If I had to choose just one protein to cook and eat for the rest of my life, I would pick chicken. There are so many chicken dinner ideas to opt for. While my fail-safe way to cook chicken is in the air fryer with a marinade of olive oil, garlic powder and paprika, I’ve recently found another delicious cooking method that I’ve been making at least once a week.
All you need for this recipe are chicken breasts, barbecue sauce and cheese. It’s important to use good-quality barbecue sauce, as that’s what will add the flavour to your dish. I opted for the Jack Daniel’s Original BBQ Sauce. This spirited barbecue sauce is spiked with the tiniest amount of whiskey, which adds a delicious, spicy, sweet flavour without making it boozy.
I like to prep the dish during lunch and let it marinate in the fridge until dinner, but it can also be cooked straight away in just 15 minutes.
The cheese adds a slight crust to the chicken, but the meat stays juicy and moist because of the barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
- Three chicken breasts
- 75g of barbecue sauce
- 60g mozzarella cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
I started by preheating my oven to 200C Fan before lining a baking tray with parchment paper.
Working with one chicken breast at a time, I placed one on a chopping board, covered it with some cling film, and pounded it with the flat side of a meat mallet until it was evenly thick. A rolling pin will also do the job.
Pounding chicken breasts before cooking them helps to ensure even thickness, allowing for more even and quicker cooking. I find that it also tenderises the meat, making it more tender and juicy when cooked.
Just don’t be too aggressive, or you’ll tear the meat instead of flattening it.
I then laid the chicken breasts on the lined baking tray and added salt and pepper to each of them before coating them with barbecue sauce and topping them with the grated cheese.
I put them in the oven to bake for 10 minutes, then covered them with foil and let them cook for a further five minutes. This recipe would work just as well in the air fryer if you didn’t want to use your oven.
Sometimes I like to garnish the chicken at the end with green onions; however, I didn’t have any to hand this time.
I served the baked barbecue chicken with tasty mashed potatoes this time around, but it pairs well with many other things, like tenderstem broccoli and roasted potatoes.