In the last couple years for whatever reason chicken has become my least favorite source of protein. I have quite literally been chickened out! Which is just silly because when you lose the skin and trim away any visible signs of fat, chicken is 98% lean so it is a really great choice low-carb source for protein, especially when you are trying to eat a healthier diet. I still love it when other people prepare it well, but I tend to cook it until is so dang dry because I am so worried it will be undercooked. I have always had this problem with chicken and overcooking.

I've been researching tips on how to bake the perfect moist chicken breast so I thought I would share these tips with you too just in case you have also become chickened out! I have been very pleased and amazed at the results just by adding one simple step to the process.

This Is How To Cook The Perfect Chicken Breast

1. Rinse the chicken breasts in cold water and cut away any visible fat

2. Fill a large bowl with enough water to just cover the chicken breasts and add ½ tbsp. of salt for each chicken breast. Let the salt dissolve before adding the chicken breasts

3. Let the chicken breasts marinate in the salt water for 1-3 hours. This will draw water into the chicken and make it super moist when you cook it

4. Rinse the chicken breasts thoroughly in cold water. Dry them with a paper towel and put them on a baking pan

5. Add your favorite spices. We usually use pepper, curry powder, paprika and garlic powder

6. Cook them in a 365 F (185 C) oven for about 20 min, depending on the size of the chicken breasts (the ones I cooked today were huge, so they needed 23 min.). Cut into one with a knife to see if they are done before taking them out of the oven

That's it! This is how to cook the perfect chicken breast. By cooking the chicken breast like this, you will get perfectly moist and tender chicken. We usually cook 4-5 breasts at a time and store them in zip-lock bags in the fridge until we need them. They will keep fresh for about three days.

If you are worried about adding too much salt to the chicken, don't be. Brining (this is what putting meat in salt water is called) doesn't actually add a lot of sodium to the chicken, as long as you only leave the chicken in the brine for a few hours and rinse it well afterwards. Also, you won't have to salt the chicken later for flavor.