Making chicken great again.
I am not a big fan of chicken meat – here I said it, no going back. Well… except if it is deep-fried, or in schnitzel form. Then again, I do like the occasional chicken wings. And chicken strips with noodles.
Ok ok, I do like chicken but only if it is not too dry. And this recipe will give you the perfectly juicy chicken, with tons of fat – as chicken breast is just too damn healthy by itself.
To make the chicken extra tender – you must not let it dry out when you cook it – that is a given. Generally, you should cook it over high heat for a short amount of time to not overcook it (but make sure it is all done on the inside – nobody wants an undercooked chicken as well).
You can use a thermometer to make sure it gets to the correct temperature inside and then take it out of the pan immediately. That can be a bit of a hassle for thin strips of chicken, so I brown them on the outside and cut one to check they are done. After enough practice, you will get used to timing it with your specific setup.
However, that is not enough. Whatever you do, chicken breast tends to be on the dry side of meat. The way to improve that is to marinate the chicken breast in advance with yogurt – preferably high in fat. You can mix it with spices you like, so it will infuse some of the taste to the chicken meat as well, but the most important part is the tenderness the marination adds.
Here in the recipe, after cooking the chicken, I add heavy cream to it. The cream goes very well with the chicken complimenting it with much-needed fat. You can cook the chicken with the cream for a few minutes or more to let it evaporate almost completely – getting a well-coated chicken without sauce. If you serve it on pasta or rice I suggest adding a bit more cream and cooking on a lower heat so you have enough sauce to coat the pasta.
To the sauce (and marinade) you can add whichever spices you prefer, but I go for light spices not to overcome the light but great taste of the cream. Garlic, nutmeg, and black pepper are my favorites. You can also add some vegetables to the sauce – onions, broccoli, and mushrooms fit this dish perfectly – but in my opinion, except for the onions, they are unnecessary.
Ingredients
- 300 gr chicken breast [10 oz]
- 150 gr high-fat yogurt [5 oz]
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed or sliced
- nutmeg
- black pepper
- ½ onion, chopped (optional)
- salt
- 30 gr butter [1 oz]
Instructions
- In a zip-locked bag combine the chicken breast with the yogurt. You can add whatever spices you like – I add salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and crushed garlic.
- Let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, but no more than one night.
- After the chicken finishes marinating, take it out and scrape all the yogurt (don't wash). Discard the yogurt.
- Heat a pan over high heat and sauté the chicken breast until it browns on the outside. As the chicken will continue to cook in the cream, it is not important if it is cooked through at this point. However, browning is significant to the taste.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and cut it into slices.
- Over low heat melt the butter in a saucepan or pan, and add the onion, if using.
- Sauté the onion (if using) until it becomes translucent and omits a slightly sweet odor.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add the chicken, heavy cream, and spices.
- Cook until the cream gets the desired consistency. To serve on pasta use more cream or cook for less time so you have enough sauce remaining to coat the pasta. If serving by itself, let the sauce evaporate more, to get a more concentrated dish.
