A head-to-head test found one method makes chicken breasts juicier and tastier than the air fryer.
Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins around, lending itself to a whole host of dishes – from Marry Me Chicken and Caesar salad to a classic Sunday roast.. It also pairs beautifully on its own alongside tasty sides such as sautéed cabbage, honey-roasted carrots and creamy mashed potatoes .. Meal-prepping chicken is a brilliant way to ensure you’ve always got a handy snack or a ready addition to sandwiches and salads.. While chicken
thighs tend to be the nation’s favourite cut for their flavour and texture, chicken breasts are the preferred choice here.. The main gripe most people have with chicken breasts is down to how they’re cooked.. Make no mistake – if they’re not done properly, they can turn out disappointingly dry and bland.. The trick lies in marinating them with two essential ingredients and keeping a watchful eye on the cooking time.. The air fryer has
long been the go-to method, though other approaches hadn’t been explored – until now.. With that in mind, a head-to-head comparison was carried out between the air fryer, pan-frying and oven cooking.. The results threw up one surprisingly decent method and one absolute winner.. Before each cooking method, the chicken breasts were brought to room temperature, then coated in olive oil and two punchy seasonings – Nando’s Peri Peri Rub and Aromat.. Given that the
three chicken breasts were on the larger side, each method required a slightly extended cooking time.. Cooking time: 20 minutes I’m a big fan of using the air fryer for chicken – it’s speedy, straightforward and delivers succulent results every time.. With this approach, there’s no faff with preheating; I simply pop the chicken into the basket and set the temperature to 200C for 20 minutes.. If I’m working with smaller breasts, I’ll typically reduce
the cooking time to between 16 and 18 minutes.. To ensure it’s thoroughly cooked, I always reach for a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature has hit 74C.. One notable drawback of this technique is the limited capacity of the air fryer basket, making it tricky to cook more than a couple of chicken breasts at once.. After cooking, I take the chicken out of the basket and allow it to rest for five
minutes.. This helps the meat hold onto more of its moisture and flavour compared to slicing straight away.. The chicken emerged with an attractive golden colour all over; it was uniformly cooked, and when I cut into it, the interior was lovely and moist.. Rating: 8.5/10 Cooking time: 30 minutes I’d always thought oven-cooked chicken breasts ended up on the dry side, but this method completely changed my mind.. The main drawback here is the
time required for preheating the oven and cooking the chicken through, though the outcome was genuinely impressive.. I set the oven to 200C Fan and popped the chicken in for 20 minutes before having a look, but it required an additional 10 minutes to finish properly.. The consistent heat from the oven meant the chicken cooked slowly and uniformly, which helped keep it juicy and tender throughout.. After cooking, I allowed it to rest for
five minutes before slicing into it.. The chicken hadn’t developed much colour during the baking process, leaving it looking rather anaemic.. Despite its pallid appearance, the sliced breast turned out remarkably moist.. The lack of that appetising golden-brown crust meant the baked chicken breasts weren’t particularly eye-catching and were missing a depth of flavour.. As such, they wouldn’t stand up well as a centrepiece on the dinner plate, though baking remains a perfectly adequate technique
for prepping chicken breasts in advance to add to other dishes.. Rating: 7.5/10 Cooking time: 10 minutes I’ll admit I approached this technique with some trepidation, knowing full well how easily chicken can weld itself to a hot pan.. To pan-fry the chicken, I began by coating the pan with oil before searing the meat over a high heat, then popping a lid on for two minutes.. I then turned the chicken over and let
it cook for another two minutes before introducing some water to the pan and covering it once more for five minutes, this time reducing the heat to medium-low.. Following the same protocol as the previous two techniques, I let the chicken rest on a plate for five minutes before slicing it open.. Searing the chicken over direct heat produced a gorgeous golden-brown crust on each side.. That said, because the heat stays consistent and focused
at the surface, the exterior tends to cook a touch too much before the centre hits the right temperature.. The result was an exceptionally moist middle, though the outside was marginally firmer – something I was perfectly happy with.. This approach delivered the most succulent chicken imaginable, and the sole reason it fell short of a perfect score was the burnt pan left behind afterwards, which meant additional elbow grease during the washing-up.. Rating: 9.5/10
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