Cooking chicken with dry heat entails choosing which of the dry heat methods you will use. Purdue University lists roasting, oven or pan broiling, grilling and frying meat in a dry pan as the main ways to cook with dry heat. Purdue recommends cooking "young" poultry such as small chicken breasts or small whole chickens with the dry heat methods of roasting or broiling. When you cook chicken with dry heat, you avoid adding unnecessary oils to the meat, as with drying, but you must monitor the chicken for doneness to ensure you do not dry out the naturally lean meat.
Roasting
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 325 F before placing the chicken breasts in the oven. Putting chicken in an already warmed oven helps the chicken retain its moisture by sealing some of the surface area, according to the book "Step by Step Cookbook."
Step 2
Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier. Place the chicken breasts on a wire rack you place in the roasting pan.
Step 3
Fold a large piece of aluminum foil in half to make a "tent" for the chicken. Carefully place the tent over the chicken and place the pan in the preheated oven.
Step 4
Allow the chicken to cook for between 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the weight and size of the chicken breasts. Bone-in chicken breasts take between 30 and 40 minutes, while four boneless chicken breasts may be done in 20 to 30 minutes, depending on their thickness.
Step 5
Check the chicken for doneness after the designated cooking time. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest section of chicken breast. If using chicken breasts with the bone left in, do not let the meat thermometer touch the bone. Look for a temperature of 180 F.
Step 6
Remove the pan from the oven when the chicken finishes cooking. Place the pan on a heatproof surface and allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting. Rested meat retains more moisture than meat cut immediately after removal from the oven.
Broiling
Step 1
Adjust your oven racks so the top rack is about 7 to 9 inches from your broiling element. Racks too close to the element will likely cause the chicken to burn, and racks too far from the element will cause the chicken to dry out because of lengthened cooking time.
Step 2
Set your oven to broil. Follow the directions from your oven manufacturer, as some oven doors should remain slightly open while operating at the broil setting.
Step 3
Arrange the chicken breasts on a wire rack appropriate for broiling. Place the rack in the broiler pan that came with your oven. Brush the breasts with a mixture of olive oil and seasonings to add flavor and keep in moisture, if desired.
Step 4
Place the chicken in the oven. Set the oven timer for 30 minutes.
Step 5
Remove the pan from the oven when the timer rings. Carefully turn the chicken breasts over and return the pan to the oven. Cook for about 15 to 30 more minutes, or until the chicken reaches 180 F on your meat thermometer.
Tips and Warnings
- Cook more chicken than you need, and use the leftovers for soups, sandwiches or salads. When reheating cooked chicken, bring the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 F. Season the chicken with fresh herbs. Remove the skin before eating to reduce the fat and calorie content of your chicken dish.
- Never leave chicken cooking under a broiler unattended.
Things You'll Need
- Roasting pan
- Alumnium foil
- Wire rack
- Meat thermometer
- Olive oil
- Seasonings
References
- Purdue University: Cooking Meat and Poultry
- Step by Step Cookbook; Susan Westmoreland
- Food Safety and Inspection Service: Focus On: Chicken
- National Institutes of Health: Food Safety
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