When the recipe calls for precooked
chicken, sautéing has several advantages. I tasted bagged precooked chicken
before, let’s just say home cooked meat tastes better. The
convenience factor is not huge either when you consider that half a dozen boneless
skinless chicken pieces can be ready in 14 to 18 minutes. Why buy tasteless
precooked chicken when you can sauté the meat in the fry pan in such a short time? The
challenge with all precooked meat is keeping it tender and juicy. Oven roasting
is definitely more time consuming, not to mention how easy it is to dry out the
meat. Remember, that precooked meat should be fully cooked and juicy. Keep the
flavouring simple. If you have the time for pre-salting, keep the salted meat
wrapped in the fridge overnight or place it on the counter for a couple of
hours before cooking. Suffice to say, the meat must be either fresh or fully thawed. But that holds true for any type of meat preparation.
SAUTÉED BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGHS
5 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, in similar size
salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
- Wash the chicken thighs and dry them with paper towel. Leave the thighs in whole, you will have better control cutting up the cooked meat.
- Salt the meat to taste on both sides.
- Preheat the oil and the butter in a large non stick fry pan over medium heat. Use enough fat to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Add the crushed garlic to the pan.
- Place the chicken in the pan.
- Sear the meat on both sides, but do not burn.
- Scoop out the garlic and discard.
- Adjust the heat so meat does not brown. Continue to sauté. Don't pierce the meat with a fork, use kitchen thongs to turn the meat. Don’t cover the pan, if you do, the cooking will accelerate but the meat will release its juices and you do not want that. From the time I placed the thighs in the pan to the end, I counted 17 minutes . Depending on the stove’s temperature setting and the size of the thighs, the cooking time can vary.
- Check the chicken for doneness. There should be no pink and the juice should run clear.
- Remove the chicken from the pan with a pair of tongs to cool.
- Let the thighs cool to room temperature before cutting.
