How to Cook Moist and Tender Chicken Breast

If you are following me on Instagram (Wait, what? You're still not? It's not yet to late, click HERE! Haha!), you've most probably seen #KriskasMealPreps. And I'm sure you've noticed how in most of my meal preps, grilled chicken breast is present. Yup, you bet! Chicken breasts never run out from our fridge. It's what Mark's muscles are made of. Haha!

I have one confession, though. When it comes to chicken parts, breast is the least of my favorite. It may be the leanest part, but it tends to be bland and dry. Who would want a great weeknight meal ruined by dry and flavorless chicken, right? Good thing there's brining. It has become my life saver!

It's basically just a process of marination wherein you soak the chicken in a salt and water solution—a way of adding flavor and ensuring juiciness in the chicken. The usual brining solution follows a 1:4 salt-water ratio—1 tablespoon of salt per 4 cups of water—and around a 30-minute soaking time.

But since I'm doing it for a bodybuilder and it needs to be as healthy as possible, I put in lesser salt—just 1 teaspoon of salt per 4-5 cups of water. Paprika, freshly ground black peppercorns, cajun spice, and garlic powder are my staple spices—I add in as much as I want for that aroma and flavor. This is enough to brine 4 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds).

Every once in a while I also use lemon juice, dried oregano, five spice, ginger, lemon grass, and onion chives, and even a little soy sauce; depending on what mood I'm in. :p It doesn't really have to be too technical. You can throw in the brine whatever you have in the kitchen for that extra boost of flavor.

I prefer using a shallow glass dish and let the chicken soak in the solution for at least overnight before I pop it in the grill or turbo broiler. With brining, you'll surely be able to cook up more tender, and definitely more flavorful chicken breasts!

Apart from chicken, brining may also be done for beef, pork, or even lamb. I haven't tried it with any of them yet, but I'm sure it would also be perfect. Do you also brine your meat before cooking it? What flavors do you usually put in? Place them in the comments section below. I'd love to know! :D