You probably wouldn’t believe it if I said I’m not the biggest fan of chicken because there are plenty of chicken dishes featured on my blog on a regular basis; but it’s true. It’s not my favorite meat. If I were to choose between beef, pork and chicken; chicken would come in as my third choice in most instances. And I’m not really sure why this is. Possibly because chicken seems to be an easy meat to overcook, and I don’t like anything overcooked besides Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
Still when I saw a recipe for cold-oven chicken breasts in BHG magazine I immediately knew it was a dish I wanted to try. You start with a cold oven and then put the meat in and turn the heat on and then cook until the chicken reaches a certain temperature. This is supposed to yield a moist bird.
My oven has a handy-dandy temperature probe that plugs into the oven. The only way I know how to operate this feature is by starting the meat out in a cold oven with a temperature probe stuck in the center of the meat. Then I have to set the temperature of the oven and then the desired temperature of the meat. The oven heats up first and then the meat slowly climbs up in temperature. Then my oven magically shuts off when the desired temperature is reached. Could it be more easy? Not really. Since my oven is made for cold-oven cooking I felt this recipe was made for me.
The BHG recipe offers several different flavor options for this type of chicken. I went with cajun garlic because I had all the ingredients on hand. Find the full recipe here.
I didn’t have huge expectations for this dish because, as I said earlier, chicken isn’t my favorite meat. But when I bit into this chicken I was blown away. It was the most moist delicious chicken I have ever eaten. And a bit spicy too. I am not suggesting that you do this but I do want to tell you how I cooked it. I undercooked the meat by 5 degrees and then I allowed the meat to “rest” for close to an hour assuming the meat would continue cooking while it rested. I can’t say that it did for sure but to be honest I didn’t have the best lighting at the time that I cut into it. But I will tell you this: when I reheated the chicken the following day in my toaster convection oven, it was soooooooo juicy and moist still. It was amazing. Again, not suggesting you do this but just letting you know what I did. (I did not get food poisoning, in case you were wondering…)
This recipe reminded me of a baked parmesan + Rice Krispies chicken recipe (yes, that’s a thing!) my mom used to make all the time when I was a child so of course eating this chicken filled me with love.
ingredients.
- 4 chicken breasts (skinless boneless or skin-on bone-in)
- 1 T. white pepper
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp. crushed dried thyme
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. salt
directions.
- Mix seasonings together in a bowl or place in a jar and shake to incorporate.
- Place chicken breasts on an oiled pan (I used a cookie sheet) and drizzle with olive oil. Top with seasoning mixture. (You will likely have leftover seasoning.)
- Place the pan in your oven and set the temperature to 450 degrees. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees. (If you have an oven that includes a thermometer that you can plug into the oven follow the steps necessary to cook the chicken at 450 degrees with a resulting temperature of 165 degrees.)
- Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 or 15 minutes and then serve.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 