[1 - 1] hi everybody my name is Mila Stanek I'm
[1 - 3] the editor of basically a bun Appetit
[3 - 5] and this is almost every way to cook a
[5 - 7] chicken breast this my friends is a
[7 - 9] chicken breast there are two of them on
[9 - 11] every chicken it's lean mostly protein a
[11 - 12] little bit of fat we're gonna take these
[12 - 14] chicken breasts and cook them in as many
[14 - 16] ways as we can think of so you can see
[16 - 18] the process and the end result up first
[18 - 20] baked chicken breast there's nothing
[20 - 21] that sounds quite as boring as a big
[21 - 22] chicken breast but we're gonna do it
[22 - 24] anyway sling it in there at 350 degrees
[24 - 28] for 20 to 25 minutes look at that yeah
[28 - 30] definitely cooked so as expected this is
[30 - 32] a pretty unappetizing looking piece of
[32 - 34] protein normally you're baking something
[34 - 36] for a slightly longer period of time
[36 - 38] versus trying to blast it with intense
[38 - 39] high heat that kind of heat just has
[39 - 42] more of a tendency to dry out a lean cut
[42 - 43] like this so you won't get a lot of
[43 - 45] color on it baking is not really a term
[45 - 47] that I Eve would use in conjunction with
[47 - 50] meat generally roasted chicken breast
[50 - 52] okay so baking was a little bit of a
[52 - 54] bust but we're gonna roast it now which
[54 - 56] is just baking at a higher heat raise
[56 - 58] the heat to 425 degrees and this is
[58 - 59] gonna go for a shorter period of time
[59 - 61] 1820 minutes all right
[61 - 63] it didn't really Brown as much as we
[63 - 64] were hoping I don't know if that
[64 - 65] temperature was high enough to get
[65 - 68] exactly what we want but it looks a lot
[68 - 69] better than baked it would definitely be
[69 - 71] a different story if we had some skin on
[71 - 73] there which could really take on some
[73 - 74] color and get crispy and delicious but
[74 - 76] yeah it's nicely cooked
[76 - 77] nothing to write home about but there's
[77 - 79] also nothing wrong with it broiled
[79 - 81] chicken breast so we're not quite done
[81 - 83] with the oven we're gonna put the food
[83 - 84] very close to the heating element get
[84 - 86] that as hot as we can possibly get it
[86 - 88] and see what happens normally this is a
[88 - 90] technique that we'd use just for
[90 - 91] finishing food not the whole cooking
[91 - 94] process all right doesn't look too bad
[94 - 96] see there's some nice browning that we
[96 - 98] didn't get from the last two we have
[98 - 100] some color on the bottom which is kind
[100 - 102] of surprising actually that is pretty
[102 - 104] much a perfectly cooked chicken breast I
[104 - 105] gotta say the grain is nice and tight
[105 - 107] without being super cinched up it's nice
[107 - 110] and juicy it's slicing nicely so if
[110 - 111] you're gonna cook chicken in the oven
[111 - 113] this is not a bad way to do it you know
[113 - 115] what sounds unappetizing boiled chicken
[115 - 116] breast we're just gonna crank the heat
[116 - 118] get this water boiling add a little salt
[118 - 120] to it because we're not monsters
[120 - 121] then we're gonna drop this chicken
[121 - 123] breast straight in there the thing is as
[123 - 125] muscle fibers cook they contract and
[125 - 127] tense up and then any
[127 - 129] kind of fat or juiciness in between them
[129 - 131] as it potential to end up in this case
[131 - 133] getting pushed out into the water so
[133 - 134] you're probably actually gonna end up
[134 - 136] with better tasting water than you are
[136 - 138] chicken at the end of the day this one
[138 - 141] has zero color and is incredibly
[141 - 143] unappealing looking this is not a way to
[143 - 146] cook chicken poached chicken breast this
[146 - 147] water is at room temperature now and
[147 - 149] we're gonna raise the heat over time
[149 - 151] with the chicken breast in it which is
[151 - 152] going to cook it a little bit more
[152 - 154] gently than the boiling method we kind
[154 - 156] of overcook this it's still really
[156 - 158] shrunk up and seized up which is how you
[158 - 160] know that a lot of the juice has escaped
[160 - 161] but at least it's gonna have some of the
[161 - 163] aromatic qualities those peppercorns the
[163 - 165] bay leaf the garlic you know all in all
[165 - 167] not a terrible way to cook a chicken
[167 - 168] breast braised chicken breast
[168 - 170] technically a braise is cooking
[170 - 172] something partially submerged in a
[172 - 174] flavorful liquid so the first thing
[174 - 175] we're gonna do is sear it
[175 - 176] you know maybe five to eight minutes
[176 - 178] total just to get some color on the
[178 - 179] outside now we're gonna add some onions
[179 - 182] carrots celery a little bit of garlic
[182 - 184] once you see those brown bits we're
[184 - 185] gonna add some wine and Nestle our
[185 - 187] chicken breasts right in there and bring
[187 - 189] it all up to a boil and cover it for 15
[189 - 191] to 16 minutes well it definitely smells
[191 - 193] great it's kind of weird to serve it
[193 - 195] without those veggies but we're just
[195 - 197] evaluating the chicken breast braising
[197 - 198] is something you would normally do for
[198 - 200] tougher cuts of meat things that have
[200 - 202] more connective tissue and fat to render
[202 - 204] out and break down not normally how
[204 - 205] you'd cook something like a chicken
[205 - 207] breast which is like a lean quick
[207 - 209] cooking protein but you know it's
[209 - 211] actually pretty good you can taste the
[211 - 213] onion taste the carrot taste a little
[213 - 215] bit of the wine not the best way to cook
[215 - 217] a chicken breast but not bad milk
[217 - 220] braised chicken breast this is kind of a
[220 - 221] cool method we're gonna braise the
[221 - 223] chicken in milk then add lemon zest
[223 - 225] making a sauce that's kind of half way
[225 - 227] and a half curds we're gonna drop in
[227 - 229] sage lemon peel garlic cloves in a
[229 - 231] cinnamon stick then we're gonna pour our
[231 - 233] all over that let it come up to a boil
[233 - 235] and then drop that temperature down let
[235 - 237] it simmer for 20 to 25 minutes on the
[237 - 240] lowest possible heat and voila chicken
[240 - 242] cooked in milk it really looks and feels
[242 - 243] a lot like the braised chicken that we
[243 - 245] already had but it's perfectly cooked
[245 - 247] inside and it's got some of that dairy
[247 - 249] richness and the aroma of the sage and
[249 - 251] the garlic this is probably one of the
[251 - 252] most delicious ones that we've had so
[253 - 255] far steamed chicken breast instead of
[255 - 257] steamed chicken breast instead of submerging the chicken in water we're
[257 - 259] gonna let the water boil underneath and
[259 - 260] the steam come up
[260 - 262] you got no color but at least it does
[262 - 263] feel pretty juicy and we've got some
[263 - 266] nice even cooking microwave time pop it
[266 - 267] in there make sure the microwave is set
[267 - 269] on high for three minutes and see what
[269 - 271] happens on the other side this is
[271 - 273] definitely the least appealing chicken
[273 - 275] breasts we've cooked so far some might
[275 - 278] even call it corpse like rotisserie
[278 - 282] chicken breast all right we're gonna
[282 - 284] okay just get it I'm just gonna get it
[284 - 286] hooked on there and around and around
[286 - 291] she goes cutting into it looks really
[291 - 294] dry and mealy rotisserie no bueno
[294 - 296] alright so we're gonna play around it's
[296 - 298] a deep fryer now we've got our neutral
[298 - 300] oil at 350 degrees and then we're just
[300 - 302] gonna drop our naked chicken breast in
[302 - 304] definitely wanna use a neutral oil here
[304 - 306] something with a high smoke point the
[306 - 307] thing that's cool about deep-frying
[307 - 309] something is that the heat is super
[309 - 311] direct and it's all around the chicken
[311 - 313] at the same time the oil is heating and
[313 - 314] driving moisture out of the chicken at a
[314 - 316] super consistent rate okay it's not
[316 - 318] looking so bad it's got a lot of color
[318 - 320] on it but I'm a little worried that the
[320 - 322] exterior is kind of crusty and not in a
[322 - 325] good way it's actually fairly moist not
[325 - 327] mad at it but this would definitely be
[327 - 330] even better if we say coated the breast
[330 - 332] in tempura batter the coating protects
[332 - 334] the chicken and provides a shell that's
[334 - 336] gonna trap the steam and juices inside
[336 - 338] we're gonna come back in about 12
[338 - 339] minutes and see what our chicken looks
[339 - 341] like making sure that we flip it half
[341 - 343] way through so it's not fully submerged
[343 - 345] that's like a perfect medium well it's
[345 - 348] got that cool kind of crackly exterior
[348 - 351] you've got that crispy crust very juicy
[351 - 353] looking inside that's perfect this is a
[353 - 354] pretty great way of cooking a chicken
[354 - 357] breast okay so this is more of a country
[357 - 359] fried chicken breast get it in this
[359 - 360] seasoned flour then into some beaten egg
[360 - 362] and we're gonna put it back in the flour
[362 - 364] so you can develop like a nice thick
[364 - 366] coating we're gonna get that in
[366 - 369] 350-degree oil for 10 to 15 minutes
[369 - 370] and then we're gonna turn it after about
[370 - 373] five minutes okay there is no possible
[373 - 374] way that you can look at this country
[374 - 376] fried chicken breast and not think it
[376 - 378] looks delicious at a ton of texture its
[378 - 381] crispy it smells great it's nice and
[381 - 383] juicy on the inside and because we
[383 - 385] weren't directly exposing the meat to
[385 - 388] heat you don't dry it out instead it's
[388 - 390] got this protective delicious edible
[390 - 392] shell kind of like we did with the
[393 - 395] tempura my name is Emil and I endorsed this
[395 - 398] my name is Emil and I endorsed this method seared chicken breast alright I'm
[398 - 399] just gonna get this pan real hot a
[399 - 401] little olive oil in there salt on the
[401 - 403] chicken and slap it in chicken breast
[403 - 405] works better with gentle cooking methods
[405 - 407] but the payoff will be that we can
[407 - 408] manage to get the exterior nice and
[408 - 410] crusty then we can keep it juicy and
[410 - 412] tender on the inside
[412 - 413] this seared chicken breast definitely
[413 - 415] has more color on the outside than
[415 - 416] previous iterations but we may have
[416 - 418] actually burned it a bit on this side
[418 - 421] feels tender it's got a little bit of
[421 - 423] pink on the inside so this is definitely
[423 - 425] gonna be one of the juicier tastier ones
[425 - 427] next up we've got the old college dorm
[427 - 429] room delight the George Foreman grill
[429 - 431] we're gonna slap it on here and it's
[431 - 432] gonna make sure there's kind of a direct
[432 - 434] heat on all parts of the chicken this
[434 - 436] will probably go for about 10 minutes so
[436 - 438] I mean this has got those grill marks
[438 - 440] that you see like in a commercial
[440 - 442] chicken breast this actually might be a
[442 - 444] great method for cooking chicken because
[444 - 446] you've got that nice direct but moderate
[446 - 447] heat on both sides
[447 - 449] you got some browning the inside is nice
[449 - 451] and juicy really not a bad way to cook
[451 - 452] chicken breast if you don't have a
[452 - 455] kitchen hot salt block cooked chicken
[455 - 457] breast here we got a pink Himalayan salt
[457 - 459] block ripping hot it's kind of like a
[459 - 461] cast iron just kind of a silly way to
[461 - 463] cook a chicken breast like they're
[463 - 464] probably other things that the salt
[464 - 466] block is better for but at least the
[466 - 468] flavors spot-on chicken breast under a
[468 - 471] brick we have this preheated brick that
[471 - 473] we're gonna plop right on top you know
[473 - 475] it actually looks pretty good inside
[475 - 478] nice and moist and that exterior it
[478 - 479] might be a little bit leathery but it
[479 - 481] definitely cooked quickly and we got
[481 - 483] good color on one side at least I earned
[483 - 486] chicken breast say you're in a hotel
[486 - 487] room want to cook some chicken breast
[487 - 490] you've got an iron actually it's not
[490 - 492] that bad you've got nice sear and color
[492 - 494] I don't know that I would fully endorse
[494 - 496] the iron as a method for cooking chicken
[496 - 497] breast but it's not the worst thing that
[497 - 500] you could do air fried chicken breast so
[500 - 501] what you're looking at right now is an
[501 - 503] air fryer it's that kind of gadget it
[503 - 506] circulates air around with a fan to try
[506 - 508] to mimic the deep frying process all
[508 - 509] right so we're gonna set this to 390
[509 - 511] degrees and we're gonna let it go for
[511 - 514] about 13 minutes and yeah that looks
[514 - 516] like a cooked chicken breast alright it
[516 - 518] feels pretty good we've got these kind
[518 - 521] of spots on it which I guess could pass
[521 - 522] for some kind of browning or coloring
[522 - 524] the insides looking pretty okay a bit
[524 - 526] leathery but on the whole this gets
[526 - 529] passing grade but like a see not like a
[529 - 531] b-plus everybody loves an instant pot
[531 - 533] it's basically just a pressure cooker
[533 - 535] with a lot more buttons on it we're just
[535 - 536] gonna throw the chicken breast in there
[536 - 538] with a little bit of water some salt and
[539 - 540] ten minutes it's really nothing to write
[540 - 542] home about but it was cooked with
[542 - 544] pressurized steam instead of regular
[544 - 545] steam when you have it in that steamed
[545 - 548] pot you can't really check on it which
[548 - 549] is a bummer this method really works a
[549 - 552] lot better for fattier meats or things
[552 - 554] that want to slow braise I'm not really
[554 - 556] impressed slow cooked chicken breast the
[556 - 558] whole idea behind a slow cooker is that
[558 - 560] it maintains a low heat for a long
[560 - 561] period of time we're gonna add some
[562 - 563] celery and carrot which is gonna add a
[563 - 565] little bit of sweetness some parsley
[565 - 567] we're gonna pop that lid on we're gonna
[567 - 569] cook it on low heat for two to three
[569 - 571] hours this was a chicken thighs as we
[571 - 573] falling apart juicy tender but instead
[573 - 576] it's falling apart dry if' and doesn't
[576 - 578] have that much going on maybe if you're
[578 - 580] a kind of person who likes dry shredded
[580 - 581] chicken tacos this would be a great way
[581 - 584] to cook chicken but if you like food
[584 - 586] this is a bad way to cook chicken so
[586 - 589] here we have a room or top it's a German
[589 - 591] clay pot we're gonna put the chicken and
[591 - 592] some aromatics and a little bit of
[592 - 594] liquid in here and then we're gonna put
[594 - 595] it in the oven and let the temperature
[595 - 598] slowly come up it'll be that nice even
[598 - 601] heat over the course of 45 minutes all
[601 - 602] right so after all that the clay pot
[602 - 604] chicken breast looks pretty much the
[604 - 606] same as the poached and steamed and
[606 - 608] boiled one thing that's hard is we
[608 - 609] weren't able to really monitor what's
[609 - 611] going on so you just kind of set it and
[611 - 613] hope that it's done at the end this
[613 - 614] actually looks a little bit dry and
[614 - 616] overcooked but at least it smells nice
[616 - 618] so that's something sous vide chicken
[618 - 621] breast sous vide literally means under a
[621 - 623] vacuum this device is called an
[623 - 624] immersion circulator and it's going to
[624 - 627] keep that water at a consistent 150
[627 - 628] degrees you're gonna seal your chicken
[628 - 630] breast in an airtight pouch and let it
[630 - 633] sit until the chicken comes up to temp
[633 - 635] about 3 hours there's absolutely no
[635 - 637] chance of overcooking because the water
[637 - 638] is gonna stay at that same temperature
[638 - 640] the entire time all right
[640 - 643] chickens Suvi it looks pretty much the
[643 - 645] same as the other moist cooking methods
[645 - 648] but it feels extremely tender it's like
[648 - 650] perfectly cooked but kind of in a spooky
[650 - 652] ghost like way which is why people tend
[652 - 654] to sear things after they've cooked them
[654 - 656] sous-vide it may not be exciting but
[656 - 658] you're gonna nail it every time ok so
[658 - 659] we're gonna use this gadget called a
[660 - 662] sear it's really a diffuser that you attach
[662 - 663] it's really a diffuser that you attach to a regular camping torch so you're not
[663 - 666] hitting food with a direct jet of flame
[666 - 668] I have no idea how long this is gonna
[668 - 670] take normally uses searzall to brown
[670 - 672] something that had already been cooked
[672 - 673] but here we're gonna try to use it to
[673 - 675] actually cook this chicken breast all
[675 - 677] the way through let char is everly more
[677 - 679] on the burnt side in the brown side it's
[679 - 680] not got that caramelized flavor that
[680 - 682] we're looking for and it's definitely a
[682 - 684] little bit over this method is super
[684 - 686] hard to control so I don't know that I
[686 - 688] would recommend it dehydrated chicken
[688 - 690] breast look I've never dehydrated a
[690 - 692] chicken breast before but the idea is
[692 - 694] alright you've got this dehydrator it's
[694 - 697] just a box with a fan and it's got a
[697 - 699] small heating unit in it so you can set
[699 - 701] it to an extremely low temperature we're
[701 - 703] gonna put the chicken breast in and then
[703 - 704] we're gonna leave it for 24 hours and
[704 - 706] come back and hopefully that will slowly
[706 - 709] drive out the moisture that does not
[709 - 712] look like food that is not food that was
[712 - 714] chicken and now it is a piece of wood or
[714 - 717] a rock don't really think that anybody
[717 - 719] should eat this and I actually don't
[719 - 722] know if there is a way to eat it this is
[722 - 725] inedible do not do this now um papillote
[725 - 727] so we have this nice little heart-shaped
[727 - 729] parchment situation we're gonna get that
[729 - 730] chicken breast in there and hit it with
[730 - 732] a little bit of salt some aromatics or
[732 - 734] some lemon in time and we add a splash
[734 - 737] of wine so it kind of steams and puffs
[737 - 738] up and this little parchment paper
[738 - 740] pocket we're gonna cook this bad boy at
[740 - 743] 350 degrees for about 28 minutes till
[743 - 744] the packet kind of puffs up a little bit
[744 - 746] I mean just see a little bit of steam
[746 - 748] escaping and it's puffed
[748 - 751] we got a puffed Pepe out smells really
[751 - 754] good super lemony and kind of herbaceous this
[754 - 756] super lemony and kind of herbaceous this has promised those aromatics didn't have
[756 - 757] a whole lot of time to penetrate but
[757 - 760] definitely a cooking method that lends
[760 - 761] some flavor to the meat all right more
[762 - 765] French Julio pawn my chicken him bread I think
[765 - 766] Julio pawn my chicken him bread I think we got some puff pastry here we're gonna
[766 - 768] put the chicken breast in there and make
[768 - 769] a little chicken pop-tart crimp the
[769 - 771] edges with a fork so it stays nice and
[771 - 773] tight brush it with a little bit of egg
[773 - 775] wash so it gets nice and glossy and what
[775 - 776] sealed we're gonna pop it into a
[776 - 780] 375-degree oven for about 25 minutes mmm
[780 - 783] chicken Hot Pocket it's nice and brown
[783 - 786] smells real buttery it actually looks
[786 - 787] like the bottom puff pastry absorbed a
[788 - 789] little bit of that chicken liquid so
[789 - 791] it's not quite as cooked as we might
[791 - 792] want it to be but it
[792 - 795] trap the heat in what's not to like this
[795 - 797] is a good way to eat chicken salt baked
[797 - 799] chicken breast this is just salt that's
[799 - 800] been mixed with beaten egg whites to
[800 - 802] kind of the consistency of wet sand
[802 - 804] we're gonna pack the chicken breast in
[804 - 806] it pop it in a 400 degree oven for about
[806 - 808] 40 minutes at this point you can
[808 - 809] definitely see that there's kind of more
[809 - 811] browning around the edges where there
[811 - 813] isn't chicken so this method is
[813 - 816] definitely better for a skin on piece of
[816 - 818] chicken that's salt kind of drew some of
[818 - 819] the moisture actually out of the
[819 - 822] exterior this isn't awful that's
[822 - 823] definitely a little bit overcooked
[823 - 826] and the saving grace of this method may
[826 - 827] just be that the chicken is very well
[827 - 830] seasoned even if it is dry ah the great
[830 - 832] outdoors propane grill you've got these
[832 - 834] grates preheated over medium-high heat
[834 - 836] and we're just gonna set the chicken
[836 - 838] breast straight down there the thing
[838 - 840] about a propane grill is that it's super
[840 - 841] convenient you don't have to wait for it
[841 - 843] to get going you tend to get these grill
[843 - 845] marks that kind of make it look like a
[845 - 847] TV commercial but we don't get the kind
[847 - 850] of like even all over carmelization that
[850 - 852] you might get from a charcoal grill but
[852 - 855] it's juicy its tender its tasty at the
[855 - 857] end of the day it's a chicken breast
[857 - 860] cooked outside smoked chicken breast all
[860 - 862] right we're gonna sling that chicken
[862 - 863] breast directly in there and let it go
[863 - 866] at 225 for an hour and a half to two
[866 - 868] hours all right let's unlock this thing and
[868 - 870] all right let's unlock this thing and the chicken indefinitely has gotten a
[871 - 875] it smells like smoked food you can
[875 - 877] already tell cutting into it that it's a
[877 - 879] little bit on the dry side a little bit
[879 - 880] tough I think this would have been
[880 - 883] really delicious if it was bigger
[883 - 884] chicken breast or a bone-in chicken
[884 - 886] breast cooked this way it's a bit dry on
[886 - 888] the outside but the flavor is really
[888 - 891] delicious and smoky cold cooked chicken
[891 - 893] breast okay so we got our charcoal grill
[893 - 895] going we've got chicken we've got
[895 - 897] tinfoil we're gonna wrap it up some
[897 - 899] people might call this a hobo pack some
[899 - 901] people might call it a steamboat but the
[901 - 903] idea here is that we're gonna seal it
[903 - 904] and we're putting it directly on the
[904 - 906] coals so you've kind of got the direct
[906 - 908] heat on one side but then the chicken
[908 - 910] juices are steaming and creating a moist
[910 - 911] hot environment that will eventually
[911 - 914] cook the chicken it's up to temp and
[914 - 916] it's almost got a little bit of browning
[916 - 918] on the bottom side where it was in
[918 - 919] contact with the calls if you were
[919 - 922] camping this wouldn't be a horrible way
[922 - 924] to cook it but you probably want to
[924 - 925] incorporate some aromatics
[925 - 926] to the situation what could be better
[926 - 929] than cooking chicken outside campfire
[929 - 930] cooked chicken breast
[930 - 932] Boy Scout style just above the flames
[932 - 933] kind of like you're cooking a
[933 - 935] marshmallow turn it around like a hot
[935 - 937] doggy it's kind of like a chicken
[937 - 940] lollipop all right chicken LS stick i
[940 - 942] roasted this over the fire it actually
[942 - 945] has some nice color on it let me get rid
[945 - 947] of this stick here okay
[947 - 949] it actually looks nice and juicy just a
[949 - 951] little bit of pink in there get that
[951 - 953] nice band of smoke around the edges
[953 - 957] let's see how this tastes has a nice
[957 - 960] kind of smoky wood roasted flavor this
[960 - 961] actually may be one of the best methods
[961 - 963] we've done yet all right a few takeaways
[963 - 965] one the boneless skinless chicken breast
[965 - 967] is kind of always going to be at a
[967 - 969] disadvantage for direct heat cooking
[969 - 970] methods because you don't have any skin
[970 - 972] or bone or any kind of insulation to
[972 - 975] because chicken breast is super lean it
[975 - 977] doesn't love the super low and slow
[977 - 980] method but low is a good way to go and
[980 - 982] three chicken breast is always kind of
[982 - 984] going to be a blank canvas it wants some
[984 - 986] extra flavor applied to it whether
[986 - 987] that's in the form of aromatics and a
[987 - 989] braising liquid or some kind of marinade
[989 - 991] or clays and that's it
[991 - 993] that's almost every way to cook a
[993 - 994] chicken breast I personally cannot look
[994 - 996] at another chicken breast for another
[996 - 997] year or so so if you come up with a
[997 - 999] better way you can just go ahead and
[999 - 1000] leave it in the comments I'll find it