Cooking Chicken For A Crowd? Watch Out For This Big Mistake

You've prepared all week for the party. You've got drinks ready, the appetizer is in the oven, and the backyard has tables decorated and ready to be filled. You've got enough chicken for days, and you know it's going to be a hit. That is, until you pull what was supposed to be crispy, moist chicken thighs out of your cast-iron pan. It's then that you realize, your star protein of the night is chewy and unappetizing.

So, what happened? Home cooks can make a lot of mistakes when cooking chicken. But one of the main reasons your chicken comes out soggy is because of a crowded pan. It's easy to overcrowd the pan, especially when you're cooking for a large group. Yet the efficiency and speed of your cooking process will come with a price — and that's soggy skin and bland meat. The good news is you have plenty of options to make your chicken the crispy star of the show. It just takes a little bit of forethought and extra time.

Whether it's a batch of delicious honey-soy marinated skin-on thighs or barbecue skinless breasts, chicken needs space to cook properly. When pressed too closely together, it won't crisp up and almost steams the chicken instead of searing it. If the chicken has space, its juices have room to evaporate, releasing moisture, and producing a crispy and golden exterior.

You've got several workarounds to counteract soggy chicken in a crowded pan. The first is, well, to not crowd the pan! When channeling your inner Ina Garten and cooking for a big group, you can do this by cooking in batches on the stove. When each batch is ready, place the chicken on a sheet pan in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Fahrenheit to keep it warm before serving. You can also just cook the chicken in the oven and split it up between two sheet pans if you have the space. Maybe you could even divide these two methods, pan-searing them in hot oil to achieve the perfect crispiness then letting them finish cooking in the oven.

We get it. Cooking for a crowd can be incredibly stressful. That's why eliminating some of the unforeseen challenges and vibe killer — like soggy chicken — is important to think about ahead of time. So, while you might be expecting a big crowd at your next party, that doesn't mean you have to crowd the pan with your delicious chicken.