Hey everyone.
I've been into health and fitness for about 8 years now. Since the beginning I've been making nearly all of the food that I eat myself. I was young and didn't have much cooking experience, so a lot of my food was plain and quite boring, yet I toughed it out in hopes of achieving the body that I have today.
Fast forward to now, I've graduated culinary school with multiple scholarships and awards and worked in some amazing restaurants, all while attaining and maintaining an amazing, lean and strong physique. Fitness and cooking are my two greatest passions in life, and I love combining them.
A diet consisting of foods you actually enjoy to eat is much easier to follow than force feeding yourself dry chicken, plain rice, and steamed vegetables. I'm going to list a few simple methods and techniques for those of you who aren't very culinary inclined, it could make your journey much easier.
Chicken is the holy grail of lean protein. Chances are you've sacrificed your fair share of chickens in the quest to attain your dream physique. Done right, this is an extremely versatile, flavourful protein source. Done wrong, and you'll have to smother it in sauce or chase each bite with water just to get it down. Many people attempt to marinade the meat but marinades don't penetrate far enough to make a noticeable difference in texture and moisture, only flavour.
This is where brining comes in. Brining is relatively fast, takes very little work, and makes a massive difference in the end product. To brine, you soak your meat in a mixture of water and a high concentration of salt for about 30 minutes. I add a bit of unpasteurized, organic honey to the mix as well to give it a nice flavour, and brush it with olive oil, salt and pepper prior to grilling.
Basic Brine
2 quarts of cold water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup raw honey
Method
Place chicken breasts between a couple of sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken to an even thickness to ensure uniform cooking. Whisk all of the ingredients of the brine together well, until all solids are dissolved. Soak the chicken breasts for 30 minutes in the refrigerator prior to cooking. Remove from the brine, pat dry with paper towel, bring to room temperature and brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Cooking the chicken
When it comes to cooking chicken breasts, I find two methods yield the best result. Grilling or pan searing and finishing in an oven.
Grilling
Preheat on the highest setting with the lid closed for about 5-10 minutes. I spray the grate with pam just prior to putting my chicken on. Place the chicken on the grill and leave it for about 2-3 minutes, until grill lines are present. Rotate the chicken 90 degrees and close the lid, cooking for 2-3 more minutes. Flip the chicken and repeat this process until an instant read thermometer reads 155-165 F (I always finish mine around 155 but 165 is the FDA standard) and let it rest, covered loosely with foil for approximately 5 minutes.
Pan Searing
One Chicken Breast
Preheat your oven to 375F and heat an oven-proof frying pan over medium high heat with about 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil. I always reach for coconut oil (preferably) or extra-virgin olive oil. The popular belief that it oxidizes and turns rancid is actually a myth, but I still prefer to use it as a finishing oil rather than cooking with it. Once the oil is hot enough (it should sizzle when it comes into contact with water) place the chicken breast in the pan. Leave it for about 2-3 minutes, until you have a nice golden brown sear. Flip the chicken and repeat for the opposite side. Transfer the chicken to the oven and roast until it registers at 155-165 F, remove from the oven and heat and loosely cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes.
Multiple chicken breast prepping
Preheat your oven to 375F and heat a frying pan over medium high heat with about 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil. I always reach for coconut oil (preferably) or extra-virgin olive oil. The popular belief that it oxidizes and turns rancid is actually a myth, but I still prefer to use it as a finishing oil rather than cooking with it. Once the oil is hot enough (it should sizzle when it comes into contact with water) place one of the chicken breasts in the pan (or two/three if it is large enough, but do NOT overcrowd the pan). Leave it for about 2-3 minutes, until you have a nice golden brown sear. Flip the chicken and repeat for the opposite side. Transfer the chicken an oven-proof dish and repeat the searing process for remaining chicken breasts, allowing the pan to come back up to temperature and adding more oil each time if necessary. Roast the chicken until it registers at 155-165 F, remove from the oven and heat and loosely cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes.
I will be doing a series of these threads for popular, staple health foods that can be quite boring if you don't really know your way around a kitchen. I'd love some suggestions on foods you'd like to know how to better prepare, what you should do with certain ingredients, or how to switch things up!
Cheers!
Submitted August 18, 2015 at 06:39AM by Lanny14 http://ift.tt/1NeUio8 Fitness
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