Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

prep 5 mins

cook 20 mins

total 25 mins

author luna

yield 4 servings

It is no secret that chicken is a popular go-to protein choice for many home cooks. The lean protein is quick to cook, affordable, versatile, and is really easy to incorporate into a diversity of family favourites.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 5 - 6 oz each.
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 11/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 3-4 lemon slices

How to Make

1. Preheat the oven to approximately 350-400oF
2. Using either a rolling pin, a meat tenderizer or your own fist to pound the chicken breasts to the thickness of 0.5” - 0.6”.
3. Mix brown sugar, paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, some splashes of salt and pepper together.
4. Place the chicken breasts upside down on the baking tray lined with baking paper. Use your fingers to rub the olive oil over the breasts. Drizzle 1 tsp oil and sprinkle some seasoning based on your preference. Flip your chicken and repeat the above steps with the other side.The aim of adding olive oil is to give the meat a bit of extra moisture during cooking, thus preventing the outcome from being too stringy and dry. Proper seasoning can liven up the natural bland taste of chicken breasts.
5. Put the tray in the oven at moderate temperature in 20 minutes. If you have trust issues with exact timing things, simply pay attention to the chicken’s color: Remove them from the oven as soon as the surface turns goldenIf it's still a thorn in your side, feel free to pause halfway and check the meat whenever you want. Use the tip of a knife or anything pointed and pierce the breasts to see if they're tender enough. According to the USDA, you can also check if a poultry is well-cooked or not by testing its internal temperature (160F is the ideal one). Thus, a food thermometer would help in this case. No more burned or undercooked poultry.
6. Let it sit for about 2 minutes so the juice could settle back in. Serve your well-baked chicken breasts on plates. Garnish them with some splashes of freshly chopped cilantro. Some slices of lemon as toppings could totally worth another sapid dash of flavor.

Notes

·         I bet you have been through, at least once, the meat that is blackened/overcooked on the outside but still looks a bit red on the inside.  I myself consider the best way to prevent this is to let the meat come to room temperature pre-cook.

·         The breasts should not be too thick (says no thicker than 0.6”). Pounding might be required in certain cases when the breasts are too large.

·         Simultaneously, cooking time should be adjusted based on the breast's thickness, not the total amount of them. For example, if you double up the servings (which will be an 8-breasts batch with the same thickness of 0.6"), the cooking time will still remain the same, not double.

·         If you prefer thigh fillets to breasts, simply increase the cooking time to 25 minutes or so with fillets that are at the approximately same size as the breasts used in this recipe. Larger ones will come with longer time in the oven. As said, paying attention to their color is merely the best way to go.

Source   https://healthykitchen101.com

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