Baked Chicken Breasts

Method

1. score6 min
   under plastic, flat mallet or a pan, thick end worked down to match the thin
   breasts pounded or butterflied to an even thickness of about 2 cm. A chicken breast is naturally twice as thick at one end as the other, and heat arrives from the outside — so by the time the thick end is safe the thin end has been over 74°C for ten minutes and has squeezed out its water. Evening the thickness is worth more than any marinade
2. brine20 min
   salt rubbed on all surfaces, uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator
   + salt, left at least twenty minutes and up to a day. Salt dissolves in the meat's own moisture and diffuses inward, where it disrupts the muscle proteins so they hold onto water instead of expelling it when they contract. Leaving it uncovered also dries the surface, which is what lets it brown. This is not the same as seasoning at the oven door
3. season3 min
   patted dry, oil then the dry spices
   + olive oil rubbed on, then + garlic powder + smoked paprika + pepper (+ onion powder, + brown sugar). Pat the surface dry first even though it was dry-brined: water has to boil off before the surface can reach browning temperature, and any moisture left is time spent steaming
4. roast18 min
   220°C, preheated tray, pieces not touching, until 74°C at the thickest point
   until the centre reads 74°C on a thermometer (+ thyme on the tray). Use the thermometer rather than time — thickness, starting temperature and oven calibration all vary, and 'twenty minutes' is a guess about someone else's chicken. Pull it at 71°C if you will rest it, since carryover heat adds several more degrees
5. rest8 min
   loosely tented, on a warm plate, 5-8 minutes
   before slicing (+ butter, + lemon juice). During cooking the muscle fibres contract and drive moisture toward the centre under pressure; resting lets it redistribute and lets the proteins relax enough to hold it. Cut immediately and a measurable amount of that liquid ends up on the board. Slice against the grain