Brined Chicken Breasts
Serves 4 to 8
Note: Although a hungry person can easily eat an entire chicken breast, if you’re preparing hearty sides, you will want to plan on a half breast per person. Leaving the skin on the breast is crucial. Not only is it delicious, it also provides the meat with some protection from drying out. 4 cups water ½ cup plus 2 teaspoons
salt, divided 6 tablespoons sugar 1½ pounds ice, or 3 cups
cold water 4 boneless skin-on
chicken breasts 1 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper, divided 3 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil, divided 3 tablespoons butter,
divided
1. In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add ½ cup of the salt and the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the ice to cool the brine to room temperature. Put the chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag, pour the brine over them, and seal closed. Place the bag in a container that allows the meat to be fully submerged in the liquid, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and no more than 1½ hours (or the meat will be too salty).
2. Remove the chicken from the brine, discard brine, and dry the chicken very well on a kitchen towel. Allow to come to room temperature, about 1 hour. Season each breast on both sides with ½ teaspoon of the remaining salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper.
3. Place a baking sheet in the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Heat a black steel pan over high heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat until the surface is rippling but not smoking. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, add 2 chicken breasts, skin side down. Weight them down with a heavy heatproof plate to create an even sear across the surface of the skin and cook for 2 to 2½ minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Transfer the breasts to a plate, then rinse the pan and dry it well. Repeat the process with 1 tablespoon oil and the remaining 2 breasts.
5. Rinse the pan again and dry it well, then place it over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 2 of the seared breasts, skin side up, to the pan. Add 1½ tablespoons of the butter to the pan. Once the butter has melted, repeatedly spoon it over the chicken in the pan to baste the meat. Place the 2 chicken breasts, with all of their juices and butter, aside on a plate. Add the first 2 chicken breasts to the pan, skin side up, and baste using the remaining 1½ tablespoons butter. Place the breasts, with all of their juices and butter, on the plate.
6. Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven. Place all of the chicken breasts on the baking sheet and pour the juices and butter over the meat. Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the thickest part of the breasts reaches 140 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes.
7. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, transfer the breasts to a platter, and pour any juices over the meat. Loosely tent the chicken with aluminum foil, and let rest for 4 to 5 minutes. Slice each breast on the bias (across the grain, with your knife at a 45-degree angle) into 7 or 8 slices. Reprinted with permission from Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking by Naomi Pomeroy with Jamie Feldmar, copyright © 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.