Step 6 of 16 · Weeknight Roast Chicken
How not to dry the breast
How not to dry the breast — step 6 of 16 in Weeknight Roast Chicken. Breast meat is done at 74°C / 165°F. Past 80°C / 176°F it turns stringy and white like cafeteria chicken.
Free food & cooking tip: How not to dry the breast (step 6 of 16 from "Weeknight Roast Chicken").
Breast meat is done at 74°C / 165°F. Past 80°C / 176°F it turns stringy and white like cafeteria chicken. Two practical moves: (1) 1 Tbsp oil or softened butter rubbed on the skin, and if you want insurance, 15 g butter pushed between skin and breast meat from the neck end — do not tear the skin into a flap. (2) After the high-heat start, you will drop the oven so the outside stops racing ahead of the middle.
Do not baste every 10 minutes. Every time you open the door you dump 20–30°C of heat and extend the cook. Once at the temperature drop is plenty if you want to spoon fat over the breast. A water pan in the oven does not save a breast you left in until 90°C. Pull it on temperature.
You'll need
- Oil or butter on the skin
- No bread in the cavity
- Thermometer ready before it goes in
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