When you think of a whole or sliced chicken breast, you immediately imagine a sad and rather tasteless meal. But who said chicken breast has to be bland?
For us Italians, chicken breast is one of our favorite dinner-savers when there’s not enough time (or desire!) to cook. It’s the easiest ingredient to find at the supermarket at closing time when you don’t know what you’re going to make. Chicken breast is always a great option!
Recommended by nutritionists for dieters and children especially, chicken breast is a low-fat, light white meat with a delicate taste that the whole family loves. Not to mention it can be used in countless recipes and it doesn’t cost much (a detail that makes all the difference these days).
Choosing a good chicken breast
First and foremost, you should always choose high-quality poultry meat. If you’re lucky enough to know someone who raises chickens in the countryside, even better – otherwise, ask your trusted butcher for the good stuff.
Tip: It’s always better to buy a whole chicken breast and then decide to make a stew, skewers or meatballs. The whole chicken costs even less. And speaking of meatballs and burgers, always ask the butcher to grind the meat on the spot so you can be sure that the best pieces will be used (and not the scraps). This applies to all types of meat! Remember that a good chicken breast has a pinkish color with lines of fat that must be almost absent or light yellow.
Cooking chicken breast
First of all, remember that unlike red meat, chicken must be well cooked inside because it has a higher risk for bacterial load than other foods, like eggs. Then you can do what you want with it – even if (since it’s a very lean meat) you have to pay a little attention to the cooking so it doesn’t dry out too much. Breaded and sliced chicken breast is the most common in Italy: The breading protects the meat from the heat and helps the meat to retain its juices for a softer, not-too-dried-out meat. If you want to grill it, you should always leave it to marinate for a few hours together with oil, garlic and fresh herbs. And finally, with minced chicken, you can make delicate meatballs, hamburgers or even a light meat sauce. Chicken is also widely used in other cuisines across the globe. Try curry chicken, chicken with almonds or Mexican fajitas, for example!