Okay... so I'm new to baking.

[Royality]

Well I decided to Bake my chicken today as opposed to cooking it in healthy oil.

It was dry and yukky.

So lads and lasses what are your tips for the perfect baked Chicken Breast?

[dodus]

grill it on a grill pan or a griddle. Or even a real grill. Pick it up and move it with tongs, and don't squeeze it or press down on it with a spatula. Keep those juices inside. If all else fails, mustard.

[Hort]

Originally Posted by Royality

Well I decided to Bake my chicken today as opposed to cooking it in healthy oil.

It was dry and yukky.

So lads and lasses what are your tips for the perfect baked Chicken Breast?

If thawed, about 15 minutes at 425. Test and experiment. It was dry because you OVERCOOKED it.

[badgolfer]

Originally Posted by Hort

If thawed, about 15 minutes at 425. Test and experiment. It was dry because you OVERCOOKED it.

Horts right. You probably overcooked it. Do you have a grill that you could buy a rotisserie for. those are great.

[jim331656]

I assume we're talking about boneless/skinless breasts? If so its very easy to overcook and dry it out like those guys said. I would suggest baking it in a covered container or wrapped in foil with some liquid of your choice(ie chicken stock, bottled marinade, ect...)

[Glaive]

Easy way:

Lightly coat chicken in olive oil and seasoning of choice. I leave it overnight to marinade (in the fridge, of course).

Sear chicken in a very hot pan 30-45 seconds per side, and then throw the whole pan (make sure it's an oven safe pan) into a pre-heated 500 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Voila. It stays ridiculously moist this way. This method of cooking is also excellent for salmon, as well as steak (although with steaks I normally double the cooking time and flip them halfway through).

[TarSeal]

I'm wondering what your healthy oil is...

[Royality]

Originally Posted by Travis

I'm wondering what your healthy oil is...

Olive Oil. What is the best oil? Flax?

I was gunna buy some.

[TarSeal]

Originally Posted by Royality

Olive Oil. What is the best oil? Flax?

I was gunna buy some.

Olive oil is good. Doesn't handle high heat well. Just sautee the chicken fairly slowly.

Olive Oil contains 75% oleic acid, the stable monounsaturated fat, along with 13% saturated fat, 10% omega-6 linoleic acid and 2% omega-3 linolenic acid. The high percentage of oleic acid makes olive oil ideal for salads and for cooking at moderate temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil is also rich in antioxidants. It should be cloudy, indicating that it has not been filtered, and have a golden yellow color, indicating that it is made from fully ripened olives. Olive oil has withstood the test of time; it is the safest vegetable oil you can use, but don't overdo. The longer chain fatty acids found in olive oil are more likely to contribute to the buildup of body fat than the short- and medium-chain fatty acids found in butter, coconut oil or palm kernel oil.

I'm not a big fan of flax oil due to its instability. You can find decent brands- maybe- that are not spoiled. And you certainly can't cook with it.

Flax Seed Oil contains 9% saturated fatty acids, 18% oleic acid, 16% omega-6 and 57% omega-3. With its extremely high omega-3 content, flax seed oil provides a remedy for the omega-6/omega-3 imbalance so prevalent in America today. Not surprisingly, Scandinavian folk lore values flax seed oil as a health food. New extraction and bottling methods have minimized rancidity problems. It should always be kept refrigerated, never heated, and consumed in small amounts in salad dressings and spreads.

Coconut oil is the best oil.

Coconut oil is 92% saturated with over two-thirds of the saturated fat in the form of medium-chain fatty acids (often called medium-chain triglycerides). Of particular interest is lauric acid, found in large quantities in both coconut oil and in mother's milk. This fatty acid has strong antifungal and antimicrobial properties. Coconut oil protects tropical populations from bacteria and fungus so prevalent in their food supply; as third-world nations in tropical areas have switched to polyunsaturated vegetable oils, the incidence of intestinal disorders and immune deficiency diseases has increased dramatically. Because coconut oil contains lauric acid, it is often used in baby formulas.

the preceeding quotes are from: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...ml#composition

the following quote is from: http://mercola.com/2001/mar/24/coconut_oil.htm

...an animal experiment fed diets that were low or high in total fat, and in different groups the fat was provided by pure coconut oil, or a pure unsaturated oil, or by various mixtures of the two oils. At the end of their lives, the animals' obesity increased directly in proportion to the ratio of unsaturated oil to coconut oil in their diet, and was not related to the total amount of fat they had consumed.

That is, animals which ate just a little pure unsaturated oil were fat, and animals which ate a lot of coconut oil were lean.

G. W. Crile and his wife found that the metabolic rate of people in Yucatan, where coconut is a staple food, averaged 25% higher than that of people in the United States.

In a hot climate, the adaptive tendency is to have a lower metabolic rate, so it is clear that some factor is more than offsetting this expected effect of high environmental temperatures. The people there are lean, and recently it has been observed that the women there have none of the symptoms we commonly associate with the menopause.

By l950, then, it was established that unsaturated fats suppress the metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism.

[Royality]

You see, to me saturated fats always = bad.

I can't get my head around cocunut oil because of it.

Essentially is it saying that saturated fats help to increase metabolism?

[TarSeal]

Originally Posted by Royality

You see, to me saturated fats always = bad.

I can't get my head around cocunut oil because of it.

Essentially is it saying that saturated fats help to increase metabolism?

Saturated fats = good. Coconut oil can help increase metabolism, among many other benefits.

[dodus]

Apologies for continuing to derail the thread, but whereabouts can you find coconut oil? And what can you do with it...saute a chicken?

[sc7389]

Buy an electric grill like the George Foreman grill to use in the winter.

[zkat]

Originally Posted by dodus

Apologies for continuing to derail the thread, but whereabouts can you find coconut oil? And what can you do with it...saute a chicken?

You can buy coconut oil at most health food stores. You can cook just about anything with it. I prefer it on foods that I don't want to have that olive oil taste to it. It also has a much higher smoke point than olive oil. Works great when roasting a turkey. I also use it when dehydrating fruits, it helps keep them from getting so brittle.

Kat.

[zenpharaohs]

Originally Posted by Royality

Well I decided to Bake my chicken today as opposed to cooking it in healthy oil.

When you bake/roast chicken and you don't want super dry, you can apply lemon juice. You can slice a lemon in half and put the lemon halves in the chicken while it's cooking.

If you want, you can also add brandy and baste with that.

[TarSeal]

Originally Posted by dodus

Apologies for continuing to derail the thread, but whereabouts can you find coconut oil? And what can you do with it...saute a chicken?

I strongly recommend this brand: http://tropicaltraditions.com/

Just order online. Get the virgin. I've never found anything even close to the high quality of this product. I get the gallon size and it sits on my counter for about a year until I order the next one. Just dip the spoon or measuring cup in there and get what you need. Like any other oil you need to be very careful about what type of processing it has undergone. This one is perfectly virgin and organic. If it doesn't taste and smell like coconut it has been detrimentally processed. The taste and smell is incredible. Use it in any recipe calling for oil or butter. Put it on your skin. Eat tablespoons of it. Put it in a shake. (I like that- chocolate coconut protein shake mmmmm) It fries an egg like you wouldn't believe. Every time I pan fry anything it is with this oil. If you bake a cake with it it is wonderful. I literally use it every single day.

[JK2005]

Originally Posted by Travis

I strongly recommend this brand: http://tropicaltraditions.com/

Just order online. Get the virgin. I've never found anything even close to the high quality of this product. I get the gallon size and it sits on my counter for about a year until I order the next one. Just dip the spoon or measuring cup in there and get what you need. Like any other oil you need to be very careful about what type of processing it has undergone. This one is perfectly virgin and organic. If it doesn't taste and smell like coconut it has been detrimentally processed. The taste and smell is incredible. Use it in any recipe calling for oil or butter. Put it on your skin. Eat tablespoons of it. Put it in a shake. (I like that- chocolate coconut protein shake mmmmm) It fries an egg like you wouldn't believe. Every time I pan fry anything it is with this oil. If you bake a cake with it it is wonderful. I literally use it every single day.

2 gallons of virgin coconut oil for *only* $100 :d_eek: :d_eek:



I think I need to start earning more money!

[TarSeal]

Originally Posted by JK2005

2 gallons of virgin coconut oil for *only* $100 :d_eek: :d_eek:



I think I need to start earning more money!

That's actually a really great deal. That is about a 2 year supply for me though and I have a half gallon still, so I'll hold off.

[TarSeal]

By the way good oil is necessarily expensive. Good oil is a fragile and rare commodity which is expensive to produce.

[Julz]

Originally Posted by Royality

Well I decided to Bake my chicken today as opposed to cooking it in healthy oil.

It was dry and yukky.

So lads and lasses what are your tips for the perfect baked Chicken Breast?

I have baked chicken for dinner 2 or 3 nights per week. I'm a huge fan of Tyson Chicken breast tenders (boneless/skinless). I put 2 or 3 tenders on a piece of aluminum foil and sprinkle a few spices (I'm a HUGE fan of McCormick's Monterey Chicken spice blend) on them. Throw them in the oven @ 375 for about 20 minutes and - perfection! What's great about them is that you can put them in the oven frozen. I think you can do that with chicken breast halves too, but it takes twice as long to bake.