Chicken juicy and easy - two ways

1.

Made with just brown sugar, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper, the secret ingredient in this is brown sugar:

• Makes more seasoning, so you can coat the breast thoroughly and give it a beautiful crust without overpowering it with lots of spices that need longer to cook than chicken breast does; and

• Makes it juicy – the chicken sweat while it bakes, so you end up with wetness that makes the chicken juicier than the usually baked chicken breast.

Yes, it adds sweetness but don’t worry, this baked chicken breast is still savoury!

A medium chicken breast will take 18 – 20 minutes to bake at 220C / 425F. Cooking it hard and fast at a high temperature is the secret to gorgeous caramelisation and ultra-juicy chicken inside. No dried-out breasts around here!!

The seasoning for this chicken is actually a really great indicator of when the chicken is cooked to perfection. Basically, once the surface of the chicken is caramelised, it’s cooked to perfection inside so get it out of the oven!

My last tip for a genuinely great Baked Chicken Breast is to pound it to even thickness, either with a rolling pin, meat mallet or even with your fist (very therapeutic). This has the double effect of even cooking and tenderising the meat.

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 chicken breasts, 150 - 180g

• ▢ 2 tsp olive oil

SEASONING:

• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

• ▢ 1 tsp paprika

• ▢ 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme, or other herbs of choice

• ▢ 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• ▢ 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

2.

4 servings

4 chicken fillets

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp thyme

1 pressed garlic clove

1 tsp black pepper

1 tablespoon salad dressing or herb salt

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

Do this:

Start by heating the oven to 250° and make sure it is really hot before you put the chicken in. Mix together the marinade and set aside. Season the fillets all over with salt and pepper. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan, and fry the fillets on high heat, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Place the fillets in an oven dish, pour over the marinade and immediately place them in the middle of the oven, reducing the heat to 200°. After 15-17 min, take them out (the time may vary depending on how thick your fillets are) and immediately cover them with foil, let rest for 15 min. Then cut into diagonal slices, pour over the sky from the mold and serve. They are just as good cold as they are hot. Serve with café de pariS sauce, béarne sauce or another favourite sauce.