Skillet Chicken Breasts

I was looking into a few easy recipes that I could make small quantities of so I wouldn’t have some many leftovers that just go bad in the fridge. Bachelor cooking has a few pitfalls after all. I found many great recipes that are working well. They all have one thing in common. They all use a chicken breast fried up in a pan with some sort of sauce or other accompaniment. So when I noticed this I decided to write an article on how to do it right just once instead of several times. I could go into more detail this way too. It can also make a perfectly serviceable, if bland, meal on it’s own. But you really do want a sauce.

1 Chicken Breast
Salt and Pepper
Flour

Start by pounding the chicken breast flat, like less than half an inch thick. If you get your chicken in butcher paper and a plastic bag you can use those as the base to pound the chicken. If not, then you’ll want to lay out two sheets of plastic wrap so you don’t get chicken juice all over you surfaces and meat hammer. Don’t be afraid to really let the chicken have it too. The thinner the better.

Once it’s pounded flat you’ll want to season in liberally with salt and pepper, don’t be stingy. Afterwards cover with flour. You have to do it in that order. Also don’t skimp on the flour, you need a nice even coating on all surfaces. But a few dense spots here and there aren’t bad.

Have a paper towel lined plate ready for the next part. Next you’ll want to heat up some oil in a skillet until it shimmers on medium high. Gently lay the chicken in the pan without splashing oil everywhere. Do not crowd the pan. It’s better to do it in batches if you need to. The hardest part of this is just leaving it alone. Don’t touch it for 2 1/2 minutes per side. You’ll want it nice and golden brown.

After it’s done, place it on the paper towel and move onto the next batch. It’s ready to eat right now, and you also have a pan with frond ready to make a pan sauce. You will DEFINITELY want to put the chicken back in the pan to cook with the sauce to add more flavor and tenderize it too. I’ll post a few recipes that use these.