CHICKEN, SKIN RUBBED WITH SEASONINGS, PAN-SEARED, OVEN FINISHED

Have you ever noticed how a half breast of chicken looks a little like the side view of your hand held flat; that is, the area of the palm of the hand is wider than the area of the fingers. As such you must know you are challenged to cook both the thick profile and the thin profile to a nice juicy doneness. If you cook the thick part to done temperature of 165ºF the thin part will be over cooked. If you take it out when the thin side is cooked you will undercook the thick part. So there are a couple ways to proceed. Of course the raw boneless chicken breast may be pounded with a meat mallet to even out the thickness of the breast. However that is usually done without bones and skin, where one sacrifices much of the flavor and the skin helps keep the meat moist. So what to do. We have decided to cook bone in and skin on, in high heat for the first 30 seconds to activate the essential oils in the spice rub and then turn it down to medium for 1 1/2 minutes before turning over and placing into the oven to finish the cooking. Then remove the chicken when the thick part of the breast is 150, 155 ºF.  Remove from the oven, placing a cover over the pan for just 60 seconds to assist finish cooking to desired temperature of 160-165 ºF.

Place breast onto a cutting board, cut small think end in about 1 inch, hold for secondary use. Slice the rest of the breast to help distribute the seasoning throughout the meat as you slice. Serve immediately.

NOTE: If your seasoning blend gets over dark, try using a drop of oil in the blend before spreading onto the chicken skin side. Then place into pan as directed above.