Marinating bone-in, skin on chicken breasts...?!
thanks in advance.
Answers: i was thinking of marinating some chicken breasts in ranch dressing mix. i've tried this before and the only problem was the outside of the chicken tasted like ranch, but the inside tasted like plain ol' chicken. i was just wondering if i were to maybe stab knife holes in the chicken before marinating so the flavor would go throughout the chicken, would it dry the chicken out while baking? or maybe someone has a good. easy recipe to make my chicken taste like something other than plain ol' chicken?
thanks in advance.
Letting it sit in the liquid for a while longer is an option; at least 4 hours in the fridge would be a good bet. Piercing or removing the skin completely would be a good option as well; just don't over-cook the meat. Using a meat thermometer while cooking really helps keep you from over-cooking.
The ranch dressing is probably too thick to infiltrate into the tissues of the chicken. Marinating is usually done with thin acidic liquids to tenderize the meat prior to cooking.
If you want a ranch flavor, probably it's best to bake boneless skinless breasts, cube them and toss them in ranch dressing before serving.
The answer is the good old fashioned Julia Childe Brining. Put your chicken breasts scored with a few fork holes into a large plastic freezer bag. In a say a 3 quart pot put a table spoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of sugar per quart of water and what ever other dry spices you wish add lemon juice or vinegar for more significant fat break down and dissolve the mix. Add to the freezer bag when cool and then put the whole thing into the fridge over night.
I just poke mine all over with a fork and allow it to marinate for over night or as much as 2 days to really get the flavor in. The skin will soak up more taste than the meat if it is on so removing it would be a better idea.I have this recipe to make a ranch tasting chicken
6 boneless skinless breasts tenderized or poked with fork
1 cup sour cream
2 TBSP lemon or lime juice
1tsp celery salt
1tsp paprika
2tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground or cracked pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
Mix all but the crumbs and butter in a gallon ziploc bag. Place chicken into the bag making sure that each piece gets coated. Squeeze all the air out and seal. Refrigerate at least 8 hours. COat chicken in bread crumbs and place on un-greased pan. Drizzle with half the melted butter. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Drizzle with other half of butter and bake additional 15 minutes or until cooked through.
Easy recipe or even super outstanding marinade only can even better with the time of marinating.
At least 4-5 hour of even better keep it overnight... cover it and put in the refrigerator. No need, for you to stab on the chicken or meat.
The marinating it self make the chicken tender and flavour up to the bone.. and give nice colour to the skin.
and don't over cook it... xspecially chicken breasts.. it will dry the meat.