Solving the Problem of Baked Chicken Breasts

Published September 1, 2004.

Nothing is worse (or more common) than baked chicken breasts-chalky, sour meat topped with rubbery, flaccid skin. Could we make this simple dinner item worth eating?

The Problem

Many recipes turn out bland and dry meat with fatty, rubbery skin.

The Goal

At their best, roasted bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts ought to provide moist, tender, seasoned meat and crisp brown skin. Our goal was to create a quick and simple weeknight recipe for plain roasted chicken breasts that would yield perfectly cooked meat and skin.

The Solution

One-and-a-half-pound whole, unsplit breasts rated best for availability, portion size, meat texture, and crispy skin -- this latter quality perfected by oiling the top of the skin and smearing salted butter underneath. Elevating the meat was also key: not only did we perch the bird on a rack within the stainless roasting pan, but we created a natural rack by pulling out the rib cage on each side of the whole breast so that it could stand up on its own and allow the heat to circulate evenly around the meat. Roasting them at 450 degrees generated juicy results, a foil-lined broiler pan placed underneath to catch the excess drippings and eliminate smoking.

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