"There's a chicken breast in an oven somewhere. It's been in there for 45 minutes at 350° because that's what the recipe says.

"When it comes out, it will look fine—golden on top.

"Someone will cut into it, the knife will drag, the inside will be white, tight and stringy, and the thin end will be like cardboard. Everybody at the table will reach for the ketchup or the gravy and no one will say a word because that is what chicken breast is."

But, this isn't what chicken breast is, it's what an oven does to chicken breast.

This recipe is printed in chuch cookbooks all over the Midwest today. However, a cookbook from 1950 or before would never advise cooking a chicken breast in an oven.

Chicken today and how to correct it

The chicken sold in stores today isn't the chicken of 70 years ago. It's bigger, leaner with mega breasts. A big, thick piece of lean meat is the hardest thing to cook well. Also, a bird that grows so fast and so big has "woody" meat, especially its breast. Avoid this when buying. Press your thumb into the breast to verify. Look for smaller breasts. Before cooking, lay the breast on a board, a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap over it (or put it into a big Ziploc® bag) and press down on it with a cast iron skillet until the thick part is more the same thickness of the rest. About 1" everywhere is ideal. Another way is to butterfly it or cut it into two, equally thick pieces.

How to cook a chicken really. First off, a breast.

1. Render the meat of uniform size as noted.
2. Dry-brine by salting the outside of the breast with ½ tsp salt resting in the refrigerator 45-90 minutes or wet-brine by soaking it in a quart of cold water with 2 tbsp salt per breast.
3. Cook in a skillet with fat—butter, lard or tallow to 155°, then rest it. Its temperature will glide up to 165° to 170°.
4. Rest breast for 10 minutes loosely tented.
5. If you plan to serve only part, cut across the meat grain.

Alternatively, poach the chicken (breast, parts or whole)...

1. Dry-brine by salting the outside of the chicken with ½ tsp salt resting in the refrigerator 45-90 minutes.
2. Cook in a pot lower than a simmer seasoned with onion, celery, carrot, black pepper corns and bay plus other appropriate herbs as desired. The water should cover the chicken by 1".
3. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Turn the burner off, lid on.
4. Rest for 30 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove to a suitable storage solution and refrigerate or freeze.
5. To serve all or part thereof, butter a skillet and cook 2 minutes each side to brown, then serve or cut.

Summary

1. Smaller breasts, bone-in if possible.
2. Flatten to uniform thickness.
3. Salt ahead (brine) in refrigerator and cook in a skillet. Or, ...
4. Cold water to cover with salt onion, carrot, celery, etc.
5. Raise temperature to under a simmer, 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
6. Covered, rest 30 minutes. Check for 165°.
7. Save the broth and serve pieces fresh from skillet.