Easy Skillet Chicken Recipe + Garlic Butter Sauce Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

Should you cook chicken in butter or oil? ›

Can you cook chicken with butter instead of oil? You have to cook chicken at a lower temperature if you bake or pan-fry chicken using butter instead of oil. This is because butter has a lower scorching temperature. Your chicken will cook more slowly, but it's also likely to be juicier and full of more flavor.

Pan-fried chicken breast recipe

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan then add the chicken breasts (skin-side down, if they have skin) and cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Then turn over, cover and cook on the other side for 7-8 minutes or until cooked through.

Use the Right Temperature:Bake the chicken at a moderate temperature (around 375°F to 425°F or 190°C to 220°C). Cooking at too high a temperature can lead to dryness. Add Fat:Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil, melted butter, or another fat source before baking. This helps lock in moisture and adds flavor.

In fact, olive oil is a popular alternative to butter for cooking chicken because it has a high smoke point and is a healthier option as it contains monounsaturated fats.

Think vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil. Don't use olive oil or butter—they both have lower smoke points. The ideal temperature for frying chicken is 350˚ to 365˚, and you'll want to make sure that you bring the oil back to temperature between batches.

Covering the skillet does make a racket, though — it's the drops of condensed moisture dropping into the oil that create all that carrying-on.” “I cover the skillet for the first half of cooking time, then uncover it for the second half. As soon as I get all my chicken pieces in the skillet, I cover it,” Anderson said.

A large, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet will pan-fry your chicken without sticking. Using medium-high heat, wait until the skillet is hot before adding the chicken. Let it cook on one side, without turning, until properly browned. When the chicken releases from the pan without sticking, turn to cook the other side.

Another problem with boneless skinless chicken breast is they have very little fat, and fat is what gives meat flavor and tenderness. Solving that problem is very easy! Simply place chicken breasts in a brine of water and salt (that's it!) and let them soak for a half hour. This makes them moist, tender and juicy.

Getting a good sear through medium high heat, then reducing the heat to LOW and COVERING the chicken while it cooks. The butter, oil, and chicken juices create a super flavorful liquid that acts as a way to steam the chicken at a low temperature, ensuring that it is moist & tender on the inside.

What is the difference between sautéing and frying? ›

By definition, frying is cooking by immersion in hot fat (as with fried chicken or french fries), whereas sautéing is cooking via the direct heat of the pan, in just a small amount of fat or oil—or a mix of both.

By pan-frying your chicken, you let it get nice and brown on both sides. And, by using a lid, you create a steamy environment that traps in moisture, leaving you with juicy chicken breasts instead of dried out, stringy meat.

For that reason, it's not always the best choice for baking at high heat. Butter, on the other hand, has a higher flash point which makes it better suited for things like sautéing and frying. So, if you're looking to make a healthier choice that doesn't sacrifice taste, olive oil is the way to go.

The spongy texture and moist flavor that oil creates can be a boon to certain recipes. Not to mention oil is cheaper and easier to work with. Butter will always provide superior flavor and that melt-in-your-mouth texture. In many recipes, combining the two gives the best of both worlds.

Pan-seared chicken breast, cooked in a little oil with salt and pepper and finished with a generous knob of butter, is the first way I learned to cook chicken breast on the stove and a technique I always go back to.