Transcription
this is the one and only no BS guide to
almost every way to make chicken breasts
30 ways this is a three-step process
step one we must first identify brined
versus well not brined once we determine
that we're going to use that for every
single recipe step two methods this is
almost every single way to cook a
chicken breast and step three the
Legends category these are the top five
most searched recipes in the U.S for
chicken breasts we have a panel of three
taste testers who will be here tasting
each and every chicken breast voting for
a winner for each category once we've
determined a winner I'm going to combine
all of those winners into one super
ideal chicken breast recipe hopefully to
win them all but wait there are rules
rule number one no stunt methods We're
not gonna find out how to cook a chicken
by slapping it rule number two the
recipes can't be made up it has to be
considered a real legitimate recipe so
we're ready to go our judges will be
rating this on a scale of one to ten one
being I want to go home and never want
to have chicken breast again 10 being
these are the greatest finest most soft
succulent breasts in my mouth so let's
make this shall we hey if you throw my
book in the water I'll give you you
didn't even let me say what I all I was
gonna say was my new cookbook texture
over taste is available for pre-order
now and the link is in the description
it's not not waterproof my publisher is
going to be mad at me before we get to
all these ways I'm making chicken breast
our first way will determine the rest of
them which is the big question brine or
no brine if you don't know what this is
It's a salt solution that you put the
chicken in and people say that it makes
it juicier so let's find that out first
to make the brine quite literally brown
sugar salt peppercorn Spruce Rosemary
crushed bay leaf Bruce thyme crushed
garlic soy sauce and water you whisk all
that together and that's a very light
brine which means you don't need to heat
it up once dissolved add a quarter of
lemon half bunch of parsley and in goes
your chicken breast cover that into the
fridge overnight once that's complete
pull your chicken out pat dry and season
lightly obviously there's a little bit
of salt in it but it's not all the way
salted so go light look we cook these
exactly the same it doesn't really
matter to the method it's just that they
have the same exact cook time you sear
on one side yes you're on the other
again for both the Brine and the
unbrined until cooked to an internal
temperature of 165 Fahrenheit so now we
vote which one's better a five five and
five okay fifteen that's not great
tastes like chicken very average now for
the brine mind which our judges rated a
seven a seven and a six brined chicken
wins it stepped it up a notch that means
that all of these chickens moving
forward will be brined now on to our
methods method number one air fryer now
it wouldn't be an every way video if we
didn't start with our old friend right
that's a friend look we did 15 minutes
at 400 degrees Fahrenheit we Brine and
seasoned it remember we're using the
exact same seasoning for all of these so
all the flavor is the same so we have a
little bit of a control variable I did
oil up the breast not like that pop it
in let it air fry flip take it out plate
it up and well it needs a chicken now
our judges rated this a six a nine an
eight 23 total surprisingly better than
I thought okay air fryer it was very
just wet all the way through moist
method number two George Foreman sure
still not a fan of this thing but
whatever plug them in once we see green
spray the grill add your brine season
chicken close and uh well like you said
I'm just gonna wait for this light to
turn from red to Green again which
actually only took five minutes my first
thought was this is definitely Raw on
the inside but who cares let's feed it
to our judges
seven a seven and a 9 23 total we got a
two-way tie already dang all right
method number three slow cooker also
called the crock pot with oil added to
your dry seasoning brush your breast add
your breast chicken stock into your slow
cooker or crock pot lid on cook for 3
hours and 20 minutes on high this is our
longest cooking method hopefully that
crock pot's not a crock of open it up
use a hand loader to shred the chicken I
know it's a weird method so now for our
judges and our judges rated this an
eight of five and a six so 19. not
terrible but not great I like it it's an
eight method number four pressure cooker
now oil up a pressure cooker get it nice
and hot add your chicken sear both sides
add your chicken stock cover and switch
to high pressure for 10 minutes now for
the moment we've been waiting for and
it's yeah it's okay whatever now we
played it and rate it the human at F5 a
zero and a two so okay we'll forget
about that one I didn't know chicken
could ruin your day method number five
seared which is actually one of my
favorite methods literally season your
chicken breast hot oil skillet add it
sear it two to three minutes flip and
we'll just keep doing the flipping back
and forth until cooked all the way
through it's simple this came in at a
seven a seven and a six for 20 total so
not bad method number six grill pan is
it better than an actual Grill which
we'll find out later but let's start
here sear your seasoned chicken breast
in a ripping hot grill pan quarter turn
another minute and then flip that way
you get those sort of what's called a
quadrilage the grill marks
give it another quarter turn for the
other quadrilage and now we rate this
came in at a four a ten and a six for a
total of 20. not great it tasted a
little bit like soup for me I thought
that was great method number seven suvi
I think this is gonna win to be
completely honest but you know it's
moisture than an oyster it's all I gotta
say so you season your chicken breast
vacuum seal it pop it into it immersion
circulator warm water bath at about 145
Fahrenheit cook for around an hour
remove dried off you can optionally sear
it in a pan for color and now for our
judges
six okay come on really an eight
ten for 24 total a new first place
although that's six a little aggressive
this was the most tender chicken I've
ever had how is that a 10 but the other
one was an eight now for method number
eight
I think that I will have nightmares
about this method so get a steamer
basket
getting flashbacks from the Cleveland
steamer I'm being informed by the
internet that Cleveland steamer may not
have been the correct terminology and
I'm sorry for that anyway season your
chicken breast put it in the steamer
basket close it and cook until it's done
now our judges come in at a six a zero
okay and a five eleven total right
surprisingly tough tasted like there's
no salt pepper or anything on it now for
number nine braised which this one we're
using skin on chicken breast you know
because it just felt right now you're
gonna eat up a heavy bottom pot sear it
on both sides you know a little bit of
flavor and now for the French Holy
Trinity
it's all pep saute that you know maybe
some tomato paste get a little fun
deglaze with white wine you know add
whatever else chicken stock Rosemary
time whatever bring it to a simmer add
your chicken back in close the lid and
let that braise for about 20 to 30
minutes I don't think this is gonna add
much I'll be honest but I took it a step
further I took the chicken out I reduced
my stock I removed the vegetables and I
emulsified with butter to create a nice
thick seductive viscous
so I sauce the plate chicken breast on
top little kiss of parsley because it
was looking kind of plain and now for
our judges eight four and a seven
somehow the air fryer and George Foreman
are beating a classical French
methodology all right sure it was moist
on the outside but dry on the inside
method number 10 charcoal grill this
feels special look we're keeping it
simple season your chicken breast make
sure it's oiled nicely clean your damn
Grill I'm tired of these nasty chocolate
carbon covered grill grates clean them
and then oil them into your chicken on
both sides you know going on and off the
heat until your chickens cook through
and you have some nice Char marks once
it's cooked through pop it onto a plate
look at that and now we rate a nine an
eight and a ten we have a new first
place coming in at 27 points it was like
near perfect for me it was perfect it
was so good method number 11 which is a
little unusual but Pizza Oven yes like
700 degrees so once it's 700 degrees
season your chicken breast pop it onto a
hot preheated Skillet and literally just
throw it in the pizza oven for four
minutes and it's done that quickly pop
it onto a plate and we vote an eight a
seven and a 7 22 total method number 12
Sears all yeah this thing if you've
never seen it before be warned it's a
fun toy butterfly chicken breast season
it up and oil your breast of course
lighter up and we're just gonna
literally Sears all this thing on both
sides until it's done pop it onto a
plate and now we judge eight four and a
three for 15 total that's worse than I
thought it would be don't listen to
these haters I don't have any words
method number 13 royal similar to the
Sears all but not brush with oil pop
your breast into the oven and Broil on
high flipping often pull it out and good
God that is rough to look at and now for
our judges and the judges rated it at 10
what a three and a one this is a little
confused by these judges here I pray for
your digestive system I can't eat any
more of that you know what I'll take the
rest next up method number 14 reverse
sear I'll be honest I've never thought
of reverse searing a chicken breast but
screw it we're gonna go skin on season
it pop it into a very low oven like 250
Fahrenheit let it cook for about 40
minutes or until the internal
temperature is just nearly 160
fahrenheit pulled out Pat it dry and
sear in a pan until lightly charred and
browned on both sides I'll be honest the
texture of the skin was impeccable so
we'll see how this goes a 10 wow another
10. and an eight that puts this in first
place that was incredible every level of
it is great I'm gonna be honest I wasn't
even expecting this what's happening now
for method number 15 smoked I really was
also feeling this could be a winner so
we're gonna see now last time in the
burger video the smoked Burger won that
category so got a little bit of a
contender here dry season chicken breast
into a very low smoker two hours later
we pull it out on 65 internal temp of
course then we played no Browning now
let's see how this goes a seven not a
good start a ten okay hold on and
another ten it's one point shy of our
leader but it's tied for a second so
we'll give it that that's really good
yeah it's really good but the number 16
roasted which some people would call
oven baked and to those people I would
say you are wrong also boom roasted so
chicken breast season with oil goes into
oven pre 425 Fahrenheit you cook it till
it's done you pull it out and you serve
it an eight a sixth and a nine 23 total
that's exactly what we expected with the
number 17 stir fry I feel like there's
something here I don't know I'm a little
confused about these judges I don't know
where this could go I feel like this
could be either a bottom ranking or a
high ranking add seasoned and Cubed
chicken breasts into an oiled
walk toss for about three minutes to
constantly get that walk hey till golden
brown and cook through and now for our
judges so we have a six a six and a oh I
don't like that triage of numbers there
it is the most evil dish not good okay
method number 18 and pepper which is
steaming in a paper bag I have a feeling
that our judges uh aren't gonna like
this so you set up a piece of parchment
paper some slices of lemon bay leaves
and whatever else you want yes your
season chicken breast and we'll fold
your paper together like an envelope and
tighten around completely I sealed with
staples to really seal in the juice cook
in a preheated oven open it up oh boy
okay pop it on a plate and now we rate
and the judges rated it a six a two and
a three okay uh over it's just a step
above the steamed for me but the number
19 salt baked like a coffin of salt
basically this is the best cooking
method for a whole fish now does it
apply to the chicken I don't know I
lightly season this breast like very
lightly wrapped it in cheesecloth I got
a big bowl of salt which I tossed a
couple of egg whites in packed that onto
my chicken breast yes literally on it
like that trust me it won't be too salty
and roast in the up till Harden
hopefully cook through pull it out oh
boy that's looking rough I'm pulling out
on this side here now for our judges a
five a one and uh one so don't do that
that was about as plain as chicken gets
how do you know it's chicken
method number 20 poached I know it seems
controversial but listen poaching is an
ancient art when mastered properly it
proves impeccable results I really
believe that so lightly season your
boiling water you know maybe add some
aromatics add your chicken and gently
poach until just cooked through I think
there is a world where this could be a
top Contender or a winner if done
properly so it came in at a six okay a
two okay well surely the F5 I'm sorry I
guess so those chicken breasts chicken
breasts I've ever tasted method number
21 deep fried listen this one's getting
breaded I'll be honest this feels unfair
I don't know how this could possibly
lose because it is the best way to eat
chicken I think most of us can agree
it's not a Fair competition Fried
Chicken in versus like what was the last
winner yeah that so we marinated in
buttermilk we tossed it in seasoned
flour and we deep fried it until golden
brown I mean look at this thing there's
no way this isn't the winner so our
judges rated it a nine a nine and a ten
which is a tie for reverse here we're
talking about Fried Chicken tying with a
normal seared chicken breast what method
number 22 Tajin look you add your onion
carrot garlic salt pepper olive oil add
some lightly seasoned chicken breast
which has been cubed a little chicken
stock and we thought this was supposed
to be cooked on the stove but apparently
this tagine can't go on the stove so we
had to put it in the oven cover it and
bake till it's done you open it up and
oh boy that's when you realize that a
tagine is not for chicken breasts anyway
yes I know Joshua split spices on top
look I'm trying to keep the control okay
this is a science experiment an eight
okay all right a four and a seven
honestly surprisingly better than I
expected tasted like good like soup
chicken that's what I was feeling yeah
method number 23 one of the most prized
recipes on the internet brick chicken
I'm sure you've heard it if you haven't
well it's exactly what it sounds like
you're gonna get a hot cast iron pan out
of a hot oven at your dry season chicken
breast skin on for this one skin side
down place a brick on top and place it
back in the oven you pull it out you
flip and it's done which got rated a
five a six and a four 15 total that's
bottom tier that's rough but then number
24 Tandoor one of my most random cooking
utensils secure two inch cubes of dried
seasoned chicken breast on a big
Tandoori skewer pop into a preheated
tondor I'm sure you have one right
everybody has one of these leave it in
there for just a few minutes you pull it
out it looks pretty nice and this gun
voted at a nine a ten and a nine and
that officially finishes the methods
category with a three-way tie which
means we must break the tie myself we
have three tied chickens Wow first we
have the reverse sear damn moist skin is
super crisp no chew at all the benefit
of the reverse sear is it renders out
the fat of the chicken so you get full
crunch no chew I like that
I mean it's good but how did this tie
with that so it comes down to these two
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I really love fried chicken I'm sorry
that wind's easily done funny enough we
did already do every way to make fried
chicken so if you haven't seen that go
check it out Link in the description for
that I think depending on my mood I
might have picked something else but in
most cases this is the most delicious to
me so we have our winner for the methods
we move on to the Legends category to
see which dish will combine fried
chicken with which brings us to Method
number 25 Tuscan chicken sounds Italian
but it's kind of olive gardeny I'm not a
fan of this but I'm gonna make it anyway
pound a butterfly chicken breast coat on
both sides with flour and sear in a pan
on both sides take it out you're gonna
go in with butter onion garlic saute
till Brown all sorts of spices and stuff
cherry tomatoes a little salt maybe a
little spinach why not okay I love how
spinach is really one percent of the
original size of it whenever you cook it
that's nice this is breaking every
Italian rule in the world okay I don't
even want to say anymore you put a short
load of heavy cream and parmesan cheese
and put the chicken back in you boil
until it's done it's wrong everything
about it is wrong and I hope that it
gets a bad rating a nine come on man
come on an eight stop it and a seven
twenty four total oh yeah I'd order that
method number 26 butter chicken look
this isn't my first rodeo with butter
chicken all right very basic marinade of
yogurt spices lots of them twist
marinate your chicken and all that then
you're gonna sear your chicken and
clarified butter also called ghee take
it out add your onions garlic saute till
soften deglaze add crushed tomatoes and
reduce more spices cook that down just
until soft blend till smooth reduce that
a little bit add your chicken back this
heavy cream belongs in okay I'm okay
with that one cook down till done and
serve with Jasmine rice it's one of the
greatest things on earth I'm a big fan
so now for our judges an eight a ten and
a nine thank you what's not to like
listen up we only have three more left
and there's no way anything's gonna beat
this I just don't see chicken piccata
chicken marsala or even chicken teriyaki
winning seems unlikely but you know what
we gotta give them a fighting chance so
the chicken piccata I dusted my chicken
breast in flour seared it on both sides
took it out deglazed the pan with a
little white wine some lemon juice bring
it to a boil reduce look I took my time
with this I wanted this to look
beautiful so once the sauce reduced add
my Capers I mounted it with a little bit
of cold unsalted butter yeah thicken it
up and my garlic let that all reduce
once it's emulsified give it a taste add
some salt and pepper just if necessary
stir in some parsley and Spoon the sauce
on top of your plated chicken it looks
nice and now for our judges but ten okay
another ten whoa whoa whoa and at 10 our
first perfect score coming in at a 30.
it cannot be higher than this could this
be our winner or will there be another
tie I will say the next recipe is very
similar to this and it's chicken marsala
so you dredge your chicken naked
butterflied in a mixture of seasoned
flour you sear on both sides cook for
another four minutes you know make sure
it's cooked through add some oil to the
pan saute mushrooms get a little
Browning on them a little shallot little
Gala I don't know where I'm going with
this accent salt pepper cook till
softened deglaze with Marsala wine cook
until reduced by half at shop time bring
to a boil reduce again add heavy cream
reduce again add your chicken reduce
again I mean we're just condensing
flavor here good lower add a little salt
and pepper parsley Place chicken on a
plate spoon sauce on top man it's
looking similar here we go it's time a
10 a seven an eight a 25 total so not
the winner sorry this is a meal fit for
Kings we have one more left that could
unseat Piccata in its teriyaki chicken
think back to your childhood how beloved
this might have been to you this recipe
comes from another teriyaki chicken from
another video but anyway it's marinated
you take it out the marinade keep the
marinade because it's gonna become the
sauce so cook your cut up chicken in a
wok hit that Wok hey once that's cooked
through add half your leftover marinade
add a little bit of cornstarch slurry
wait for it to thicken and it's done
assuming that you cook the chicken all
the way through please serve with rice
and green onions it's so beautifully
simple there's something here I really
think there could be a tie here a 10.
okay we need two more tens to be a tie
an eight ah and another eight okay 26
total so chicken piccata wins so now
we're gonna combine buttermilk deep
fried chicken with chicken piccata look
this all comes down to this moment
that's why we did this entire thing the
combination of these two chicken breast
recipes could create arguably the
greatest chicken breast recipe in
history so I'm not going in light I did
a very traditional Southern it stretched
it's deep fried so A beautiful gbd
that's called Brown
but this is the kicker I thought wait a
minute what if I approach this with the
mind of a Buffalo Wild Wings sauce
connoisseur but better nice I'm gonna
make essentially a chicken piccata wing
sauce beautifully emulsified and coated
so to do that combined white wine bring
to a boiled lemon juice Capers garlic
reduced by half in a blender add one egg
yolk blend on high till it turns pale
slowly streaming the sauce from your pan
into the blender while constantly
blending once it's super smooth you're
gonna slowly add in cubes of cold butter
until emulsified season with salt to
taste and look at this we stabilized
into a beautiful Emulsion which we then
generously coated our buttermilk
Southern Fried Chicken I mean look at
this maybe some extra Capers add a
little lemon zest pop it on a plate and
now I will taste our 30th method another
Wombo Combo so this looks amazing feels
a little fancy which I like
oh my goodness you know what's funny a
long time ago I had the idea of like
what is my ideal fried chicken sauce
with I feel like it's like lemony and
citrusy and somehow we just naturally
ended up here I feel like this is a
chicken that I've had dreams of was this
journey worth the result absolutely and
this is definitely something you can do
at home like really easily although I'm
happy it also feels a little bittersweet
because this is the last
in this studio
you see things have changed for the
better we're moving to a
bigger better Studio than we worked our
ass off to get into you're gonna see it
real soon by popular demand we're
bringing back the original taste tester
so it's not just me tasting what we're
calling the quote Super Chicken that
name could use some work I'm not gonna
lie
[Music]
yes
[Music]
so good there's like Artisan Fried
Chicken
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