Video:How to Cook With Chicken Breasts

Transcript:How to Cook With Chicken Breasts

Hi, I'm Mandy Day for About.com, and today we're talking about tips for cooking with chicken breasts. These tips come to us from About.com's Southern Food site.

Prep the Chicken Breast On or Off the Bone

Often, chicken breasts will come packaged without bones. But if you're using parts from a whole bird, you can keep the bone in tact, or you can also buy breasts with the bone still in. If your recipe calls for it, you can separate the meat from the bones by slicing the breast horizontally along the rib bone. This will make for a clean separation and give you a large cut of boneless meat to work with. You also have the choice of removing the skin or not, depending on recipe and taste. It removes easily with just a gentle pull.

Choose a  Method of Cooking the Chicken

There are many ways to prepare chicken breast, perhaps the most simple of which is to sauté it in a frying pan with butter, salt and pepper -- along with any other ingredients you like. Another stove top method is to sear the breast with a griddle or flat iron by applying pressure and high heat before baking, giving the outside a crispy texture, especially if you leave the skin on.

If you want to bake your chicken breast, a good way to apply lots of flavor is to place the meat in a small container with a marinade mixture.You can use as much or as little marinade as you like, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure the top of the meat is covered. Most marinade recipes will call for you to marinate the meat overnight, but you can also marinate it for just a few hours if time is a factor. Turning the meet will help increase the flavor. After your meat is flavored, you can bake it in your oven on a center shelf as long as the recipe calls for.

When serving your chicken breast, make sure to have a side dish ready as well. Classic sides include mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli or rice. This will ensure that you have a balanced, attractive meal.

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