Never Suffer Dry Baked Chicken Again. Here's How
Baked chicken can be a toss-up between a delicious meal or a dry carcass. Avoid the latter by taking a few crucial steps to ensure your chicken remains moist in the oven. Chowhound spoke with Matt Baker — owner and executive chef of Gravitas, Baker's Daughter, and Michele's in Washington D.C. — to help you stay on track. As chicken is on rotation at all three restaurants and at his home catering business, it's safe to say he's seen more than a fair share of poultry in his time.
"I recommend marinating the chicken for a day or so and cooking it at a very high temperature to sear the outside while keeping the meat juicy and delicious," said Baker. Marinades and brines are essential to adding more flavor to chicken and you can get creative with the type of flavors infused into the meat.
Wet brines are a salt and water solution that tenderizes meat while marinades are an oil and acid solution meant to soak in flavor. A convenient way to start either option is with citrus or fruit juice and seasoning, but you can even use liquor and pickle juice for some extra flair. Just don't over-marinate chicken by letting it sit in the juices for more than 24 hours.
Balancing heat and moisture in baked chicken
When asked what the best type of oil or fat was to use when baking chicken, Matt Baker answered, "I highly recommend using a good quality extra virgin olive oil. It helps to impart some flavor into the chicken and gives it a nice golden-brown hue." Extra virgin olive oil is ideal because its smoke point sits right above the temperature you'll want to bake the chicken, between 375 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It's warm enough to crisp the skin without burning it.
To keep the chicken moist without all the liquids sinking to the bottom, try using the parchment paper trick for a perfect bake. Parchment, tin foil, or whatever oven-safe wrap you have on deck will trap in not only the juices but the steam as well. By balancing heat and moisture, your baked chicken will be tender enough to enjoy by itself or integrated into other recipes.