Personally, I can’t get enough of boneless and skinless chicken breast. Sure, you could make the argument boneless skinless thighs are cheaper and have more flavor but boneless skinless breast will get my vote most of the time. For me the primary reason has to do with versatility. There are way more recipes and usage for chicken breasts when you are starving and need to put food on the table.
For example, last night my daughter had a swimming make up class which took place late in the evening. By the time I got her out of the pool, dressed and home for dinner, bed time was right around the corner. “What is a home cook to do”? Suddenly, the cartoon light bulb went off over my head. I decided to pan sear two breasts with some dry herbs and spices then finished them off in the oven. I Let the breasts rest for five minutes then I sliced them and made quesadillas while we finished watching the rest of the Warriors vs Cavaliers game 3 finals.
This meal would never have taken place if I used chicken thighs because the thighs need to cook forever in order to make them tender. If using chicken thighs the entire meal would have taken another 20-25 minutes thus putting my daughter to bed way later than necessary. This is just one of the few reasons why, I invest time and money on breasts (come to think of it that sounds really bad, so don’t analyze this one too much).
Here’s a confession: I like boneless skinless chicken breasts. In fact, I buy them often. On purpose.
I got to know the boneless skinless chicken breast during the fat-obsessed ‘90s of my youth, when we sautéed everything in PAM and ate mounds and mounds of pasta tossed in olive oil–free tomato sauce. (In those days, that’s how people tried to lose weight.)
Later came the chicken breast backlash. Lovers of chicken thighs—a fattier, more flavorful cut—threw off their saturated fat–counting shackles and declared their dark meat devotion. Countless cooking sites (this one included) and chefs recommended that we shun the breast in favor of the thigh.
And they had good reasons. Chicken thighs hold up infinitely better than breasts in fricassees, stews, and other braised dishes. They’re great broiled, or turned into sheet-pan dinners.
I got on the thigh bandwagon myself, stocking my freezer with boneless skinless thighs, throwing them into my slow cooker and reveling in their capacity to retain moistness after hours of simmering. “I’m really into chicken thighs now!” I’d say to my friends. “They’re so flavorful. And cheaper!”
But in the back of my mind I knew the real reason I had thrown chicken breasts under the bus. They’d turned passé. Lame. Basic. “‘Breast’ is a dirty word now,” my colleague David noted. He’s right. Boring old chicken breasts have no place in a time when words like “offal” and “locavore” fall so casually out of people’s mouths. Chicken breasts are the straight-legged, medium-blue jeans of the food world. The pair you don’t want to get rid of because they’re so comfortable, but that you’d never wear out with friends.
Well forget that. Today, I’m putting on my comfy jeans and owning my love of the chicken breast. Because you know what? Sometimes the fattiness of chicken thighs is a turn-off. Sometimes I want to eat something—yes, I’ll say it—sort of bland. You can read the rest of Anya Hoffman’s article on Epicurious.
Article source: Anya Hoffman-Epicurious
Photo source: @shatscy_r
