Why does my chicken breast come out dry

callmejessica

My husband is the king of making his famous moist-free chicken. The key is a lower temperature instead of cooking it too fast at too high of one.

Actually, you WANT to cook your chicken breast at high heat in a short amount of time if using a dry heat method. Slow cookers work because it is a moist heat method ensuring that the chicken retains juice while cooking for a long time. Chicken breasts are tender with less connective tissue, so they break down way more easily. Sauteing is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken. To keep your chicken moist when cooking them in the oven, you can try barding, basting, or brining!!! All of those techniques is simply coating the chicken in some sort of fatty layer to keep from drying out.

run2jeepn

This is what I have been doing for the last 10-12yrs

Buy the 3lb bag of Boneless CHicken Breast from Wal-Mart..

1. Fill sink with hot Water.
2. Open Bag and dump chicken in the Sink till it's all thawed out.
3. Have the Oven Heated to 360.
4. Take a out a 3QT (8x11) Glass Cooking Pan
5. Put 1/2in of Water in it.
6. Add some Olive Oil. About the SIze of a Silver Dollar
6. Sprinkle a little of your Choice of Seasoning. Stur the water/oil up.
7. Place all 3lbs of Chicken in the Pan.
8. Sprinkle more Seasoning on top.
9. Cover top of pain with Alumn. Foil.
10. Place in Oven at 360 for 30-35min Tops... Check at 30min

Tip. If you leave the Chicken in the pan when you pull it out of the Oven. The heat from the water and pan will still be cooking the Chicken. So you will need to remove it. You should get about 5 to 6, 6oz Servings of Chicken.

NS1216

I just marinate thawed chicken in low fat italian or vinegrette dressing for 30+ mins then cook it at 350 for 35 mins. Serve over a bed of greens and voila! I even reheat leftovers in the microwave and its still juicy.

jmarietaylor

Hi there! To get juicy, tender chicken try buying the chicken tenders instead of breasts, or cut the breasts into 2-3 strips. Use a deep glass baking dish and spray the bottom with olive oil cooking spray. Place thawed chicken (thaw in refrigerator 1-2 days before cooking) in pan. Add 2 tablespoons each extra-virgin light olive oil, white wine vinegar and water. Drizzle these liquids on top of the chicken. Next, add seasonings such as a little salt, pepper, basil, lemon-pepper seasoning, or you can use a Mrs. Dash seasoning salt or low-sodium McCormick marinade ( found in the baking aisle ). I prefer the marinades! There are a ton of flavors and have easy to use directions on the back. Heat oven to 350*. Cover dish with foil to keep moisture in and bake for 30-45 minutes depending on how much chicken. I usually use about 10-12 tenders. A great side is brown rice with pineapple. I actually put pineapple pieces in with the chicken before I cook it. Adds a great, sweet flavor. Hope this helps

pukekolive

I either sear it off on a griddle and finish it in the oven (transfer the griddle from the stovetop to the oven shelf) or

put it into a special ziplock microwave bag for 1-2 mins and it comes out beautifully steamed and juicy!

CGreen177

No votes for steaming chicken? Usually takes about 10 minutes. Requires little or no attention (so you can be cooking your veg or whatever) and is really moist. You can add fruit (eg lime) or herbs (sage / tarragon) for extra flavour. Lime steamed chicken with pak choi and jasmine rice - lovely :-)

luvinmefirst

Personally, I love the zip and steam bags!!!

wftiger

Buy a meat thermometer. Also, if you wrap tightly in foil that helps keep the natural juices close to the chicken.

I crockpot mine all the time. It is really tasty that way with a jar of salsa. Then I shred it all up and use for wraps, sammiches, salads, etc.

ZeroWoIf

This is what I have been doing for the last 10-12yrs

Buy the 3lb bag of Boneless CHicken Breast from Wal-Mart..

1. Fill sink with hot Water.
2. Open Bag and dump chicken in the Sink till it's all thawed out.
3. Have the Oven Heated to 360.
4. Take a out a 3QT (8x11) Glass Cooking Pan
5. Put 1/2in of Water in it.
6. Add some Olive Oil. About the SIze of a Silver Dollar
6. Sprinkle a little of your Choice of Seasoning. Stur the water/oil up.
7. Place all 3lbs of Chicken in the Pan.
8. Sprinkle more Seasoning on top.
9. Cover top of pain with Alumn. Foil.
10. Place in Oven at 360 for 30-35min Tops... Check at 30min

Tip. If you leave the Chicken in the pan when you pull it out of the Oven. The heat from the water and pan will still be cooking the Chicken. So you will need to remove it. You should get about 5 to 6, 6oz Servings of Chicken.

Why don't you let it thaw out on the refrigerator the night before? hehe

tigersword

This is what I have been doing for the last 10-12yrs

Buy the 3lb bag of Boneless CHicken Breast from Wal-Mart..

1. Fill sink with hot Water.
2. Open Bag and dump chicken in the Sink till it's all thawed out.
3. Have the Oven Heated to 360.
4. Take a out a 3QT (8x11) Glass Cooking Pan
5. Put 1/2in of Water in it.
6. Add some Olive Oil. About the SIze of a Silver Dollar
6. Sprinkle a little of your Choice of Seasoning. Stur the water/oil up.
7. Place all 3lbs of Chicken in the Pan.
8. Sprinkle more Seasoning on top.
9. Cover top of pain with Alumn. Foil.
10. Place in Oven at 360 for 30-35min Tops... Check at 30min

Tip. If you leave the Chicken in the pan when you pull it out of the Oven. The heat from the water and pan will still be cooking the Chicken. So you will need to remove it. You should get about 5 to 6, 6oz Servings of Chicken.

NEVER thaw in hot water. If you're going to thaw in water, use cold running water. It thaws much faster, and you don't have the risk of bacterial problems from the bacteria reproducing like wildfire in hot water. Best way to thaw is overnight in the fridge.

ZeroWoIf

Some people just need better cooking skills. Chicken breast should never be dry at all.

Cooking Tips:

1. Control the fire of the skillet
2. Use an iron skillet , or non stick pan. Even if you use an aluminum it pan it should not make the chicken breast any dry.
3. Control the temperature to about medium heat, hot enough to cook something but not to hot to burn your chicken breast.

Others in here suggested using Olive Oil and that is actually a lovely idea. 1 Tbsp should suffice!

Cooking the Chicken Breast.

1. Put about 1/2 to 1 tbsp of olive oil on the skillet and sit back and watch how it burns. It the oil is burning fast then
you got too much temperature.
2. Sear the chicken breast on one side for a good 2-3 min depending on the thickness of the cut. If the Cut is extremely
thick then you can consider slicing it in half.
3. Do the same thing as step 2 on the other side.
4. Lower the temperature and cover the skillet. This will let the heat create a steam.
5. If the skillet is too dry then that means you used a lot of heat. If this happens you can consider lowering the temperature and adding a very small amount of water.


If you want to save yourself some trouble then you can consider using your oven to cook a whole pack of walmart chicken thighs.
Season to taste depending on how much sodium you are trying to limit in your diet. I use a 1/4 of a tbsp from garlic/salt/onion seasoning that I buy from the store in one pack for each chicken breast and that limits the sodium in the chicken breasts to no more than 400mg. Rub olive oil an all of the chicken breast and place then inside aluminum foil and cook them in the oven for a good 1 hour or so. Then you can store the chicken breast in containers. The oven method with aluminum foil is wonderful because it helps maintain the juices inside the chicken breast without murdering it to death. It also happens to give the chicken better taste and it turns out to be more tender. I tend to let the chicken stay in the oven for 2 hours myself at a moderate temperature.

As far as the aluminum foil, make sure you wrap it so that there is at least a certain amount of steam coming out. Reason why you use aluminum foil? Many reasons of course. This prevents the meat from drying out quicker, or the meat browning too quick. Try it without using aluminum foil and let me know how that turns out lol.

ZeroWoIf

This is what I have been doing for the last 10-12yrs

Buy the 3lb bag of Boneless CHicken Breast from Wal-Mart..

1. Fill sink with hot Water.
2. Open Bag and dump chicken in the Sink till it's all thawed out.
3. Have the Oven Heated to 360.
4. Take a out a 3QT (8x11) Glass Cooking Pan
5. Put 1/2in of Water in it.
6. Add some Olive Oil. About the SIze of a Silver Dollar
6. Sprinkle a little of your Choice of Seasoning. Stur the water/oil up.
7. Place all 3lbs of Chicken in the Pan.
8. Sprinkle more Seasoning on top.
9. Cover top of pain with Alumn. Foil.
10. Place in Oven at 360 for 30-35min Tops... Check at 30min

Tip. If you leave the Chicken in the pan when you pull it out of the Oven. The heat from the water and pan will still be cooking the Chicken. So you will need to remove it. You should get about 5 to 6, 6oz Servings of Chicken.

NEVER thaw in hot water. If you're going to thaw in water, use cold running water. It thaws much faster, and you don't have the risk of bacterial problems from the bacteria reproducing like wildfire in hot water. Best way to thaw is overnight in the fridge.

I done what he did in the past due to the fact that I tried to prepare a last minute meal. He is not going to die if he does that, even though its not really the best way in my opinion he should be fine. My suggestion would be for him to thaw it overnight but if he wants to do it his way he is not going to die out of a bacteria lol.

Zichu

Chicken actually doesn't take that long to cook. I season mine with Marjoram and wrap it tin foil. I just keep an eye on it. After like 20 minutes or so, I stab it in the middle, making sure it's the plumpest part and see if it's pink. If I can't see it very well, I just cut it in half.

My chicken comes out moist and soft every time. The Marjoram brings out the flavor of the chicken so much.

If I am breading it, I add garlic powder to the mix and it's so tasty.

ZeroWoIf

Chicken actually doesn't take that long to cook. I season mine with Marjoram and wrap it tin foil. I just keep an eye on it. After like 20 minutes or so, I stab it in the middle, making sure it's the plumpest part and see if it's pink. If I can't see it very well, I just cut it in half.

My chicken comes out moist and soft every time. The Marjoram brings out the flavor of the chicken so much.

If I am breading it, I add garlic powder to the mix and it's so tasty.

That sounds pretty good. I sometimes stab the chicken and put in whole garlic gloves. I also happen to use basil as well. One basil lead on the bottom of each chicken breast and one in the top. Great use on the aluminum foil. Great tool to prevent the goole ole MFP hockey puck chicken breast :laugh:

SW8689

I cook my chicken breast with a little balsamic and olive oil with basil brushed on top at, get this, 424, for 20 minutes in my convection oven. In my regular oven I cook them at 385 for about 35-45. I always slice one in two to check to see if they are close to cooked, and when the inside is very juicy and just cooked I remove the tray and let it sit to finish on the counter by itself in the pan for ten minutes. Perfect every time.

Same with fish, fast, hot oven, take out when the flesh is a little opaque and let it finish cooking on the counter in the pan. It will always be perfect.