Dry chicken?

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Replies

  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    There is hardly any fat on a boneless, skinless chicken breast.
    Pound them to the same thickness. Brine in a zip loc bag. Grill.
    Perfect every time. End to dry chicken breasts.
  • MistressPi
    MistressPi Posts: 514 Member
    It's harder to get the legs and thighs to be fully cooked without overcooking the breast on a chicken. Brining/marinating helps, but I prefer to cook EITHER breasts or legs/thighs, that way you can cook to "doneness" without overcooking or undercooking the other. Also, as someone else mentioned, you should let your meat "rest" for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it, so all the juicy goodness doesn't run out. Who said to throw out the skin?! Don't do that! My favorite part.

    I've heard that steaming chicken breast is an excellent way to cook it, if you're looking for meat for salads, etc.
  • tattygun
    tattygun Posts: 447 Member
    It really is all about brine. Only needs an hour, wash the brine off, bake, fry, grill and it'll be amazing.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    Just clipped this recipe from the NYT:

    http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013203-chicken-negimaki
  • not_my_first_rodeo
    not_my_first_rodeo Posts: 311 Member
    Marinating helps.

    Someone above said it best--get the kind with the skin on and the bone in. You can always remove the skin and the bone.

    If the chicken is going in any kind of a hearty sauce or stew, I think you're better off with chicken thighs. They stand up to the intensity of flavors better than the breasts will.

    Any time I have meat going into the crock pot, I sear it.

    If you've cut up the meat into smaller pieces, it's going to cook faster so make sure you take that into account.

    If you're doing a whole chicken kind of preparation, brining is totally the way to go.
  • corinatolamaa
    corinatolamaa Posts: 3 Member
    The temperature of the heating vessel matters less than the final internal temperature of the chicken.
    Invest in a kitchen thermometer! Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees F for the sake of safe eating. Any cooking beyond that and your chicken will be dry. Brine also helps. Osmosis pulls fluid into the cells of the meat. So even if you do overcook your chicken a bit, you have some more leeway.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I brown it before baking, it seals in the juices.

    1000x this. If you're going to bake it, brown it in a pan, I use a cast iron with 1 tbsp canola oil, then once it's brown on all sides bake it at about 375-400F until it reaches 160-165 IT. Pull it out when it gets about 160, let it sit in the cast iron pan lightly covered in foil or a lid for a few minutes and it'll climb to 165 and re-absorb all its juices. If using a grill, make sure the grill is pre-heated HOT to get a good brown/grill marks on all sides, then move it to lower heat or indirect heat until it hits 160ish or a bit more, and do the same thing.. pull it, lightly cover in foil and let it sit until it hits 165 IT. It'll be much more juicy that way.

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