When recipes call for cooked chicken it’s good to have some batch cooked in the freezer or ready for use in the fridge. They’re easy to do and are low fat, healthy and contain none of the preservatives that store-bought cooked chicken may have.

You’ll need;
Chicken breasts
Oil (I use Magnificent Seed Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
100ml hot chicken or vegetable stock

Grease proof paper
Rolling pin (or wine bottle)

Layout the grease proof paper, enough to fold back over the chicken, and lay out the breasts over half of it, you may need to do this in batches if you’re preparing a lot.

Fold the rest of the paper over and beat the thickest parts of the breasts until they are about 1.5cm thick. This will ensure even cooking throughout.

Brush the chicken with a tiny amount of oil and season well with the sea salt and pepper. Turn them over and repeat on the other side.

Heat a large, shallow lidded pan over a medium heat and once hot add the breasts. You may need to do this in batches.

Cook on one side for about 4 minutes until slightly browned then flip over and cook for another 4 minutes.

Add the hot chicken stock to the pan and immediately put the lid on.

Reduce the heat slightly and cook (steam) the chicken for about 6-10 minutes (depending on size) until cooked through.

👩🏼‍🍳Chef’s note; cooking times will vary according to the size of the breasts, to ensure they are fully cooked either use a thermometer (68°C) or pierce with a skewer and if the juices run clear then they’re cooked.

Leave to rest for 10 minutes before either serving, chopping, shredding or slicing or allow to fully cool and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. These cooked chicken breasts can also be frozen.

If you’re cooking a second batch reuse the chicken stock as the flavours will intensify and you’ll get all of that deliciousness in your cooking.

Here are our favourite recipes that call for cooked chicken;
Chicken & Mango Chutney Sliders
Coronation Chicken Rice Cakes
Thai Chicken Salad
Chicken Avocado Salad
Chicken & Rice Soup
Chicken Quesadillas

👩🏼‍🍳👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Note; Thoroughly wash and clean all utensils, chopping boards and surfaces used to prepare raw chicken. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after handling raw chicken. This helps stop the spread of campylobacter, the most common cause of food poisoning - NHS.uk