Chicken breast is a dietary product, it contains practically no fat at all, but animal protein and many other nutrients are present in large quantities. There is especially a lot of phosphorus in it, which is necessary for the human body. Boiled white chicken meat can be an ingredient in many delicious dishes, but it certainly needs to be soft and juicy.
It is necessary
- - chicken breasts;
- - onion;
- - garlic;
- - carrot;
- - celery stalks;
- - spices;
- - black peppercorns;
- - salt.
Instructions
Step 1
How to choose a chicken breast
Chicken breast is one of the most sought-after parts of chicken carcasses. You can purchase boneless or boneless breasts, with or without skin, chilled or frozen. Skinned breast should be chosen if you want broth and leaner meat. For every 100 grams of skinless chicken, there are only 3 grams of fat and about 140 calories, while chicken with skin will give you 8 grams of fat and its calorie content will be 200 calories. Chicken breast on bone is more suitable for making rich broths. It is worth considering that this way the meat takes longer to cook. If you only need meat, no broth, and you want to cook it as quickly as possible, you should take a breast without skin and bones. Chilled chicken is juicier and more flavorful, but has a shorter shelf life.
Step 2
A good chicken has creamy white or dark yellow skin and moist but not sticky pink flesh. One of the main indicators of chicken freshness is smell. It should be fresh and pleasant. Sometimes, when you open a package of chicken breasts, you get an unpleasant smell. This does not necessarily mean that the meat is spoiled, leave the package open for a few minutes and let the breasts air out. If after 5-10 minutes, the aroma does not become pleasant - the chicken is undoubtedly spoiled and should not be eaten.
Frozen chicken breasts must be thawed before cooking. They should be placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. The breasts will thaw for several hours. Thawed or chilled breasts should be rinsed under running water and then patted dry with paper towels.
Step 3
How to boil chicken breasts for soup
For a rich broth, chicken breasts are less suitable than other parts of the chicken, but this does not mean that you cannot boil them for soup. It's just that the broth will not be as rich as if you cooked it using legs, wings and backs, but it will have less fat and clotted blood. Rinse and dry the chicken breast on the bone, peel and rinse the onion, remove the husk from 2-3 cloves of garlic and rinse 1-2 celery stalks and a few sprigs of parsley under running water. Peel and wash one medium carrot. Put the chicken breast into a deep saucepan, top with vegetables and parsley, 3-4 black peppercorns, pour in cold filtered water. Bring water to a boil over medium heat, add salt, reduce heat and cook the chicken for an hour and a half. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve, remove the breast, separate the meat from the bones. Prepare a broth-based soup and add the chicken when it's done.
Step 4
Poached chicken breast
To get a juicy, boiled chicken breast, you should resort to poaching. This is the basic technique of French haute cuisine, it consists in boiling food in a small amount of liquid, which is on the verge of boiling, but not boiling. You can sew in water, strong broth, cow or coconut milk, alcohol (dry white wine, cider, beer) and their combinations. Seasonings are added to the popping liquid - bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, citrus zest, sprigs of herbs such as parsley, dill, thyme, chili pieces or ginger root. Chicken breast is placed in a shallow saucepan and poured with liquid so as only to cover the meat, add seasonings, bring to a boil over medium heat and, as soon as bubbles begin to form, reduce the heat to a minimum. Chicken breasts with bone and skin are poached for about 30-40 minutes, without bones and skin - 15-20 minutes, diced chicken breast is cooked in this way for about 10 minutes.
Step 5
Chicken breasts boiled in this way can be served with various sauces, garnished with fresh or boiled vegetables, crumbly cereals (rice, buckwheat, couscous), sliced breasts can be added to salads, filling for burritos, panini, in sandwiches, put in casseroles, stews, soups. Boiled chicken breasts can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a container with a lid, or frozen for up to 2 months.
Step 6
Steamed chicken breasts
Chicken breasts can be boiled and steamed. Only meat without bone and skin should be cooked this way. Rinse the chicken under running cool water, pat dry with towels. To help the chicken cook faster, cut it into cubes or long, thin strips. Pour water into a wide saucepan, add herbs, lemon or lime slices, ginger, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in a steamer basket or colander. Place over a steaming pot and cover tightly. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Do not remove the lid to check if the meat is cooked, as this will slow down cooking and cause the meat to dry out.
