Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Garlic-Herb Sauce
By Afton CyrusPublished on March 17, 2023
Time
45 minutes, plus brining time
Yield
Serves 4
WHAT KIDS ARE SAYING
“I liked how the brine kept the chicken moist.” —Cara, recipe tester, age 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This may seem like a lot of salt for four chicken breasts—but don’t worry, you’re not eating it all! The salt is mixed with water to form a mixture called a brine, and only a tiny bit is absorbed by the chicken.
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk water and salt until salt dissolves. Place chicken in brine. Wash your hands. Place bowl in refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
- Line large plate with paper towels. Remove chicken from brine and place on paper towel–lined plate. Discard brine. Use more paper towels to pat chicken dry. Sprinkle pepper evenly over all 4 chicken breasts. Wash your hands.
- In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes (oil should be hot but not smoking).
- Use tongs to carefully place chicken in skillet. Cook until browned on first side, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Use clean tongs to flip chicken. Cook until chicken registers 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 6 to 10 minutes (ask an adult for help). Turn off heat.
- Use clean tongs to transfer chicken to serving platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
- Add shallot and garlic to now-empty skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until softened, about 1 minute.
- Add broth and use wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of skillet. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Stir in thyme and vinegar. Stir in chilled butter, 1 piece at a time, until butter is melted and sauce is well combined. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve.
Time
45 minutes, plus brining timeYield
Serves 4WHAT KIDS ARE SAYING
“I liked how the brine kept the chicken moist.” —Cara, recipe tester, age 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
A quick brine keeps these chicken breasts juicy and seasoned, and a flavorful and easy-to-make pan sauce takes them from good to restaurant-worthy. We build the base of the sauce with aromatics and chicken broth, then finish it by stirring in pieces of chilled butter. Adding the cold butter a little bit at a time helps the sauce turn into an emulsion—a smooth mixture of fat (butter) and water (chicken broth). If you added room-temperature butter all at once you’d end up with a broken, greasy pan sauce. Have kids observe how the texture of the sauce changes as they stir in each piece of butter. Notice how it starts out watery and ends up thickened to the perfect creamy consistency.
Before You Begin
This may seem like a lot of salt for four chicken breasts—but don’t worry, you’re not eating it all! The salt is mixed with water to form a mixture called a brine, and only a tiny bit is absorbed by the chicken.
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk water and salt until salt dissolves. Place chicken in brine. Wash your hands. Place bowl in refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
- Line large plate with paper towels. Remove chicken from brine and place on paper towel–lined plate. Discard brine. Use more paper towels to pat chicken dry. Sprinkle pepper evenly over all 4 chicken breasts. Wash your hands.
- In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes (oil should be hot but not smoking).
- Use tongs to carefully place chicken in skillet. Cook until browned on first side, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Use clean tongs to flip chicken. Cook until chicken registers 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 6 to 10 minutes (ask an adult for help). Turn off heat.
- Use clean tongs to transfer chicken to serving platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
- Add shallot and garlic to now-empty skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until softened, about 1 minute.
- Add broth and use wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of skillet. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Stir in thyme and vinegar. Stir in chilled butter, 1 piece at a time, until butter is melted and sauce is well combined. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve.
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