Perfect Chicken

This is an easy way to cook chicken and we always get juicy, flavorful chicken.  (Unless you forget to take it out of the oven...then not so juicy.  But that's only happened once.)  I use this method when I need chicken for  chicken soups, jambalayas, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas and tacos, to accompany pastas, chicken salad, chicken supreme sandwiches, to name some favorites.

The key is to filet the pieces to an even thickness instead of cooking them as they were packaged from the store.  The chicken cooks evenly and doesn't require as long of a cooking time as a plain old chicken breast, which I have found usually has dry spots because the skinny parts cook way too long.  Olive oil keeps them moist and the smokiness from the spices gives a great flavor.  We eat a lot of Mexican dishes here, so this method is used mucho.

Perfect Chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Begin by cutting away from boneless, skinless chicken breasts any fatty bits or tendons left behind in processing.  Finding the thickest parts of the breast, begin slicing halfway through it.  (imagine slicing a hamburger bun in half, without cutting all the way through, so you still have one piece, just half the thickness....same concept).  Continue until the breast seems evenly thick, about 1/2 inch thick throughout.    Place chicken on a heavy foil lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and using your hands, coat both sides of chicken.  Sprinkle with seasoning.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Carefully fold up foil around chicken (you will want to reserve the juices and use them in your dish or soup) and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.  Shred or cut and use as desired.  Freeze extras in portions for quick meals.

Because we use this chicken in so many Mexican recipes, I normally generously sprinkle the oiled breasts with cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder and a little garlic powder.  If the chicken will be used in say, chicken noodle soup, pot pies, or chicken supreme..the chili powder and cumin aren't the flavors I'm going for, so cumin and chili powder would be left out.

{We also filet, oil and season the same way for grilling.  I'm not the grill master around here, so I don't know grill times, but the 5 minute rest period is also enforced when grilling.}

*Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.