Cooking marinated chicken breast in a pan may seem like a daunting task, but with some simple preparations and steps, you can create a delicious dinner in no time. With a few basic ingredients and items from the pantry, you can easily cook marinated chicken breast in a pan. In this article, we’ll discuss what you need to make marinated chicken breast, how to prepare it for marinating, creating the marinating mixture, allowing it to marinate, heating the pan for cooking, adding the marinated chicken breast to the pan, cooking it, checking for doneness and serving.
What You Need to Make Marinated Chicken Breast
Before you get started, you’ll need to gather some basic items. To make marinated chicken breast, you’ll need a large non-stick skillet, oil, boneless and skinless chicken breast pieces, and ingredients for the marinade. The marinade ingredients should include a tart liquid such as lime or lemon juice, an oil such as olive or canola, a flavorful ingredient such as soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings such as garlic, onion powder, freshly ground black pepper, and dried herbs. You should also have ingredients on hand to season the cooked chicken such as salt.
When preparing the marinade, it is important to adjust the ingredients to your own taste. For example, if you prefer a sweeter marinade, you can add a bit of honey or brown sugar. If you like a spicier marinade, you can add some chili powder or cayenne pepper. Once you have the marinade prepared, you can pour it over the chicken and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Preparing the Chicken Breast for Marinating
Once all the ingredients are gathered, prepare the chicken breasts for marinating. Start by washing them and patting them dry with paper towels. Trim any fat off the chicken so that it cooks evenly and doesn’t splatter excessively in the pan. Cut the chicken into approximately 1-inch pieces so that it cooks evenly.
Once the chicken is cut into pieces, place it in a shallow dish or bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken and stir to ensure that all pieces are evenly coated. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours, or overnight for best results. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the remaining liquid.
Creating the Marinating Mixture
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade into a mixing bowl. For example, mix 1/3 cup of lime juice, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and any kind of herbs you’d like to use. Mix until they are evenly blended together.
Once the marinade is ready, pour it over the meat or vegetables you are marinating. Make sure to coat the food evenly with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours, or overnight for best results. After the marinating time is up, discard the marinade and cook the food as desired.
Allowing the Chicken to Marinate
Place the prepared chicken into the bowl of marinade. Make sure each piece is completely covered with the mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours. This helps to infuse the flavorings into the chicken before it is cooked.
Heating the Pan for Cooking
Once the chicken has had time to marinate in the coating mixture, find the skillet and heat it. A non-stick skillet is best as it requires less oil to cook the chicken. Heat the skillet over medium heat and pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan. Allow the oil to heat up.
Adding the Marinated Chicken Breast to the Pan
When the oil is hot, add about half of the chicken pieces in a single layer. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan or else it will not cook evenly. Sear one side of the chicken for 3 minutes. Then, flip each piece so that the second side can be seared for three minutes.
Cooking the Chicken Breast
Once both sides of the chicken have been seared, reduce the heat to low. Cover the skillet with a lid so that the chicken can cook through. This should take about 8 minutes depending on its thickness. Turn off the heat when it is done.
Checking for Doneness and Safe Internal Temperature
Before serving, check that your chicken is done by inserting a thermometer into its thickest part. The internal temperature should read at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that it has been cooked through thoroughly.
Removing from Heat and Serving
Once you have checked that your chicken is done cooking and has reached a safe internal temperature, remove it from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle some salt over each piece of chicken before serving and enjoy!
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