Honey Mustard Chicken Breast, with Pearl Onions and Broccoli
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Date: 2019-12-06
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Comments and reviews: 10
Adam Ragusea
Q: If the meat + sauce ended up being too salty, why not just season each component a little less? A: Sure, that could work, but I don't think there's any point in seasoning the meat. Whether you season the meat or the sauce, there will be salt on the surface (and ONLY on the surface) of the meat in the final dish, and I think it's easier to taste and make a judgment about seasoning if you just season the sauce. Plus it skips a step. Q: What if I brined or dry-brined the meat? A: That's an entirely different story. Brining or curing for sufficient time will drive salt into the interior of the meat via osmosis. In that case, the inside would be seasoned, not just the outside. If you want to do that, great. Brining (arguably) improves texture, too. Just remember to under-season the sauce. Q: Doesn't seasoning the outside of the meat develop layers of flavor? A: I challenge you to a taste test. We will make this dish two ways one where we season the meat and the sauce, and one where we just season the sauce. We'll weigh the salt to make sure the total salt in both versions of the dish is identical. I will bet you real American dollars that you won't be able to tell the difference in the two versions. They will both have seasoning on the surface of the meat, and only on the surface of the meat. Your tongue can't tell the difference in how the seasoning got there. Q: Does this mean I should never season meat? A: Not at all. This argument is confined to this type of dish one where every bite will be coated in sauce. My season the board, not the steak video is also an argument that is confined to that specific dish steak with board dressing. Q: Why does every elite chef in the world disagree with you (just some guy in his kitchen with a camera) on this? A: They don't There are many elite chefs who advocate seasoning at the end of cooking whenever possible, including MPW. That said, there are many who believe in that layers of flavor crap. There are many very accomplished chefs who could kick my ass in the kitchen who nonetheless believe some pretty spurious chef dogma that's been passed down to them. As I said in an earlier video, experienced practitioners tend to know what works they tend to have less of a handle on WHY it works. Q: Why not season the meat, season the sauce, then return the meat to the pan, stir it around, taste again, and then add any additional salt if needed? A: That seems like more work to me, and wouldn't serve any purpose. Also, trying to dissolve more salt evenly into the pan would be a lot harder with four big pieces of chicken sloshing around in the pan. Q: If I don't season the meat, and only season the sauce until it's perfect, won't it be a little under-seasoned by the time it's diluted by the chicken? A: Yeah, I wish I'd been a little clearer about that. I would advocate seasoning this sauce until it's a hair too salty. This is a basic plank of sauce-making, I think. Sauces should always be a little too strong in every respect too sweet, too salty, too acidic, etc because they're going to be diluted by the rest of the food. But I don't think it matters much in this case, because the chicken pieces are so thin. If the sauce tastes pretty good to you, I think the final dish is gonna taste pretty good to you. Over-seasoning the sauce is more important when you're saucing really big chunks of things. Q: Doesn't salting the surface of the meat enhance browning? A: I have never seen persuasive evidence to back up that claim. If you have some, I'd love to see it. Truly. Q: But I've been seasoning both the meat and the sauce my entire life and my food is great. What gives? A: I don't doubt your food is great. But I think one reason why it's great is that, consciously or not, you've developed the ability to compensate for the problem I'm discussing. This video is aimed at novices, and I think only seasoning the sauce is a safer, easier option for novices. Q: Why not dredge the chicken pieces in flour? Wouldn't that enhance browning and provide thickening without the use of a slurry? A: That's a classic technique for a reason. It works. But I still don't really like it. I think when the floured surface of the meat dissolves in the sauce, the resulting texture is slimy. But lots of people love it. I recently featured a recipe by my friend Ben Harrison (beer chicken stew) where he floured his chicken, people have been loving that recipe. You do you. Q: Can I use some oil other than olive oil? A: Certainly. I just like olive oil.
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Q: If the meat + sauce ended up being too salty, why not just season each component a little less? A: Sure, that could work, but I don't think there's any point in seasoning the meat. Whether you season the meat or the sauce, there will be salt on the surface (and ONLY on the surface) of the meat in the final dish, and I think it's easier to taste and make a judgment about seasoning if you just season the sauce. Plus it skips a step. Q: What if I brined or dry-brined the meat? A: That's an entirely different story. Brining or curing for sufficient time will drive salt into the interior of the meat via osmosis. In that case, the inside would be seasoned, not just the outside. If you want to do that, great. Brining (arguably) improves texture, too. Just remember to under-season the sauce. Q: Doesn't seasoning the outside of the meat develop layers of flavor? A: I challenge you to a taste test. We will make this dish two ways one where we season the meat and the sauce, and one where we just season the sauce. We'll weigh the salt to make sure the total salt in both versions of the dish is identical. I will bet you real American dollars that you won't be able to tell the difference in the two versions. They will both have seasoning on the surface of the meat, and only on the surface of the meat. Your tongue can't tell the difference in how the seasoning got there. Q: Does this mean I should never season meat? A: Not at all. This argument is confined to this type of dish one where every bite will be coated in sauce. My season the board, not the steak video is also an argument that is confined to that specific dish steak with board dressing. Q: Why does every elite chef in the world disagree with you (just some guy in his kitchen with a camera) on this? A: They don't There are many elite chefs who advocate seasoning at the end of cooking whenever possible, including MPW. That said, there are many who believe in that layers of flavor crap. There are many very accomplished chefs who could kick my ass in the kitchen who nonetheless believe some pretty spurious chef dogma that's been passed down to them. As I said in an earlier video, experienced practitioners tend to know what works they tend to have less of a handle on WHY it works. Q: Why not season the meat, season the sauce, then return the meat to the pan, stir it around, taste again, and then add any additional salt if needed? A: That seems like more work to me, and wouldn't serve any purpose. Also, trying to dissolve more salt evenly into the pan would be a lot harder with four big pieces of chicken sloshing around in the pan. Q: If I don't season the meat, and only season the sauce until it's perfect, won't it be a little under-seasoned by the time it's diluted by the chicken? A: Yeah, I wish I'd been a little clearer about that. I would advocate seasoning this sauce until it's a hair too salty. This is a basic plank of sauce-making, I think. Sauces should always be a little too strong in every respect too sweet, too salty, too acidic, etc because they're going to be diluted by the rest of the food. But I don't think it matters much in this case, because the chicken pieces are so thin. If the sauce tastes pretty good to you, I think the final dish is gonna taste pretty good to you. Over-seasoning the sauce is more important when you're saucing really big chunks of things. Q: Doesn't salting the surface of the meat enhance browning? A: I have never seen persuasive evidence to back up that claim. If you have some, I'd love to see it. Truly. Q: But I've been seasoning both the meat and the sauce my entire life and my food is great. What gives? A: I don't doubt your food is great. But I think one reason why it's great is that, consciously or not, you've developed the ability to compensate for the problem I'm discussing. This video is aimed at novices, and I think only seasoning the sauce is a safer, easier option for novices. Q: Why not dredge the chicken pieces in flour? Wouldn't that enhance browning and provide thickening without the use of a slurry? A: That's a classic technique for a reason. It works. But I still don't really like it. I think when the floured surface of the meat dissolves in the sauce, the resulting texture is slimy. But lots of people love it. I recently featured a recipe by my friend Ben Harrison (beer chicken stew) where he floured his chicken, people have been loving that recipe. You do you. Q: Can I use some oil other than olive oil? A: Certainly. I just like olive oil.
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Aristotle384
This is a really lovely recipe, but Im sort of confused by the whole season your sauce not your chicken thing. Ive been making chicken and pork dishes with pan sauce for years and have never had any issues with over-salting. I usually season my meat before cooking, and then let it rest for maybe 20 minutes or so while I prep side dishes and stuff like that. This gives the salt time to penetrate the meat, so it isnt just hanging out on the surface waiting to dissolve into the sauce. Also Id just like to say that even though Im a somewhat more experienced cook, I still love your videos because they often present perspectives that come across as somewhat radical or innovative (your method for cooking a whole roast chicken, for instance. Even if I dont always agree with everything you say, I still appreciate your unique perspective and hard work. Have a great day
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This is a really lovely recipe, but Im sort of confused by the whole season your sauce not your chicken thing. Ive been making chicken and pork dishes with pan sauce for years and have never had any issues with over-salting. I usually season my meat before cooking, and then let it rest for maybe 20 minutes or so while I prep side dishes and stuff like that. This gives the salt time to penetrate the meat, so it isnt just hanging out on the surface waiting to dissolve into the sauce. Also Id just like to say that even though Im a somewhat more experienced cook, I still love your videos because they often present perspectives that come across as somewhat radical or innovative (your method for cooking a whole roast chicken, for instance. Even if I dont always agree with everything you say, I still appreciate your unique perspective and hard work. Have a great day
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Chae Howard
Or it could be that you used too much salt when seasoning your chicken breasts. If you were to season less in total or just on one side, you would not have this issue. A piece of meat that thin doesn't really need both sides seasoned that hard (unless you are just a big fan of salt. Also if you had let the meat sit out for ten minutes or so minutes, the salt would have dissolved on its own. You pre-seasoned incompletely and with a heavy hand and then blamed a standard practice. As someone who claims to create content for people who are new to the home cooking game, I'm surprised that you didn't suggest people to, if they are going to season their proteins ahead of time, go easy on the salt because they'll be adding more salt to the sauce. Just outright vilifying a technique doesn't really help a person trying to learn.
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Or it could be that you used too much salt when seasoning your chicken breasts. If you were to season less in total or just on one side, you would not have this issue. A piece of meat that thin doesn't really need both sides seasoned that hard (unless you are just a big fan of salt. Also if you had let the meat sit out for ten minutes or so minutes, the salt would have dissolved on its own. You pre-seasoned incompletely and with a heavy hand and then blamed a standard practice. As someone who claims to create content for people who are new to the home cooking game, I'm surprised that you didn't suggest people to, if they are going to season their proteins ahead of time, go easy on the salt because they'll be adding more salt to the sauce. Just outright vilifying a technique doesn't really help a person trying to learn.
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JSavacado
I like to marinate my chicken in a little oil, salt and whatever additional seasonings I need to achieve a certain theme for my meal. (e. g. Mexican --> Cumin, Sweet Paprika, etc)I do this because (believe it or not) I find the oil significantly reduces splattering, and the chicken comes out moist, tender and flavorful. Recently tried to make a pan sauce with the same marinated chicken. The chicken was perfect, but the sauce was too salty and little over-seasoned in general. I'll have to try again with a weaker marinade (maybe just oil and citrus, and see if that gives me more control over the finished product.
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I like to marinate my chicken in a little oil, salt and whatever additional seasonings I need to achieve a certain theme for my meal. (e. g. Mexican --> Cumin, Sweet Paprika, etc)I do this because (believe it or not) I find the oil significantly reduces splattering, and the chicken comes out moist, tender and flavorful. Recently tried to make a pan sauce with the same marinated chicken. The chicken was perfect, but the sauce was too salty and little over-seasoned in general. I'll have to try again with a weaker marinade (maybe just oil and citrus, and see if that gives me more control over the finished product.
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BitsyTheNinja
I don't season the sauce if the meat is sufficiently seasoned and I don't use salt and pepper twice. You gotta be careful to avoid overseasoning meat by actually reading the ingredients for any premade spice blends you use. Like, don't cover your meat in Adobo AND Saizon Totaled because both contain salt and several other common ingredients. Pick one and adjust. Also, make sure to not overwhelm the flavor profile if you mess up and are trying to right the ship. If something is too salty and it can be corrected by adding a liquid it's fine to add chicken broth. if it's no sodium chicken broth.
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I don't season the sauce if the meat is sufficiently seasoned and I don't use salt and pepper twice. You gotta be careful to avoid overseasoning meat by actually reading the ingredients for any premade spice blends you use. Like, don't cover your meat in Adobo AND Saizon Totaled because both contain salt and several other common ingredients. Pick one and adjust. Also, make sure to not overwhelm the flavor profile if you mess up and are trying to right the ship. If something is too salty and it can be corrected by adding a liquid it's fine to add chicken broth. if it's no sodium chicken broth.
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Medick
The whole thing about not putting salt on the chicken breasts, brings up a story about my sister cooking for the family. She made mince meat casserole. Just cooked meat, cooked elbow pasta and a milk egg mixture in the casserole. It hurt me to say it but it was plain, and you know why? She's afraid to use salt just because it might overwhelm the whole dish. I truly wish she would improve about not being afraid of using salt and other spices.
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The whole thing about not putting salt on the chicken breasts, brings up a story about my sister cooking for the family. She made mince meat casserole. Just cooked meat, cooked elbow pasta and a milk egg mixture in the casserole. It hurt me to say it but it was plain, and you know why? She's afraid to use salt just because it might overwhelm the whole dish. I truly wish she would improve about not being afraid of using salt and other spices.
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Kyle Messner
The problem is that you over seasoned the sauce. As you said, the salt on the surface of the chicken mixed with the sauce which over seasoned it. What you want to do is salt the chicken well in advanced so that the salt has time to work its way deeper into the chicken. This also has the additional benefit of pulling out moisture from your chicken (that you then wipe off) which will help with your fond/crust situation.
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The problem is that you over seasoned the sauce. As you said, the salt on the surface of the chicken mixed with the sauce which over seasoned it. What you want to do is salt the chicken well in advanced so that the salt has time to work its way deeper into the chicken. This also has the additional benefit of pulling out moisture from your chicken (that you then wipe off) which will help with your fond/crust situation.
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Patrick
Genuine question, in your pork chops with the pan sauce video (one of my favorite home dishes now) you season the pork chops first even though we have a pan sauce. Do you think thats just the difference between pork and chicken that pork chops need a little more seasoning? Thanks for all the amazing recipes you give us: )
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Genuine question, in your pork chops with the pan sauce video (one of my favorite home dishes now) you season the pork chops first even though we have a pan sauce. Do you think thats just the difference between pork and chicken that pork chops need a little more seasoning? Thanks for all the amazing recipes you give us: )
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David Feuer
If you're making a kosher version, you need to deal with two things: 1. You have to replace the butter with something non-dairy: vegetable oil or chicken fat seem most likely. 2. The chicken will have been salted already in processing. So you just have to wait to add salt till the chicken is in the sauce.
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If you're making a kosher version, you need to deal with two things: 1. You have to replace the butter with something non-dairy: vegetable oil or chicken fat seem most likely. 2. The chicken will have been salted already in processing. So you just have to wait to add salt till the chicken is in the sauce.
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Noice Nuggets
For me with this dish Im not going to season the sauce with salt. With the broth already being salty theres really no need to imo. Or just dont add vinegar which is the balancing ingredient to the salty broth. Everyones pallet is different and Adam makes a good point dont always listen to the internet.
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For me with this dish Im not going to season the sauce with salt. With the broth already being salty theres really no need to imo. Or just dont add vinegar which is the balancing ingredient to the salty broth. Everyones pallet is different and Adam makes a good point dont always listen to the internet.
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