Your Guide to Better Chicken Breasts

Brining moistens chicken, and resting is a separate, crucial step. Cooking contracts muscle fibers, squeezing out liquid. Resting allows fibers to relax and reabsorb that moisture. Slicing too soon releases these juices onto the cutting board. Also, tenting the cooked meat lightly with foil keeps the exterior warm without trapping excess moisture. Even a 5-minute rest leaves a chicken breast piping hot and allows the juices to remain inside.

Great question! And you’re right, even within packages the sizes can be different. Your best bet is always to follow the recommendation of the recipe for weight, and go to the butcher counter to ensure you can get consistently sized chicken breasts.

Yes! We brined, froze for two weeks, defrosted, and then cooked several boneless chicken breasts. We compared them with breasts we froze plain for the same two weeks, defrosted, and then brined and cooked. We pitted both of these frozen versions against chicken breasts that we freshly brined and cooked. All three methods resulted in moist, juicy chicken with only slight textural differences, making any a viable option. Feel free to brine and freeze, or freeze and then brine.

Salt and oil are must-have marinade ingredients. We also recommend flavor boosters like soy sauce (for umami/meatiness), sugar or honey (for sweetness and browning) to enhance juiciness and complexity.

By using a thermometer. Chicken breasts get dry when you overcook them. So you want to cook them to 160 degrees internally (their temperature will rise to 165 degrees once they're removed from the heat—this is called carryover cooking). If you don’t use a thermometer, you’ll likely overcook them when trying to ensure they’re fully cooked.

No. After testing this, we've confirmed that letting refrigerated meat rest on the counter to pre-warm it makes no significant difference to the final cooked temperature and places the meat in the USDA's food-safety danger zone.

The easiest and safest way to defrost frozen chicken breasts is to place them in a zipper-lock bag, seal it, and submerge it in very hot (140-degree) water. The chicken should thaw in 8 to 12 minutes.

We prefer Bell & Evans Air Chilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, which weigh 6 to 8 ounces each. They are aged for 12 hours before being boned, which makes them “mega-juicy” and “tender” and gives them “clean, chicken-y” flavor (according to our tasters).

The beauty of boneless, skinless chicken breasts is that they don’t require much prep. Most are very clean. But if you see any white or yellow fat clinging to the sides or any bloody areas on the outside, trim that off.