Split chicken breasts are one of the cheaper cuts of chicken, and they are extra juicy cooked on the bone! This a simple recipe to make for weeknight dinners.

Split Chicken Breast - Roasted and Sprinkled with Herbs and Served on White Plate

Here’s why cooking split chicken breasts rocks. The skin is unbelievably crispy, and because we cook it on the bone and the skin bastes the chicken, it is unbelievably juicy and moist.  And what’s even better is split chicken breasts ran me $1.89/pound instead of the $4/pound for boneless skinless chicken breast.  Pretty awesome given that I WANT the skin and bone! Now, you will notice that I don’t rub the skin with olive oil.  I have concluded that rubbing the skin with olive oil makes it less crispy (more on this below).  In my test, the unrubbed chicken skin browned MUCH better.  Doesn’t make sense, right?  No, but it does.

Oven Roasted Split Chicken Breasts On Wire Rack

Adding olive oil adds another layer of fat to the chicken skin, and acts as a barrier.  Don’t even bother with that stuff.  Just let the roasting technique work its magic, and you will have the crispiest skinned juicy chicken ever.

Split Chicken Breast - Roasted and Sprinkled with Herbs and Served on White Plate

Crispy Skinned Chicken Breast with Herb Sauce

Split chicken breasts are one of the cheaper cuts of chicken, and they are extra juicy cooked on the bone! This a simple recipe to make for weeknight dinners.
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Ingredients

For the chicken:

  • 2 pounds split chicken breasts this means the skin is still on and it's still on the bone. I had two chicken breasts.
  • plenty of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the sauce:

  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh herb of choice oregano, tarragon, etc

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Set a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, and lay your chicken breasts on the rack. Season the chicken breasts with plenty of salt and pepper (add more than you think you will need…I put about 1/4 tsp of salt on each breast). The salt not only seasons the chicken but will help draw moisture out of the skin, making it EXTRA CRISPYYYYYYY!
  • Roast the chicken for 30-35 minutes (depending on the size of the breasts) until the interior reaches 155 degrees F. Turn the broiler on to high, and broil the skin for 2 minutes and make sure you don’t take your eyes away from it (it can burn very quickly). I like to keep the chicken in the center of the oven when broiling so I can watch.
  • Now on to the sauce. In a large skillet, combine the stock, wine, and orange juice and reduce on high heat for about 10 minutes, until reduced to a thick consistency. When you are ready to take your sauce off the heat, throw the herbs in, and serve it below your chicken (don’t pour on top of your chicken or else you’ll soak the crispy skin)! Enjoy!!!

Nutrition

Calories: 889kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 98g, Fat: 44g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 294mg, Sodium: 461mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.