Herb-Stuffed Chicken Breasts is an easy way to use fresh herbs you might have on the counter or in your fridge. I have been buying more fresh herbs lately. Sometimes I feel like those fresh herbs are like a ticking time bomb in the fridge, and my goal is to use them before they die, shrivel to pieces, or rot. Desperate, due to wilting parsley and fresh thyme about to turn into dried thyme, a winning recipe was born.
Herb-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
4 chicken breasts (bone-in with skin)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
2 fresh sage leaves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1 garlic clove, pressed
pepper (omit for AIP)
olive oil
1 cup kosher salt
8 cups of water
1) Mix 1 cup kosher salt with 8 cups cool water to make a quick brine. Stir until salt is completely dissolved and soak chicken for 30 minutes. Note: this is a strong salt solution therefore don’t brine more than 1 hour. It is possible to skip this step but brining makes it more likely the chicken will not be dry. Preheat oven to 350.
2) While chicken is brining and oven is heating, mince the herbs. Mix the parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add just enough olive oil to make a paste.
3) Rinse chicken and pat dry. Using your fingers gently pull skin away from the chicken breast and stuff half of the herb mixture in between the skin and the chicken. Stuff the other chicken breast with the other half of the herb mixture.
4) In an oven proof pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat (about 1 minute). Carefully add chicken skin side down in the pan. Continue cooking over medium-high heat chicken skin is golden brown about 5 to 7 minutes. Flip chicken over, cover pan with tin foil, and place pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and set aside. Baste chicken with some of the juices and cook for 15 to 2o more minutes or until temperature has reached 160 degrees F.
5) Remove chicken from the oven, and tent under the foil for 5 minutes to let the chicken rest.
2 Notes:
- First, if you do not have an oven safe frying pan – transfer chicken to a casserole dish.
- Second, this recipe can easily be double or tripled – perfect for more people or for leftover chicken for tomorrow’s lunch salad.
Herbed-Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (bone-in with skin)
- 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
- 2 fresh sage leaves (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- pepper (omit for AIP)
- olive oil
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 8 cups of water
Directions
- Step 1 1) Mix 1 cup kosher salt with 8 cups cool water to make a quick brine. Stir until salt is completely dissolved and soak chicken for 30 minutes. Note: this is a strong salt solution therefore don’t brine more than 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350.
- Step 2 2) While chicken is brining and oven is heating, mince the herbs. Mix the parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add just enough olive oil to make a paste.
- Step 3 3) Rinse chicken and pat dry. Using your fingers gently pull skin away from the chicken breast and stuff half of the herb mixture in between the skin and the chicken. Stuff the other chicken breast with the other half of the herb mixture.
- Step 4 4) In an oven proof pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat (about 1 minute). Carefully add chicken skin side down in the pan. Continue cooking over medium-high heat chicken skin is golden brown about 5 to 7 minutes. Flip chicken over, cover pan with tin foil, and place pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and set aside. Baste chicken with some of the juices and cook for 15 to 2o more minutes or until temperature has reached 160 degrees F.
- Step 5 5) Remove chicken from the oven, and tent under the foil for 5 minutes to let the chicken rest.
- Step 6 Note: If you do not have an oven safe frying pan – transfer chicken to a casserole dish. Also, this recipe can easily be double or tripled – perfect for more people or for leftover chicken for tomorrow’s lunch salad.
