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Recipe Ready Roasted Chicken

Recipe Ready Roasted Chicken

Recipe Ready Roasted Chicken. This is the BEST way to cook chicken that's flavorful, moist and juicy. Here are the tips you need to stock up on chicken that's delicious and ready for any recipe.

Servings 5 -6 cups of chicken

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds bone in skin on chicken breasts
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.

  2. Place chicken breasts, skin side up on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Generously salt and pepper. Lightly rub salt and pepper into meat.

  3. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until chicken registers 165 degrees when checked at the thickest part of the breast.

  4. Remove from oven. Cool for 10 minutes or until easy enough to handle. Remove skin. It should pull off easily. Then, remove the meat from the bone. At this point, you can either create pulled pieces or slice it or chop it up into chunks. I prefer to pull into thick and hearty bite sized pieces. If you want to cube or slice it, I would let it cool, then refrigerate it. It will be easier to get clean cuts once the chicken is chilled.

  5. You can use cooked chicken immediately. Or, if you're making it for a future recipe, you can store it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I'll use whatever I need and then divide the rest up into freezer bags in 1 1/2 or 2 cup amounts and store them in my freezer until I need them. 

Recipe Notes

  • I had just over 3 pounds of chicken and got about 5 1/2 cups of shredded "chunks." Your measurement may vary based on how large or how small you divide up the chicken since bigger pieces take up more room in the measuring cup.
  • You can roast as much or as little chicken as you'd like. I often do even larger batches of 5-6 pounds so that I can really stock up.
  • Your chicken breasts may be dramatically different in size and therefore will take different amounts of time to cook. Check the smaller pieces earlier and remove them from the pan if they are finished before the larger pieces.
  • If you look at the post, you'll see I pull mine into hearty but still bite sized pieces. I prefer this to cutting the chicken into chunks. I find the shredded edges soak up sauces so much better than flat cube sides that you would get from cutting. It will all depend on the recipe or end use. You might want to make slices for sandwiches or you might prefer cubes for chicken salad. 
  • I prefer kosher salt for this recipe, but you can use regular table salt if you'd prefer.
  • I like to use disposable gloves when rubbing the olive oil, salt and pepper into the meat. Once the chicken is cooked, I use a fresh pair to pull the skin off, remove the chicken from the bone, and to pull it into pieces. 

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