Keeping Chicken Tender

[swoldierboy]

I was hoping to hear other peoples tips on keeping tender, the chicken I prep right now ends up really dry, I have one trick but cooking one breast at a time makes for a full day of food prep. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Scotte0057]

I bake mine for approximately 20 minutes at 400F on a sheet of foil. After I pull it I simply wrap the chicken in the foil to cool, this seals in a lot of the juices. Tender and delicious!

 

[swoldierboy]

I bake mine for approximately 20 minutes at 400F on a sheet of foil. After I pull it I simply wrap the chicken in the foil to cool, this seals in a lot of the juices. Tender and delicious!

Thank you Scotte0057, I will try this out!

 

[LegionWithin]

I bake mine for approximately 20 minutes at 400F on a sheet of foil. After I pull it I simply wrap the chicken in the foil to cool, this seals in a lot of the juices. Tender and delicious!

I do the same thing. I think most people tend to over cook their chicken which will then become dry...

 

[Deleted member 121863]

grill it and/or don`t cook it so long. To be more tender beat your meat with a mallet, the heal of your hand, the base of a large heavy up

 

[swoldierboy]

grill it and/or don`t cook it so long. To be more tender beat your meat with a mallet, the heal of your hand, the base of a large heavy up

Thank you

 

[iceman74]

We cook a lot of ours in a crock pot.

 

[poohead]

There are many ways you can cook chicken, it should never be dry. You can bake it, broil it, grill it, smoke it, saute it, etc. The major issue that people have when cooking chicken is that they overcook it. The notion that chicken HAS to be cooked to "well done" is ridiculous. Maybe for babies, the elderly, or people with compromised immune systems, but well done anything pretty much sucks (unless you like dry meat, then just eat jerky), and is NOT necessary. I'm not saying you'd enjoy medium rare chicken, that's pretty rare for chicken, but it does NOT have to be cooked to well done. Just buy the freshest chicken possible, and cook it right away. You can also try brining it, which will add moisture and flavor as well.

 

[biffnbash]

Chinese cooking technique used in stir-frying know as velveting, I do use with most meats, works a treat. The chicken breast is coated in a mixture of egg white and cornstarch and rice wine/ dry sherry or vinegar and can also add some seasoning at this pointed, marinate for up 20-30 mins.

 

[swoldierboy]

We cook a lot of ours in a crock pot.

Do you have any good crock pot recipes? As far as ingredients to add?

 

[poohead]

I should have also mentioned that there are 2 basic methods of cooking, moist heat, and dry heat. Moist heat methods would include steaming, poaching, cooking in crock pot etc. The thing you need to remember about moist heat cooking, its that you want to save any liquid you're using to cook the food in, as it ends up being nutritious having absorbed some of the water soluble vitamins and minerals in whatever you're cooking. The benefit to moist heat cooking is that you end up with a moist, tender finished product.

Dry heat cooking would include roasting, broiling, pan searing, grilling, etc. This can be more difficult for some people, and is usually why people end up with a dry finished product. Some of the problems with grilling a chicken breast for example, it that it's fairly uneven, the edges will cook faster, and be dryer than the middle of the breast, especially if it's thick. You can butterfly the breast to make the thickness a little more even, or cut it into strips, it's up to you. An alternative is to use dark meat (legs and thighs). Not only does dark meat actually have waaaaay more flavor (chicken breast tastes like pretty much nothing), but it's virtually impossible to dry out dark meat.

I should also add that it's a complete myth that searing meat seals in juices. It's been a long standing urban legend in the kitchen, and it's been scientifically proven that searing meat actually results in a slightly dryer end product. I hope this helps, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, I will be happy to help

 

[poohead]

In addition to what I've posted, here's a link to an article you might find interesting, I liked it. It doesn't go into much of the science of cooking, but is still a short but good read.

Eating Raw Chicken - How to Eat Raw Chicken - Esquire

 

[*KT*]

I use my smoker. I cook 3 whole chickens at a time. Cut out the backbone and butterfly them. Season with salt pepper and garlic. I have a digital meat thermometer. Put in thickest part of breast. I smoke till internal temp is 160. Pull off and cover. It will raise to 165. Freaking best chicken ever!

 

[kcs]

i don't know how well it would work but i think it would but i brine a whole chicken and put in my showtime rotisserie. tender and super moist. it made a huge difference.

 

[swoldierboy]

I should have also mentioned that there are 2 basic methods of cooking, moist heat, and dry heat. Moist heat methods would include steaming, poaching, cooking in crock pot etc. The thing you need to remember about moist heat cooking, its that you want to save any liquid you're using to cook the food in, as it ends up being nutritious having absorbed some of the water soluble vitamins and minerals in whatever you're cooking. The benefit to moist heat cooking is that you end up with a moist, tender finished product.

Dry heat cooking would include roasting, broiling, pan searing, grilling, etc. This can be more difficult for some people, and is usually why people end up with a dry finished product. Some of the problems with grilling a chicken breast for example, it that it's fairly uneven, the edges will cook faster, and be dryer than the middle of the breast, especially if it's thick. You can butterfly the breast to make the thickness a little more even, or cut it into strips, it's up to you. An alternative is to use dark meat (legs and thighs). Not only does dark meat actually have waaaaay more flavor (chicken breast tastes like pretty much nothing), but it's virtually impossible to dry out dark meat.

I should also add that it's a complete myth that searing meat seals in juices. It's been a long standing urban legend in the kitchen, and it's been scientifically proven that searing meat actually results in a slightly dryer end product. I hope this helps, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, I will be happy to help

EXCELLENT! Thank you!

 

[Baseline]

Greek Yogurt

My aunt use to own a really popular restaurant and I got her chicken breast marinade from her. She said her secret ingredient was to coat the chicken breast in plain greek yogurt for 24hours before you grilled it. Of course you can put whatever spices/ingredients you would like but the greek yogurt keeps it very tender and moist.


-Baseline

 

[swoldierboy]

My aunt use to own a really popular restaurant and I got her chicken breast marinade from her. She said her secret ingredient was to coat the chicken breast in plain greek yogurt for 24hours before you grilled it. Of course you can put whatever spices/ingredients you would like but the greek yogurt keeps it very tender and moist.


-Baseline

I will be trying this for my Sunday meal prep. I let you know how it goes thank you

 

[seanasouris]

My aunt use to own a really popular restaurant and I got her chicken breast marinade from her. She said her secret ingredient was to coat the chicken breast in plain greek yogurt for 24hours before you grilled it. Of course you can put whatever spices/ingredients you would like but the greek yogurt keeps it very tender and moist.


-Baseline

I'm trying it out!

 

[stroker93]

Do you have any good crock pot recipes? As far as ingredients to add?

There is a recipe section here at PM that has some excellent recipes, check it out.