SIMPLE BROILED CHICKEN BREASTS

By LaLaCooks

Though we recommend brining, you may bypass this step if pressed for time; simply skip step 1 and season the chicken generously with salt and pepper before broiling. This recipe will work only in broilers with adjustable racks, not fixed-height broilers. If you’re making either the garlic rub or the dipping sauce (see related recipes) to flavor the chicken prepare it while the chicken is brining.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup kosher salt or 6 tablespoons table salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)
• Ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from cooksillustrated.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve kosher salt and sugar in 1 quart of water. Add chicken and seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible; refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Remove from brine, rinse well, and dry thoroughly with paper towels.

2. Meanwhile, adjust one oven rack to lowest position and other rack to upper-middle position (top rack should be about 5 inches from heating element; bottom rack should be 13 inches away); heat broiler. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil and fit with slotted broiler-pan top. Make three diagonal slashes in skin of each chicken breast with sharp knife (do not cut into meat). Season both sides of chicken breasts with pepper and place skin-side down on broiler pan.

3. Broil chicken on bottom rack until just beginning to brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken skin-side up and continue to broil on bottom rack until skin is slightly crisp and thickest part of meat registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes. Move pan to upper rack; broil until chicken is dark spotty brown and skin is thin and crisp, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

STEP-BY-STEP
Splitting Whole Chicken Breasts We�ve found store-bought split chicken breasts to be problematic. Some are so sloppily cut that the tenderloins are missing, some retain only tiny shreds of tattered skin, and some packages contain wildly divergent sizes. Consequently, we advise purchasing whole breasts and splitting them yourself.

The basic method for splitting a chicken breast is to simply push a chef�s knife through the skin, flesh, and bone. While this method is straightforward, sometimes the split breasts end up lopsided, and sometimes both lobes are marred by unruly bits of bone and cartilage around which a knife and fork must eventually navigate. Enter a classic technique for splitting a chicken breast. It involves the removal of the keel bone and cartilage that divide the breast, thereby making the chicken easier to eat. This method takes a few extra minutes, but we think it�s time well spent.


1. Trim rib sections


2. Score membrane


3. Pop out keel bone


4. Pull out keel bone


5. Halve breast

TECHNIQUE
For Crispier Skin


Make three diagonal slashes in the skin of each chicken piece to help render the fat.