One of the most delicious and one of the easiest chicken recipes in my repertoire is Chicken Breasts Broiled with Wine, Butter, and Tarragon. The recipe requires skin-on, bone-in whole chicken breasts, which have been split in half. Though so many chicken-breast recipes yield dry and unappealing results, this one produces the juiciest breasts, with crisp skin, and tender meat, all with a minimum of effort. (You should be able to get dinner on the table in less than a half hour.) In fact, you may get the juiciest breasts you’ve ever eaten.
Choose breasts that are fairly large (so they can cook for long enough to produce a crisp skin without overcooking) and intact, with the skin not too mangled, which is the result of careless splitting of the breast.
Dry the chicken breast halves thoroughly with paper towels. Damp breasts will not give you a crisp skin.
Carefully straighten out the skin of the breasts, so it covers the largest possible area. Gently lift the skin and place 1⁄2 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of chopped, fresh tarragon under the skin of each half.
Push butter and tarragon under the skin.
Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.
Place 3 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of white wine in a small saucepan, and heat until the butter is melted. Stir to combine the butter and wine.
Melt butter and white wine.
Brush both sides of the breasts liberally with the wine/butter mixture.
Brush the breasts with butter and wine.
Place the breasts skin-side-down on a broiling pan.
Adjust your rack 6-8 inches from the broiler flame. Turn the broiler on to its lowest setting. Place the chicken breasts in the broiler.
Broil the breasts for about 7-8 minutes. If they appear to be nicely browned, turn the breasts over and brush with more of the wine/butter mixture.
The underside of the broiled breasts.
Continue to broil for another 8 to 12 minutes, brushing several times with the remainder of the wine/butter mixture.
The top side of the broiled breast.
It’s impossible to give a precise cooking time, as this will depend on the size of the breasts, their distance from the flame, and the intensity of your broiler setting. In fact, this is the only tricky part of the recipe—getting the cooking time right.
When done, the juices should run clear when pricked with a fork, and the skin should be browned and crispy, but not burnt. Your entire cooking time will range from 15-25 minutes.
Remove the breasts to serving plates, pour over any pan juices, and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of chopped tarragon. Serve these Chicken Breasts Broiled with Butter, Wine, and Tarragon immediately.
