Hmm, will this set off my smoke alarm?

[applecrisp]

I made the Chicken Scampi tonight that was posted by Leonard (it was great). I have what must be a real stupid question --- but when I was cooking the chicken on medium high (actually a bit lower than that) my kitchen got kind of smoky. My kitchen opens into my living room and the overall room is TINY!!!!, so the room got kind of smoky. This happens fairly often -- when I am cooking chicken breasts I use a non-stick pan and spray it with a Misto sprayer with olive oil. I might add some more olive oil to the pan. And cook it generally 3-4 minutes a side. Does this happen to you?
Why? Could it be that I am not using enough oil? I have a real basic oven hood which I do use.

On a related note, sometimes when I am cooking boneless chicken on medium ish, it sometimes gets kind of leathery in spots (kind of hard/tough) but the chicken inside is still juicy (again on medium or a bit higher). Coating the chicken in flour helps, and pounding it thin (could that be because the chicken is all even, and lays on the pan evenly?).

Thanks!!! Yes, as you can see I eat A LOT of skinless boneless chicken!

[Leonard]

Glad you enjoy the Chicken Scampi! That has never happened to me. I am suspicious of your pan. It sounds like the heat is uneven maybe?? Are you using a good quality nonstick pan??? If not, I would invest in one. Also, whenever I saute or fry anything I always put my exhaust fan on over the range. Hopefully, someone else will chime in with suggestions.

[applecrisp]

Thanks for the post. One last thing..... I am usuing a good heavy pan, but do you think it could be that the pan is a bit larger than the two pieces of chicken that I usually cook? Makes me think that there is a good amount of surface area that is generally not covered with chicken/food. Not sure if that would make any difference. Could the oil etc is getting too hot on those areas? Does that fact that it isn't in contact with food make any difference?

Thanks again for the great recipe.

[Leonard]

I don't know the answer to that. I do usually try to use a pan that fits the size of the food. Maybe you're onto something there. I never saute or fry on "high". Maybe try a smaller skillet and turn the heat down slightly.

[blazedog]

If you have a thick chicken breast, it is very difficult to cook the inside without overcooking the rest of the chicken. Per the cooking experts, there are a few ways to handle this -- pound the chicken (if you want a scallopine type chicken); cut the chicken in half widthwise to produce a thinner chicken and pound slightly) or pan saute and finish in the oven which gives you a crisp outside and then allows the inside of the chicken to finish -- this appears to be the choice of many chefs -- I've seen the technique used on Cooks Illustrated and by Tyler Florence in some of his shows.

Regarding the smoking, I would assume that you are cooking at too high a temperature unless you want the chicken to grill -- grill type pans will produce a lot of smoke. Of course, it's always good to not have a lot of open space in the pan -- if you regularly cook only 2 breasts, you might find it good to invest in a 10 inch saute pan -- I like the 3 quart saute pans as they are very versatile.