Who else can’t make chicken to save your life?

Theo166

I buy the frozen breasts and use them just as an ingredient in stir fry, stew, curry, etc.
Can't recall last time I had a whole chicken, unless it was cooked by Costco

Lounmoun

Rsanfilippo3 wrote: »

Literally wasted 1 hour of my time and the chicken tastes terrible! Hard, over cooked, tough And I’m on the verge of a breakdown 🙄😒

How did you cook it? Did you follow a recipe or just chuck a raw plain boneless, skinless breast in the oven?
It sounds like it was mainly cooked too long. If you are baking chicken breast maybe start checking for doneness with a meat thermometer about 25 minutes. It should be about 165° F.
Add some liquid to your baking dish and/or cover with foil.

amgreenwell

I haven't read all the replies but the best chicken is roasted. No matter what the cut and no matter what the seasoning if you roast it the juices all stay in and it's great.
Take two chicken breasts, season well, put in a baking dish with some chicken broth or water, put aluminum foil on top. Set oven to 350 or so. Cook for about 40 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked fully. as you experiment you'll find other ways to cook chicken that are good. I love pan seared but you've got to have a thin cut and great seasoning.

missysippy930

If you are doing boneless, skinless chicken breasts, use a meat mallet to pound them to an even thickness. I don’t use frozen breasts (they are soaked in a saline brine before being frozen usually), but if you do, make sure they are thawed first. You can use a ziplock bag or plastic wrap for pounding them in. Key to not over cooking because it’s equal thickness. Also an instant read thermometer. Bake or sauté with your favorite spices, seasonings, herbs. Letting the cooked breast rest before slicing or eating, helps keep the juices in the cooked meat.

hesn92

I do chicken breasts a lot. My favorite way to cook them now is in the cast iron pan. I get them nice and browned on both sides and then if they are still not done I will finish them in the oven. I use a meat thermometer. They taste good to me. Typically I only make chicken breast to put in things like stir fry, pasta, etc. but sometimes I do make them to just eat with sides (veg, potato etc) and I still like them that way.

WilmaValley

Great ideas!!!!

Sclark5759

Haha i guess I'm just lucky that my husband and myself like Chicken, or Turkey meat cooked very well done. We like it dry. So it's easy to cook😉

kbmnurse1

Chicken is easy to make. Pre heat black skillet in oven (350) with small amount Olive Oil. Coat bottom of pan with Italian seasoning and Garlic powder. Let the skillet get hot. Add boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Season other side of thighs with Italian seasoning/Garlic Powder. Cook x 25 min-turn-15 min more. We have these over Spinach salad. These thighs can be used for anything. Moist and delicious.

melissaulmen

I always brine mine and then bake it.
Pinterest has a ton of baking options

jcraig10

Cook it low and slow Baby!

aokoye

jcraig10 wrote: »

Cook it low and slow Baby!

First I was going to poo poo this response because outside of cooking chicken sous vide or with a smoker, I'm not a chicken in something like a slow cooker. Then I remembered this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for slow-and-low dry rub oven chicken. I haven't made it in years, but it's really good.

Note - I never found a need to brine the chicken and after trying to make the sauce a few times, it's not worth it. It's way too salty and quite frankly I never felt the chicken needed it.

Roza42

Breast - Pound flat and pan fry or you could grill if you like, but a touch of oil is best. Or bake whole breats covered in oven at 300 degrees and that might take an hour or more.

purplefizzy

tuddy315 wrote: »

purplefizzy wrote: »

Boneless skinless makes me sorta sad.

I knew someone once who BOILED chicken breasts. That made me shudder.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with this. I simmer chicken breasts on the stove top all the time. Then shred the meat with a fork to use in soups or baked Mexican dishes. It also gives me the chicken stock I need for soups without all the added salt from canned stocks.

Keyword there is ‘simmer’ (vs boil)... immersion techniques are totally temp dependent:)

aokoye

purplefizzy wrote: »

tuddy315 wrote: »

purplefizzy wrote: »

Boneless skinless makes me sorta sad.

I knew someone once who BOILED chicken breasts. That made me shudder.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with this. I simmer chicken breasts on the stove top all the time. Then shred the meat with a fork to use in soups or baked Mexican dishes. It also gives me the chicken stock I need for soups without all the added salt from canned stocks.

Keyword there is ‘simmer’ (vs boil)... immersion techniques are totally temp dependent:)

Quoted for truth.

annabellep1

hroderick wrote: »

Hammer on a cutting board in bottom of sink to catch splatters.

I use this method for splatter: loosely wrap in saran wrap to allow the chicken breast to expand as it flattens. Cover that with wax paper. You can't wail on it. Use short, medium strikes. Place a towel or strong cutting board beneath.

jbeth30

If you have a Sams membership you can buy like four rotisserie chickens at a time and freeze them. They reheat so good and are only about five dollars a chicken already cooked! I use them for all kinds of things.

MoonPhoenix8

My go-to for chicken recipes is my Crock-Pot. I just made salsa verde chicken last night (similar to this recipe) and it's one of the easiest ways (for me) to make chicken that is flavorful and juicy. I shredded the chicken breasts once they were done and paired it with a few different meal prep sides. Takes 4 hours on the High setting--that's 4 hours of DOING NOTHING while the Crock-Pot works its magic to make an amazing dish that takes 5 minutes of prep. Might be a good option for you to try

Dreamwa1ker

I find chicken tenderloins much easier to not overcook than full breasts - some of the chicken breasts at the store are super thick behemoths on one end but then the other end of them is really thin - it is hard not to just murder those trying to get the thick part done. The advice about pounding them out can help with this, but I also often just spend the little bit extra per pound to get chicken tenderloins instead and find they cook faster and don't dry out as easily (also they are more evenly sized so easier to cook).

Other thing I found is that if I spring for a little higher quality chicken breasts (e.g. ones that are "air chilled" etc instead of the ones injected with a ton of saltwater) they tend to also stay moist better and be harder to accidentally overcook/have come out super dry. I don't always upgrade to those - depends on how I'm going to cook it (e.g. I'm not going to pay extra when I'm just making shredded taco meat or slow cooking, but I might if I'm making something nicer like chicken saltimbocca)

Maxxitt

Just made pineapple chicken last night and it was great - sautéed seasoned 1.25 # chicken breast (cut into cubes) for about 6 min in 2 tsp of oil, added a red bell pepper chopped similar size & 1 c of pineapple chunks and sautéed for 4 more min. Meanwhile (back at the ranch lol) I mixed .75 c pineapple juice, .33 c hoisin sauce. .25 c low sodium soy sauce, .5 c chicken broth, .5 tsp ground ginger (because I somehow was out of fresh ginger) and added that to simmer a minute or two. Then mixed 2 tsp of cornstarch with a little water and added that. Took under 30 minutes including the chopping. Next time I make it, I'll add a tbsp or so of vinegar for the sweet/sour taste. The original recipe included brown sugar but I am not a fan of super sweet. I measured it as 4 servings @ 335 calories/7 g fat, 32 g carb (incl 4 g fiber), 37 g protein.

Edited to add: good kitchen scissors are awesome when it comes to chicken - so easy to cut up chicken breasts as well as spatchcock.

limex

I slice mine in half so it's thin, cover with a tablespoon of sandwich spread and sprinkle with garlic salt (sometimes I add a little parmesan too). In to my convection oven while it preheats to 200°c, then another 6 min at 200°c (total time around 15 min). Fully cooked, yet moist and tender, and only around 200 calories. A non-stick baking sheet allows me to get away with not using any oil.

AZCattitude

We recently purchased a Ninja Foodi and are liking the pressure cook the broil method. Cooking time depends on size of the chicken piece. With really thick pieces we like them sliced in half like a butterflied steak.

badnoodle

I tend to buy 5-6 birds when they are on sale for $.60/lb, and then spatchcock them (cut out the spine) and cut off the big lumps of fat around the *kitten* end. Fat is delicious, but these are just flaps of skin that won't cook well. I then spice rub them over and under the skin with whatever rub strikes my fancy, though I tend to go with a BBQ rub. If I have the time, I'll dry brine with Serious Eats' dry brine in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, but if you don't they still turn out damn tasty. They go in the electric smoker at 250°F/125°C with apple or cherry wood chips, for about 30 minutes/lb until the breast reads 150. They always come out amazingly juicy and delicious. You can also grill them over indirect heat, or bake in the oven, but the key here is lower and slower.

LyndaBSS

I cook boneless skinless chicken thighs, almost exclusively.

Preheat convection oven to 400.

Lay thighs flat in baking dish (I usually cook 4 at a time). Rub olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle one side with kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, onion salt, garlic powder and paprika. Flip and season other side.

Bake for 15 minutes. Delicious!

Dreamwa1ker

Made this one last night: baked chicken parmesan
Take 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts and pound them out between a couple sheets of plastic wrap to somewhere between 1/4-1/2" thick (helps them cook more evenly, and faster.
Blot the chicken with paper towels then season with salt and pepper.
Make a mixture of an egg and a tbsp of flour in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish mix 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, 1.5 oz of grated parmesan cheese, and italian seasonings like oregano and garlic powder.
Dredge each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture, pressing to get it to stick.
Spray each one with a little cooking spray and set on a baking rack set into a sheet pan.
Bake at 400F until internal temp is at least 165F with a meat thermometer, about 12-15 mins (depending on thickness, may take longer - pounding it out helps it cook fast)

This came out to around 280 calories for 4oz serving. I served with a small portion of angel hair pasta, marinara sauce, and some broccoli with red pepper flakes and garlic for around 500 calories total meal.