I’ve cooked a lot of chicken in my life. Like, a lot. So much so that I can usually tell when it’s ready to be flipped with my eyes closed, just based on how it sounds in the pan.
Over the years, the main thing that drastically improved my success rate was preparing the chicken properly before it reached the pan: patting it fully dry. This process involves a little gross, hands-on prep work and touching chicken juices, so sometimes I want to skip the task. But if I do, I always regret it.
But don’t just take my word for it. I spoke with three of my favorite chefs to get their perspective.
The Poultry Pros
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Clare Langan: Freelance culinary content strategist based in the Bay Area. She’s held roles at Williams Sonoma, Cost Plus World Market, and Sur La Table and writes a newsletter called “On Cooking”.
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Sara Haas: Formally trained chef, culinary writer, and registered dietitian nutritionist.
Credit: Simply Recipes / Getty Images
What Chefs Really Think About Patting Chicken Dry
It’s no surprise that each chef never, ever skips this step. The reason? Browning! “When browning is the goal (whether or not your chicken has skin), you should always pat it dry with paper towels. Excess moisture can cause the chicken to steam versus brown (called the “Maillard reaction”). Patting it dry lets the cooking surface do its job to create a browned crust,” Langan explains.
Sara Tane’s secret to perfect chicken? A little salt and patience. “I like to salt it first and then let it sit uncovered in the fridge for a couple hours if I can to really try to get as much moisture out as possible before I pat it dry. I’ll also bake it on a rack set over a sheet tray so that the hot air in the oven can get all around the chicken.” Salting the chicken and letting it rest uncovered gives the salt time to penetrate the meat while helping dry the surface before cooking.
Haas always pats her chicken dry and has a clever way of making it less of a chore. “One of my hacks for keeping things ‘clean’ is to line a baking sheet with paper towels then add the chicken (to help dry the underside and catch extra liquid) and pat down all the sides with additional paper towels. Then I wash my hands and season the chicken right on the same baking sheet. This way everything is contained and then, when I’m done with the baking sheet I toss the remaining paper towels in the trash and get the baking sheet to the sink right away for cleaning.”
On the subject of keeping things tidy, Langan points out that there is absolutely no need to wash chicken before cooking it. In fact, washing raw chicken can spread germs through splashing water while adding unnecessary moisture to the surface, making it harder to get a good sear. She says, “I never rinse my chicken. This is outdated advice, and if you cook chicken to an internal temp of 165˚F when tested with a meat thermometer, you’re good to go.”
Read the original article on Simply Recipes