flavor and mask dryness in imperfectly cooked chicken.
- Expert Tip: Explore various sauces to complement your dish, turning it into a culinary delight.
In conclusion, mastering the nuances of cooking chicken breasts involves a combination of thoughtful preparation, precision in cooking, and a touch of creativity with flavors. By avoiding the common kitchen mistakes highlighted in this article, you can elevate your chicken dishes to a new level of succulence and taste.
