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    14 Chicken Hacks That'll Make You Say "Whoa, That's Smart"

    Step up your game.

    For many home cooks, chicken is the go-to protein of choice. That's because it's cheap, easy to make, and everybody likes it — but sometimes it can be a bit bland...

    So here are 12 cooking tips that'll take your chicken game to the next level:

    1. Use a hand mixer to shred cooked chicken breasts in a flash.

    2. Soak your chicken in a simple saltwater solution (AKA a brine) before cooking to keep it moist and season it from the inside-out...

    3. Or rub them in salt a few hours before cooking (AKA a dry brine) for the same effect.

    4. Tenderize your chicken by marinating it in yogurt...

    5. Or go old school and poach chicken breasts in milk to make them super tender and full of flavor.

    6. Rub your chicken in mayonnaise before roasting it to give it a beautiful golden color.

    7. When roasting a whole chicken, remove the backbone and flatten it (AKA spatchcocking) to make it cook in a fraction of the time...

    8. And cook it on a panini press if you're feeling adventurous.

    9. Put a piece of parchment paper over your chicken breasts before roasting to prevent them from drying out.

    10. Toss chicken wings in salt and baking soda before frying them to make them super crispy.

    11. Cook chicken breasts in just eight minutes by using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

    12. Bake them in a parchment paper packet (AKA en papillote) to create an aromatic sauna that perfectly steams them.

    13. Instead of basting your roast chicken, soak a cheesecloth in butter and drape it over as it cooks.

    14. To make super crispy chicken skin, start cooking it in a cold pan to slowly render out the fat.

    Let's get cooking!