Pan-seared chicken breast
The one chicken breast recipe worth knowing by heart: golden outside, juicy inside, and basted in garlic butter at the very end.
- 25 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $2.42 a serving
- 440 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- ½ lemon, cut into wedges (optional)
From your pantry
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp dried thyme
Each serving has about 440 calories, 51 g protein, 3 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $2.42 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Lay the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound the thick end with the bottom of a heavy pan until the whole breast is about ¾ inch thick.
Dolly’s tip: Even thickness is the whole secret. The thin end won’t dry out while the thick end catches up.Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
the chicken dry with paper towels and both sides with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . Lay the chicken in smooth side down and without moving it for 5 to 6 minutes, until deep underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Sear. Searing means cooking the outside of meat or fish in a hot pan, without moving it, until a deep brown crust forms. The crust is packed with flavor, and it only forms on a dry surface.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the moment it goes in, and it lets go of the pan on its own when the crust is ready.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Leave it alone. It sticks at first and lets go on its own once the crust has formed.Flip the chicken, turn the heat to medium, and add the butter, smashed garlic and thyme to the pan.
Medium heat
Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the chicken for 4 to 6 minutes, until the thickest part reads 165°F.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: No thermometer? Cut into the thickest one. White all the way through means it’s done.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Move the chicken to a board and let it for 5 minutes.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Cutting straight away floods the board with the juice that should stay in the chicken.the chicken against the grain, spoon the garlic butter from the pan over it, and serve with lemon wedges.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
