Juicy Chicks!

A lot of people dislike baking chicken breasts because they can get dry very easily. There are a couple of ways to ensure that you do not have to worry about that. 1 is to flatten the breast with a mallet and stuff it, then bake it. It is a safer bet when cooking chicken breasts for company and is pretty when you cut it up to serve. However, if you don't want stuffed chicken, and want to bake the breast whole, you should bake it with the pan covered with foil for the whole time except for the last 15 mins to give the chicken some colour. It does not dry out this way. You can also soak the chicken (this works well for the whole chicken too!), in brine (salt + water solution). This not only adds some flavour before hand, but also helps the chicken retain its juices and stay plump and juicy. A lot of people also tend to over cook chicken (restaurants included!) due to fear of E.coli and other possible bacteria, but I find that you should cook chicken breasts JUST at the point where they are no longer pink, but not when you are able to shred it- that is over done in my books.  Nothing tastes more boring than dry chicken breasts. It has happened to all of us- but it is definitely avoidable. 

W.P