Pan Seared Chicken Breast

At least 1 hour before cooking

1. You'll need to remove the bone from each split chicken breast. It's really easy. To do this, grab a sharp paring knife in your dominant hand and place 1 chicken breast, skin side down, on your cutting board with the ribs facing away from your knife hand.
2. Starting at the thick end of the breast, run the tip of your knife between the breastbone and the meat, angle the blade slightly, and follow the rib cage and cartilage all the way toward the thin end. Repeat the cutting motion several times to remove the ribs and breastbone from the chicken breast and run the tip of your knife along both sides of the short remnant of the wishbone along the top edge of the breast to separate it from the meat. Remove the tenderloin and reserve it for another use, taking care not to cut into the skin. Repeat with the remaining chicken breast.
3. Using the tip of your paring knife, poke the skin on each chicken breast evenly 30 to 40 times. Turn the breasts over and poke the thickest portion of each breast 5 to 6 times. Cover the breasts with plastic wrap and pound the thick ends gently with a meat pounder, rolling pin, or a heavy skillet until the chicken is an even 1/2-inch thickness.
4. Pat each chicken breast dry with paper towels and sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Place the breasts, skin side up, on a wire rack placed in a roasting pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

Just before cooking

1. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle each breast with 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
2. Pour the oil in a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) and tilt to coat the surface with oil. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the cold skillet and place the skillet over medium heat. Place a heavy skillet or Dutch oven on top of the chicken to weight it and keep it flat. Cook until the skin begins to turn golden brown and the meat begins to turn opaque along the edges, 5 to 9 minutes. (If you're the impatient sort, you can inch the heat up to medium-high, although we gotta say, it's really not necessary.)
3. Remove the weight and continue to cook the chicken over medium heat until the skin is well browned and very crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Flip the chicken, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the second side is lightly browned and the chicken registers 160° to 165°F (71 to 74°C), 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer a sautéed chicken breast to each plate and let rest a few minutes prior to serving.