My simple chicken dish turned into a two hour mess last night

I wanted to make a quick lemon chicken recipe that said it took 30 minutes. The problem was my chicken breasts were way too thick, so they wouldn't cook through. I spent over an hour just trying to get the middle to stop being pink, and I had to cut them into tiny pieces. The whole thing took almost two hours from start to finish. Does anyone have a foolproof way to cook chicken fast on a weeknight?

3 comments

3 Comments

eva6663mo ago

Actually thick chicken breasts are better for flavor, they just need a different method. Pound them flat with a rolling pin or a pan first, then they cook evenly in the time the recipe says. That extra prep step saves you from the whole cutting and waiting mess later.

john_johnson7519d ago

I gotta push back on that "pounding them flat" idea though. I think a thicker piece of meat actually holds moisture better if you cook it right, like if you sear it hard on both sides and finish it in the oven you get a way juicier result. All that flattening just squeezes out the natural juices and turns it into something dry and tough half the time, at least in my experience. Plus if you hit it too hard you end up with holes or uneven spots that burn in the pan. I'd rather just butterfly it and leave it be, flipping halfway through.

christopher_wilson3mo ago

Ever notice how so many problems come from skipping the basic first step? Like what @eva666 said about pounding the chicken, it's that extra five minutes at the start that saves you an hour of panic later. I see this everywhere, from cooking to trying to fix something around the house without reading the instructions. What's a time you rushed in and paid for it later?