Good day. I've had another disagreement with my mother on how to cook Chicken Breast. I know it seems like a small topic and it is situational, but do consider it.
The scenario is this, let's say you forget to take the Chicken Breast (whole, not chopped or butterfly cut) out the freezer and you need to cook it as soon as possible, OR you want to make sure you don't over cook the chicken as you fry it since they can get thick sometimes and you don't know if you cooked it all throughout.
In that scenario, my mother believes that it is okay to boil the chicken meat first in water before frying it. Her logic is that boiling actually cooks the inside evenly without burning the outside and frying gives it color.
However, I think that boiling the chicken takes the flavor away, just like how chicken bones are boiled to make stocks. Also, I think that boiling the chicken for too long causes the chicken to dry out (just like overcooking it).
I tried to tell her that butterflying it would be the best solution to cooking the chicken breast evenly, next to cooking it in the right temperature to not boil it (which seals the flavor inside) and then putting it in the oven (optional).
What do you guys think? Is boiling meat that detrimental to the flavor and overall quality of the dish?
Best Answer
Short answer - you are right on all counts and she's wrong. Tell her that, she'll love it. ;)
The longer answer is that boiling a frozen piece of meat, especially one that is thick in the middle like chicken breast is exactly the opposite of what you want to do as you'll cook the outside but the inside will still be frozen, and boiling (as you rightly point out) will remove flavor from what is already IMO flavorless to begin with. Any cooking method will dry the chicken out whether boiling, baking, or frying, so by cooking twice you are liable to end up with food that is overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside.
Cooking frozen chicken isn't a great idea from a safety and quality perspective but it can be done if the meat is cut thin, so your point about butterflying it is very valid. What I do personally is I thaw chicken meat (thighs in my case) partially in the microwave, then I slice it into 1/2" (about 1.3cm) pieces across the grain before cooking in a saute/stir fry of some sort. I like partially rather than fully thawing in the microwave because it gives a better taste/texture than a full thaw in the microwave, and it is very easy to slice when partially frozen.