Cooking Chicken Breast Tips For Perfect Results
White chicken meat is a great lean protein and easy to incorporate into a recipe; however, the trick is in cooking lean chicken without it drying out. Personally I was never a fan until I began cooking chicken breasts in convection and now I can honestly say I really enjoy adding tender convection baked white chicken meat to salads, grain bowls, sandwiches and a variety of other dishes.
TEMPERATURE AND TIMING ARE KEY TO SUCCESS
Convection is a great choice for cooking lean cuts of meat because convection circulates heated air around the oven cooking food from the edge to the center preserving the natural moisture in food.
Temperature is another factor that will influence the results, if the oven temperature is too high that circulating air will cook the edges before the center is cooked through, so moderate temperatures are the best. Also, if the chicken is thicker at one end it is worth taking the time to try to even out the shape for more even cooking.
Another factor is time, obviously the cooking time will depend on the weight of the food and the shape of the meat. Remember meat does continue cooking when removed from the oven so reducing the cooking time by 5 minutes can make all the difference.
BONE IN OR BONELESS
My preference is always for cooking bone in skin-on chicken breasts, as they retain more moisture when cooked on the bone and the meat is easy to remove from the bone to slice into serving potions. Best of all you can make a nice bit of stock with the bones. Either a dry rub or a wet marinade can be used for added flavor.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts definitely benefit from a wet marinade for added flavor and texture. They won’t pick up much color however you can always add a touch of added heat from the broiler if needed.
Learn how to roast a chicken in Convection
BEST CONVECTION MODE TO CHOOSE
The Convection mode you choose will depend on the modes your oven features. Convection or Convection Bake are good options for chicken breasts with a moderate temperature of 325 - 335 degrees. The Convection Roast mode uses more concentrated heat from the top heating element which can be a little powerful for lean meats. If you want to add additional browning then I recommend increasing the temperature and maybe changing the mode to Convection Broil for a short time at the end of the cooking time.
RESTING TIME IS IMPORTANT
Be sure to factor in the resting time before slicing the chicken especially when cooking larger bone in pieces. You can see how juicy the chicken is as I slice it and you can see how tender the meat is. Overcooked meat has a more dense fibrous texture making it unpleasant to chew. So follow these tips and enjoy succulent juicy chicken every time by cooking in Convection.
