How to Cook Chicken Without Drying It Out

Dry chicken is the number one home cooking complaint, and it's almost always caused by overcooking. The solution starts with a meat thermometer — chicken is done at 74°C (165°F) internal temperature. Every degree past that is moisture leaving the meat.

Other tricks that help enormously: pound breasts to even thickness so they cook uniformly, let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after cooking (juices redistribute), and use bone-in pieces which are far more forgiving. If you have time, a simple brine (salt water soak for 30 minutes) transforms even cheap chicken breast into something juicy.