Name: Simple Roast Chicken Breasts
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 2 whole bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (large, at least 1 1/2 pounds each); 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; Table salt

Why This Recipe Works

To perfect our chicken salad recipe so that our chicken actually tasted good, not bland or waterlogged, we tried wet cooking methods, including poaching and steaming, roasting in foil (which is similar to steaming), and, in a method new to us, dropping the chicken into simmering aromatic water and then removing the pot from the heat and letting the chicken and water cool to room temperature. Unfortunately, all four methods produced a bland, unmistakably boiled flavor. True roast chicken was another matter. Even after the flavorful skin and bones were removed, the meat tasted roasted, and the resulting chicken salad recipe was superb.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Set breasts on small, foil-lined jelly roll pan. Brush with oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature, remove skin, and continue with one of related salad recipes. (Can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 2 days.)