Miller - How to Cook Restaurant-Quality Lean Meat-Chicken Breasts

How to Cook Moist and Delicious Chicken Breast for Fat Loss by Tony James Miller
Table of Con tents
BELLE & WINSLEY PRESS
How to Cook Moist and Delicious Chicken Breast for Fat Loss Tony James Miller
First Edition, 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information in
it may be quoted from or reproduced in any form by any means without
prior written permission of the copyright holder.
All efforts have been made to ensure that the information in this book
is accurate and complete as of the date published. The author and the
publisher disclaim liability for any adverse effects that may occur as
a result of applying the methods suggested in this book.
This book is presented solely for motivational and informational
purposes only. The information in this book should by no means be
considered a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical
professional, who should always be consulted before any new diet,
exercise or other health program.

Introduc tion When I first started training my clients, one of the first concerns about their diet is the fact that theyll be eating chicken breasts or lean meat for the most part of it. Theyre worried about eating bland and tasteless chicken breasts day in and day out but it doesnt have to be that way. When done right, chicken breast can be very versatile. You can use it on salads, soups, main courses and even appetizers. Ive been a chef and personal trainer for almost ten years and I can definitely say learning to cook chicken breast is one of the most valuable life skills that you can learn right now and heres why: Chicken breast is probably the most used meat in households right now. It is low on fat, cholesterol and high in protein.

Youll also need to make tasty and moist chicken breasts when youre on a diet. In this book, youll learn how to cook chicken breasts using different methods. Chapter 1 covers how to impart a lot of flavor and moisture to chicken breasts. Well cover some of the tips and tricks that chefs used to boost the flavor of their chicken. Chapter 2 covers how to roast chicken breasts and it gives you different recipes to try out. Chapter 3 covers stir frying and pan frying.

In this chapter, youll learn how to stir fry chicken breasts as well as some of the basics of stir frying. Well also have some recipes that you can try out. Chapter 4 covers deep frying chicken breasts. You can use the recipes in this chapter as part of your appetizer. Chapter 5 covers the different grilled chicken recipes as well as how to get your chicken to retain its moisture and flavor. Chapter 6 covers the basics of poaching and steaming.

Youll also find some recipes that you can try out.
Chapter 1 How to Cook Chicken Breasts and Lean Poultry
If its not treated properly, cooking chicken breasts can be very unforgiving. Its not very hard to overcook a piece of chicken breast and the worse part of it is that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding cooking in general. Here are some of the steps that you can take right now to keep your chicken breasts moist and flavorful. Always make sure to give it time to rest after cooking. Trust me its more than worth the wait.

Theres nothing worse than having dry chicken breast because you couldnt wait for a few minutes. Resting your chicken breast allows the juices to be redistributed throughout the meat. This helps to give you a moist chicken breast. While chicken breast is quite bland when eaten alone, it is very versatile. You can experiment with different herbs and spices to add more flavor to your chicken breasts. You can start off by adding a little bit of one herb and see how well it goes with your chicken.

One of the most overlooked flavors that you can add to your chicken breast is the use of different kinds of peppercorns. Were so used to having black pepper as our seasoning that we ignore using different peppercorns. You can use rainbow or multi-colored peppercorns to flavor your chicken breasts. Another option is to use Sichuan peppercorns. You can use different types of salt to flavor your chicken breasts as well. Salt is not just salt.

Different kinds of salt will give your chicken different kinds of flavor. You can even use soy sauce to enhance the flavor of your chicken. In this book, well also be using soy sauce. In some cases, soy sauce is superior to salt. Soy sauce not only gives your chicken a salty flavor but it has that hint of sweetness that you often wont find using plain old salt. Moreover, soy sauce helps you evenly distribute that salty flavor all over your chicken.

As long as you dont try to go overboard with blending different kinds of cuisines when cooking your chicken, adding soy sauce usually results in a more flavorful chicken. Speaking of flavor, you can use olives, anchovies to add that extra depth of flavor in your recipes. These ingredients have that umami flavor. Umami refers to the fifth taste. Theres sweet, sour, bitter, salty and then theres umami. The reason why MSG tastes so great is that it brings that umami flavor to your dish but you can use natural ingredients instead.

To bring that umami flavor to your chicken breast, add mushroom, olives, balsamic vinegar and even anchovies. Having that umami flavor really kicks that flavor up a notch. Now heres a secret that a lot of chefs use to make your chicken breast moist and flavorful. You have to brine your chicken overnight. The salt in the brine denatures the proteins in your chicken and opens it up to the flavorful brining liquid that seeps into the meat. Ideally you want to brine your chicken in cold water overnight.

Heres a basic brine that you can use immediately. 1 cup water 1 tbsp. salt 1 tbsp. sugar (optional) Now I know what youre thinking, thats a lot of salt and sugar! Remember though that the salt and sugar are diluted with water. Think of it as a diluted version of seasoning your meat. Trust me on this, your friends and family will love the lean meats that you cook once you apply this basic idea.

You can flavor your brine with herbs and spices as well. You dont have to limit yourself to the recipe above. You can also marinate your chicken to give it more flavor. The main difference between marinating and brining is acidity. Marinades have acidic liquids while brining doesnt. It doesnt. It doesnt.

Marinating simply gets you to secrete more saliva to make you think that its more tender. The Secret That Chefs Use to Boost The Flavor of Chicken Breasts To boost its flavor even further, you can use chicken stock/broth, add a little more salt and use it as a brine for your chicken. Ultimate Brine 1 cup chicken stock 2 to 2 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. sugar One of the most useful tools that you can use when cooking any kind of meat is a meat thermometer. Having a meat thermometer is invaluable to cooking your meat.

At a certain internal temperature, chicken breasts will start to lose its moisture and flavor. In general, you dont want to go beyond 165 degrees because it will lose too much moisture by then. In fact some chefs go to the extent of going below what the FDA recommends and cook their chicken breasts to an internal temperature of 155 degrees F. You probably wont need to do this, but just remember that you can use gentle heat to get flavorful and moist chicken breasts. Chapter 2 Baking/ Roasting Recipes
Key Points to Roasting Your Chicken Here are some of the things that you need to keep in mind when youre roasting chicken breasts: 1.) Make sure to brine your chicken overnight unless youre marinating it. This gives your chicken a lot of moisture and packs it with a lot of flavor.

More importantly, youre less likely to overcook your chicken with the extra moisture it has retained. 2.) If youre pan frying your chicken make sure to turn it often. This allows one side to rest while the other side cooks, which helps your chicken to brown without overcooking. 3.) Use your meat thermometer to keep track. If your chicken, gets too close to your target temperature a little too early, take it off the heat and let it rest for 5-10 min. 4.) After cooking, make sure you rest your chicken for at least 5 to 15 min.