Free sample · Crunch Time

Brined Breasts with a Thin Crumb

Name: Brined Breasts with a Thin Crumb
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 41 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 cups (960 ml) water; 2 tablespoons (36 g) sea salt, for the brine; 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 7 oz (198 g) each; 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil; 1/3 cup (37 g) gluten-free breadcrumbs, labeled gluten-free; 1/2 tsp (0.5 g) dried oregano, labeled gluten-free; 1/2 tsp (1 g) paprika, labeled gluten-free; 3/4 tsp (2 g) garlic powder, labeled gluten-free; 3/4 tsp (4.5 g) sea salt; 1/2 tsp (1 g) black pepper, labeled gluten-free; Cooking spray, labeled gluten-free

Boneless breasts sit in a short brine, then take a light breadcrumb coat instead of a heavy crust. They cook whole, in one layer, until the center is safely done.

Brined Breasts with a Thin Crumb, as cooked from this recipe

Serves4

Hands-on15 min

Cook11 min

Wait15 min

Total41 min

Setting400 F (204 C)

Wait is a 10-minute brine plus a 5-minute rest after cooking. Both happen off the heat. Two batches add about 11 minutes of cooking.

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Ingredients

Brine
4 cups (960 ml) water
2 tablespoons (36 g) sea salt, for the brine
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 7 oz (198 g) each
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1/3 cup (37 g) gluten-free breadcrumbs labeled gluten-free
1/2 tsp (0.5 g) dried oregano labeled gluten-free
1/2 tsp (1 g) paprika labeled gluten-free
3/4 tsp (2 g) garlic powder labeled gluten-free
3/4 tsp (4.5 g) sea salt
1/2 tsp (1 g) black pepper labeled gluten-free
Cooking spray labeled gluten-free

Gluten-free: Written so a reader with celiac disease can cook it when every packaged ingredient is one whose label says gluten-free. Read the package you actually buy. This page does not promise a meal with zero gluten.

Method

Dissolve the brine salt in the water, submerge the breasts, and wait 10 minutes. Rinse them and blot them dry.
Heat the fryer to 400 F (204 C). Mix the breadcrumbs with the oregano, paprika, garlic powder, the 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt, and the pepper.
Rub the breasts with the oil, press on a thin coat of the crumbs, and mist them with cooking spray.
Set the breasts in one layer with space between them, in two batches if your basket is small. Cook 6 minutes, turn each breast, and cook about 5 minutes more.
The center of the thickest breast must read 165 F (74 C). Baskets differ by model, so start checking a minute or two early if the pieces are slim.
Rest 5 minutes, loosely covered, then slice.

Notes

Rinse the brine off. The 3/4 teaspoon of salt in the crumb is the salt you taste, and a salty crust means the brine stayed on.
This crumb is 1/3 cup for four breasts. It browns and covers the meat. It does not make a thick shell.
Thaw frozen breasts in the refrigerator before the brine. Do not put ice-hard chicken in the basket.

This recipe is one of 100 in Crunch Time.
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