Help - I suck at cooking chicken breasts!

Hi. I have a suggestion for you.

If you forget to take out the chicken to thaw in the morning, set it in a strainer and run cool water over it for about 10 minutes.

My favorite way to cook chicken is by fashioning a press with 2 skillets.

First I'll marinate the chicken for a few minutes, about 10. then take the chicken and the marinade and put it all into a 12-in skillet. I cover the chicken with foil and put a smaller skillet on top of that. I put a dishtowel in the top skillet and then place a brick in the top skillet. This creates a press... I cook the chicken like that for about 6 - 8 minutes. I then take off the brick, skillet, and foil, flip the chicken and put everything back on to make the press. I cook it for another 4 minutes. I keep the temp at med-high. The time might vary for you, check before you flip to see how well the chicken is cooking...

When cooked like this, the chicken is always juicy and full of flavor.

Do you defrost in the microwave? An easy recipe is to take one thawed breast cut it up into bite sized pieces, sprinkle and toss with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder and then fry in a pan of hot extra virgin olive oil until the outside of each piece is light golden brown. You then can use this to do just about anything. Toss on top of a salad, mix it in with rice and veggies, I even do this and make a low calorie bbq chicken pizza. Its a versatile and easy way to cook chicken

boil the chicken breasts much easier and faster

I was going to say brine them first, but since they're frozen, they're probably pumped full of sodium already.

Bake in the oven at 350, in a small pan with the juice of 1 or 2 lemons. Use a cooking thermometer in the thickest part. Pull them when they're 155 and let them sit for 5 minutes. They should get to 160.

The mallet idea is good too. Flatten and cook on a grill or iron skillet.

Or sear them on a hot grill or skillet then finish in the oven (this ends up being much faster than straight-up baking them).

Edit: Oh, and perhaps most importantly - make sure they are fully defrosted before cooking. If you're in a hurry, put them in a bowl of COLD water, and put in the fridge for a few hours.

I recommend cooking from a thawed state. cooking from frozen will generally result in uneven cooking as the center will still generally be frozen after the outside has already overcooked.

It usually takes 48-72 hours to thaw in the refrigerator, so you can plan ahead and pull them from the freezer to the fridge in time.
After they are thawed I'll usually go with either a plain pepper, salt and EVOO and throw em on the grill or maybe a teriyaki or bbq glaze.

I have never tried this but its been sitting in my "recipes to try" bookmarks file for a while.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/kitchen-magic-how-to-cook-moist-and-tender-chicken-breasts-036891

Well, the easy answer would be defrost it first! This would ensure you can get an even cook.

That aside, I would suggest steaming or poaching as this would be the gentlest methods. To get maximum flavor you could either boach in a nice flavorful broth or add some herbs and spices before starting the steam.

Another idea is to get the chicken in a pan over a low heat and brown it off to the point where you can get a knife through it. This would then allow you to cut it into pieces, return it to the pan to brown the cut edges and then go from there. The key here is a nice gentle heat.

With all the above, you need to make sure you get an internal temp of 160F+.

A different thought would be to buy fresh chicken pieces and dice them etc when you have more time. You can bag and freeze them once they are diced into chucks and can then be added to a tomato sauce or a broth for a quick chicken soup from frozen. again, make sure they are cooked through and that the sauce has boiled after the chicken has been added.

I throw several frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot to cook with just a tad of water and they come out juicy. Then I've always got some extras to keep in the fridge to use in other recipes. It shreds easily that way too.

I usually cook from frozen too, what I usually do is use a little cooking spray or olive oil in the pan. Then place the frozen chicken breasts in the pan with about 1/2 a cup of water, add some spices if you wish (I use Kirkland salt free Organic seasoning) and cook it on low (3 on my stove) with the lid ON, turning it over every once in a while. It takes about 30 minutes or so, I usually cut the breasts into halves, this way there are smaller pieces and you can see how they are cooking. If they are done and there is still water, just take the lid off and let it steam away. When I make them this way they are never dry!

Hope this helps.

I agree with those above. Get yourself a George Foreman Grill. Whenever I cook them frozen I use it. When cooking from a frozen state, it really seals in the juices. Heat it to about 360 degrees, then put the chicken on and close the grill. I flip mine over after about 7-8 min. They are always really juciy and moist. One way to check if they are cooked without cutting into it, is to press down on the breast. If it feels smooshy then it is not done. If it is firm, then it should be cooked. If it is a little under done when you cut into it, just keep grilling for a few more minutes.

I do not sprinle seasonings on mine, because I think the seasoning just burns and doesn't taste very good. You could marinate them first and then grill them.

Get a George Foreman, I promise you will love it!!