Do I HAVE to brown the chicken first?

[opus88]

Hi, All!

New here, not into domestic chores, really stupid in kitchen.

I have a recipe that says I have to brown the chicken first, then bake for 1.5 hours with a coconut milk sauce. Is it really necessary to go to all that trouble and mess to brown it first? Won't the oven be enough to cook it thoroughly?

Would love a quick answer - hoping to make this for tonight!

Thank you!

 

[Alix]

Sorry to say, but yes, you should brown it first. That will seal in the juices and leave you with something tender and flavourful rather than a rubbery piece of chicken.

Good luck! Hope it is tasty!

 

[opus88]

Yuck - that's what I was afraid of. Thank you for the reply!

Any suggestions on how to keep the mess to a minimum? When I brown the chicken, I have the worst mess to clean up all over the stove, counters and floor, and I constantly get burned by the popping grease, even with a splatter screen!

 

[Andy M.]

The browning adds flavor. If you can brown it in an oven-safe pan then use that pan to cok the dish in the oven, there'll be less mess.

Also, start by drying off the breasts and try using less oil. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. That will minimize the popping and spattering. You could also cover the pan while browning.

 

[Paint]

Sounds like a) you could be using too much oil, b) your chicken is wet (especially a problem if you are using defrosted frozen chicken), and c) your heat may be up a bit too high.

You should be able to brown chicken nicely on a medium-high heat, and if you get yourself a pre-seasoned cast iron pan or dutch oven you won't need too much oil as the seasoning makes it non-stick. A cast iron pan will also allow you to finish the cooking in the oven without changing pans....and cast iron pans are dead cheap too

Paint.

 

[opus88]

Very helpful ideas. Big thanks to each of you!

 

[Robo410]

brown in a deep caserole (cast iron or some HEAVY metal so it stays hot) the high sides will keep splatter down. and you say the splatter screen is not much help...hmmm.

Yup the browning seals in flavor and tenderness and adds a lot of flavor.

 

[GB]

I think it all depends on the recipe. I prefer the taste I get from browning it, but some recipes I have do not call for it. If you want to post the recipe we can tell you for sure if it is needed. Chances are though, as the others have already said, it is probably necessary.

 

[opus88]

Wow - everybody is so helpful! Wish I'd found this site long ago!

I did dry off the chicken, and it really helped with the splattering this time. Will definitely do that in the future! But then I left it in the oven too long after baking and it ended up dried out. Sigh . . . very typical for me to screw up anything I make. If only I could afford to hire a cook!

This is a very tasty recipe, but I am so restricted on foods I can have that I have to leave out or substitute most ingredients in most recipes.

Coconut Chicken with Basil
2 T peanut oil (I used coconut oil)
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken legs (I used 12 legs, no thighs)
2 large onions cut in 1/2 wedges (omitted)
4 garlic cloves, thin sliced (omitted)
3 jalapeno chile stem/slice (omitted)
1 T caraway seeds, ground (omitted)
1 T cinnamon, ground
29 oz. coconut milk
2 cups Thai basil leaves, lightly packed, chopped fresh (omitted)
2 cups Opal basil, chopped fresh (omitted)
salt & pepper to taste (omitted)

Preheat oven to 400. In large, nonstick skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Add chicken in batches and brown on all sides. Remove with slotted spoon and place in baking dish large enough to accommodate the chicken and coconut milk in one layer.
Using the same skillet with oil and chicken fat remaining, cook onions, garlic, jalapenos, caraway and cinnamon over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add to chicken.
Pour coconut milk into hot skillet and stir, scraping the bottom to remove any browned particles. Add to onions and chicken and mix well.
Bake, uncovered, 1.5 hours. Remove from oven, add basil and mix gently. Season with salt & pepper; serve immediately.
(I skip the 2nd paragraph and just heat the coconut milk and cinnamon together, pour it over the top, bake and serve. It's still really good without all the extra ingredients.)

 

[jkath]

The recipe sounds lovely, Opus88 -
If you're looking for new recipes that would be suitable for your food restrictions, just post a question such as "ISO Chicken recipes without _____ or _____"
As you can see, this forum is full of folks who love to help each other out.
(and we're pretty fun too!)

As for the dried out chicken, we've all been there!

Welcome to our family, opus!

 

[GB]

That does sound like a really great recipe. Here are my suggestions. Depending on your restrictions you may or may not be able to do some of these.

1. The recipe calls for browning in a non stick skillet. This is great for cleanup, but not great for browning or flavor. Meats do not brown very well in a non stick pan. Yes they will brown, but no where near as well as in a stainless steel pan. If you do decide to try using a stainless steel pan next time then you may need to use a little more oil. If you decided to stick with the non stick (no pun intended) then you could actually cut back on the amount of oil in the recipe. 2T sounds like a lot to me. I would cut it down to 1 or 2 teaspoons instead.

2. The paragraph that you skipped is a pretty important step. That step in known as deglazing the pan. If you are using a non stick pan then this step can be skipped as you did because there wont be a lot of little yummy brown bits (fond) left behind, but if you use a stainless steel pan then those little brown bits are loaded with flavor and are some of the best most tasty parts of the dish. By pouring liquid into the pan and scraping the bottom you will actually make clean up much easier. This will lossen everything up and make it almost like a non stick pan clean up. I highly recommend trying this just once if you can. It will make a HUGE difference.

3. here is a tip re: you chicken drying out. There is a simple technique known as brining. In its most basic form it just means soaking the chicken in salt water. Since the salt content on the outside of the chicken is greater than on the inside of the chicken, the water is sucked into the chicken. This does a couple of things. First it makes the ckien moister since there is now more liquid inside the chicken. The second thing it does is flavor and season the chicken from the inside since it is soaking up some of that salt. You can add other flavors into your brine as well. Most people put a little suger in (this does not make the chicken sweet. It actually brings out the savory feel of the chicken). Some other additions people use are herbs or any kind, soy sauce, brown sugar instead of white, peppercorns, and just about anything else you can think of.

Once your chicken is brined you have actually bought a little insurance against it drying out if you acciodently over cook it. I have over cooked brined chicken by quite a lot and you could not tell at all. It was still juicy and delicious.

If you would like more info on brining then feel free to ask or use the search feature on the site as we have had many discussions and experiments with this technique.

This page will actually get you started with a few brining topics we have had.