How to Cook Moist Chicken Breast on the Stove
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I started making chicken breast on the stove in college. I saw it as a challenge to make juicy chicken. I’ve told my wife many times that I started by making chicken quesadillas and barbecue chicken pizza, as in those cases the bar to make the chicken perfectly was pretty low. I refined my chicken cooking skills by using these recipes that required chopped up chicken so I could calibrate my feel of perfectly cooked chicken.
15 years later I’m cooking the hell outta some chicken. It’s juicy every time, meaning I’ve calibrated my feel to where I’m able to consistently cook it just right. This is possible for everyone with some practice, so below I’m telling you everything you need to know to make perfectly moist chicken breast on the stove, which is how I typically cook chicken breast.
How to Cook the Juiciest Chicken Breast on the Stove
Step 1: Clean the Chicken
Cut away any excess fat around the outside of the chicken breast. Look for the white connective tissue as shown below and remove. You’ll be chewing that bit tomorrow if you don’t.
Step 2: Beat the Chicken
A chicken breast is thicker on one side than the other side. In order to cook your chicken evenly, you must use a meat mallet to beat the chicken breast, particularly the thick part, in order to make it an even thickness. This process also tenderizes the meat a little bit.
Step 3: Season the Chicken
Use a seasoning blend to liberally season the chicken. I used Magic Seasoning Blend in Blackened Steak Magic (yes, it is okay to use steak seasoning for chicken). Unfortunately, a chicken breast does not give off much of its own richness or flavor, which is why this protein can quickly became bland, flavorless, and dry if not handled correctly.
Let the one seasoned side sit for a minute before you season the other side. This will allow the seasoning to stick better when you flip it so it doesn’t all fall off, along with the flavor.
Step 4: Heat Pan
Heat a pan over medium high heat. Once the pane is hot add a tablespoon of oil (I’m using olive oil).
Step 5: Add Chicken Breast to Pan on Stove
After about a minute, add the chicken to the pan. When adding the chicken, set it down facing away from you so that oil doesn’t splatter towards you.
Note: Chicken likes to splatter more than other meats so I like to put a splatter guard on top.
Step 6: Cook the Chicken Breast on the Stovetop
Now you wait. Resist the urge to touch the chicken and simply let it sear on one side for 3-4 minutes. The more you mess with chicken and different meats, the less of a sear it’ll get and the less juicy the meat turns out.
When you start to see a white color forming up the side of the chicken as shown below, it’s ready to flip.
Step 7: Check for Doneness
I don’t trust thermometers with chicken because it’s so thin, meaning you might not get accurate readings. Therefore, you have to get accustomed to how the chicken feels when it’s done. To test for doneness, hold your thumb pressed up against your pointer finger, this fleshy piece of your thumb when pressed is roughly what the chicken should feel like. This feel is what you need to calibrate.
I tested with my digital meat thermometer and when the chicken was ready to pull the thermometer only ready 145F which is well under the 165F recommended for chicken. If you feel loyal to a thermometer pull your chicken products at 160F. Every meat has holdover cooking while it rests, meaning if you pull the meat when the thermometer says it is done it will always be overcooked.
Step 8: Rest the Chicken
Let the chicken rest for 3-5 minutes before serving. Your patience will be rewarded. If you cut it immediately the juices run away and you never get them back. Dry chicken you will have and that is not what you want. Eat it on it’s own or turn it into a chipotle chicken quesadilla!
Chicken Breast on the Stove
Equipment
- 1 Medium Frying Pan
- 1 Meat Mallet
- 1 Splatter Guard
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Chicken Breasts
- 2 tbsp Favorite Seasoning Mix
Instructions
- Trim all fat from the chicken breast
- Pound the chicken breast until even thickness
- Season chicken breast liberally, waiting 1 minute before flipping to season the other side
- Pre-Heat sauce pan over medium high heat for 1 minute
- Once pan is hot, add the olive oil
- Once the oil is hot, add the chicken breast placing it away from you
- Wait 3-4 minutes, until you see white coming halfway up the sides of the chicken breast, then flip
- Wait 3-4 minutes, until the thickest part feel like the flesh part below your thumb when you press your thumb and point finger together. The chicken should have some give and bounce back.
- Rest for 3 minutes, then serve.