Crispy Skinned Chicken Breast

To complete a task successfully is to "nail it!"   We've all nailed it and not nailed it before.  To nail it or not nail it is sometimes intuitive and other times just plain obvious.  For example, back in the day, I used to compete in gymnastics.  My events were rings, parallel bars, and high bar.  In all three events, if I landed up-right, arms to my side, and in perfect balance on a dismount, I KNEW immediately that I nailed it.  Once I attempted a single fly-away dismount off the high bar.  I got the speed on the giant but let go of the bar too late resulting in a one and a half flip.  This landed me in a sitting position on the gym floor matt,  supported by both hands in back of me.  CRACK!!  I knew immediately I didn't nail it (unless you consider two shattered wrists and an entire summer in casts as nailing it).

So last night I tried a new recipe from America's Test Kitchen - Crispy Skinned Chicken Breast.  As I sat down with my wife to eat, I knew IMMEDIATELY that I nailed it.  How did I know?  First of all, three minutes into dinner, my wife was half-way through her portion.  Secondly, the skins were crispy.  I mean, Crispy with a capital "C."  You could almost hear the skins snap with each bite.  Even after adding pan sauce on top of the skin,  they were still crispy.  Third, the meat was tender and juicy.  I didn't sacrifice the inside for the outside.  Fourth, the sauce, which I rarely make, was fragrant, velvety, and had just the right amount of tanginess.  That, my readers, is what I call landing up-right, arms by my side, and in perfect balance.  I NAILED IT!!

You too can nail it with the following ingredients:

• 2 boneless, chicken breasts with skin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbs vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 minced shallot
• 1 tsp flour
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled cherry peppers (I used the sweet variety)
• 1/4 cup brine from the pickled cherry peppers
• 1 tbs butter (I used unsalted)
• 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
• 1 12 inch sauce pan
• 1 6 quart dutch oven lid (or other heavy object that will sit inside of sauce pan)

There are 2 tricks to this recipe.  The first is in the preparation of the chicken and the second is the use of a heavy object when cooking the chicken.  As you are about to see, neither requires brain surgery.

Preparing the chicken

Use a sharp knife and poke the skin of each breast.  The original America's Test Kitchen recipe calls for 30-40 pokes.  That's a lot of pokin'.  I stabbed 'em maybe 15 times on the skin side, flipped 'em over and pierced 'em again another 10 times.  Here's what mine looked like after all that defiling.

Once both sides were tortured with a sharp object,  I covered them with parchment paper and proceeded to pound them each 1/2 inch flat with a blunt force object.  I redeemed myself by lovingly sprinkling each breast with 1/2 tsp of salt, covering them with plastic wrap, and placing them in the refrigerator.  Keep 'em this way for between 1 to 8 hours.  The longer you keep them chilled, the more likely they will forget your indiscretions.

Cooking the chicken

• Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and pat dry.
• Sprinkle both sides of each breast with 1/4 tsp of pepper.
• Ready for the first trick?  Place the vegetable oil in a 12 inch sauce pan or skillet and swirl until the entire surface is covered with an even amount of oil.  Note that the skillet, at this point, should not be hot.
• Place the breasts skin side down in the oil.

• Now, place the skillet over medium heat.
• Place a heavy object on top of the chicken breasts.  I used the top of my 6 qt dutch oven.  I've heard others use a brick wrapped in foil.  The object just needs to be heavy enough to exert pressure on the breasts.

• The oil will slowly heat up under the breasts and you may hear "popping" as the skin starts to crackle.
• Cook the breasts for 7-9 minutes this way.  The skin will start to brown and the edges of the breasts will turn opaque.
• Remove the weight and continue to cook skin side down for another 6-8 minutes.

• Flip the breast, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook meat side down for another 2-3 minutes.
• You should now see your masterpiece taking shape as the skin will have turned brown and crispy.  You will be tempted to touch to confirm its crispness but take my word for it, from experience,  the chicken is hot and will burn your little cuticles if you touch.  In other words, NO TOUCHY!!

• Remove both breasts from the pan to a separate plate, skin side up so you can still see your masterpiece.  The internal temperature should be between 160 and 165.  You can check if you don't believe me.  Limited touching is ok now :)

Pan sauce anyone?

If you've been following my blogs, good on you mates, thanks a lot.  But more to the point, you should know how easy it is to make a simple pan sauce.  We're going to do that again now.

• Pour out all but about 2 tsp of oil from the sauce pan.
• Turn the heat back up to medium.
• Time to alchemize the party by adding in the the minced shallot and stirring for about 2 minutes until softened.

• Thickening the mixture will provide further transformation and so we add flour and stir for up to a minute until the fully incorporated.

• Continue the party by heating up to medium-high and adding the broth and brine.
• With the liquid and the heat up, the party is cooking and your sauce should be simmering.  You can stir to scrape up those delicious brown bits on the bottom of the pan left by the chicken.
• After 3 minutes or so, the party should be in full swing with the liquid thickened up a bit.  The stage is now all set to knock it out of the park.

• Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the butter, thyme, and chopped cherry peppers.

• Taste with a spoon and add salt and pepper accordingly.

This sauce can be added on top of the chicken or you may want to plate the sauce first as a bed of gravy and add the chicken on top.   I ladled the nectar over half of each breasts and let it run down the sides.

NAILED IT!!