Whenever I have a dish from a Chinese restaurant that contains chicken (not fried), the chicken always seems so tender. How do they do that? Whenever I cook up some chicken it is always kind of tuff, chewy and dry. Are they not using chicken breast? Is that the deal? I've tried baking it in the oven, steaming it and cooking it in a pan in some olive oil and it always seems to come out about the same. I'ts not bad.. just not as tender as restaurant prepared.

Thanks,

-E

I don't know if this is your problem or not, but one key is to make sure you don't overcook the chicken. That's a sure fire way to dry it out. You might want to consider getting a meat thermometer. Once the chicken breast gets to 170 degrees fahrenheit, it's done. If it's a full breast the temp will continue to go up a few degrees depending on size after you take it off the heat so you have to take that into account too. Then you should let it sit for a few minutes so the juices redistribute, or they will run out as soon as you cut into it which will also dry out the meat.

Cook at lower temperatures for longer amounts of time. I grill a lot of meat, and when I cook drums or thicker chicken breasts, I put them on the far side of the grill from the flame at about 300 for 45 minutes, and turn often. For the last five minutes or so, I put the grill on blast to crisp the outside a little bit and make sure any pink is out of the meat. Usually, I put a little bit of Lawry's seasoned salt on them as I brown them. Turns out really great, every time, and it's easy.

-R

Also, the steak-rule applies here to a lesser degree...do NOT under any condition cut right into your meat when it's done cooking. If you cut into it, the moisture locked inside is exposed to air and will be released thus making your meat dry from that point forward. Let it sit about 3 min.

Whenever I have a dish from a Chinese restaurant that contains chicken (not fried), the chicken always seems so tender. How do they do that? Whenever I cook up some chicken it is always kind of tuff, chewy and dry. Are they not using chicken breast? Is that the deal? I've tried baking it in the oven, steaming it and cooking it in a pan in some olive oil and it always seems to come out about the same. I'ts not bad.. just not as tender as restaurant prepared.

Thanks,

-E

Just my opinions:

You may very well be cooking it too long. 170 degrees fahrenheit internal for a chicken breast is more than enough, and you will get thermal carryover of a few degrees.

Try a lower and slower temp.

Try brining the chicken. Depending on your philosophy, you may not want to do this, as you are introducing salt (and perhaps sugar, depending on your brine) along with moisture to the meat. Your call.

Lastly, it is quite possible that some of the chicken you have at a restaurant, especially in a mixed Chinese dish, is thigh meat or similar. Thigh meat has much more fat, but is MUCH more forgiving and juicy as a result*.

(Personal asside, I really like thigh meat, and eat it more often than chicken breast, with the understanding that it does have more fat than lean chicken breasts. I just accurately account for this in my macronutritional data. Realistically, assuming a 4 ounce serving, we are not talking about HUGE differences. It is also, in GENERAL terms, much cheaper than breast meat.)



*Nutrition data from calorieking, and 'averaged':

Roasted Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast:
4 ozs
187 kcal
4.1g fat
0g carb
35.2 g protein


Roasted Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh:
4 ozs
237 kcal
12.4g fat
0g carb
29.5 g protein

Maybe try meat tenderizer?

Boil the chicken. It's easy, tender, tasty, and you get chicken stock for use in soups and recipes.

Maybe try meat tenderizer?

Good advice, and if you don't have one, ask your butcher and they'll do it for you..

Usually on the weekends, I'll grill off about 4 or 5 chicken breasts for dinner the following week, or lunches if I have leftovers of a larger dish. If I am going to be cooking it again (e.g.- stir fry with brown rice, broccoli and a little soy sauce) I will slightly under cook the chicken. Then when I reheat/recook it, there is less chance of getting dry, touch chicken. I know that this may sound a little "dangerous" and introduce the possibility of food bourne illness, but I haven't had anything happen yet (couple of years doing this), and if properly handled, most food can be cooked a little less than the FDA guidelines.* Ever had Salmon at a medium/medium well temp? Much better IMO. Same goes for pork chops.



*I am by no means a food scientist. This is what I do, and by following this method of cooking, you are doing so at your own risk.:nono:

Cook chicken thighs - they're much harder to overcook.

Cook chicken thighs - they're much harder to overcook.

Good to see I am not the only 'chicken thigh' proponent (see post above). Just make sure you accomodate the extra fat in your macros.

Good to see I am not the only 'chicken thigh' proponent (see post above). Just make sure you accomodate the extra fat in your macros.

Thighs are the best! I'm kind of glad that almost everyone prefers white meat, it makes dark meat cheaper and more plentiful!

But to the OP's point, the main reason that the chicken (and almost any meat for that matter) in Chinese dishes is jucier is simply because of the stir-fry method of cooking. I've been cooking my own in a traditional round bottom wok for years, and it always comes out tender and juicy - white or dark meat. The key is to cook at very high heat, until the meat is just barely done. After a little practise, you can consistently prepare dishes that are actually superior to what you get at a restaurant. Vegetables come out nice and tender-crisp, and you can control the amount of oil and sodium, and the wok will pay for itself within 2-3 meals.

Also, you can buy the absolute cheapest piece of beef (usually something like bottom round, which is actually one of the leanest cuts) slice thinly AGAINST the grain, marinade a little while, then stir fry just until the pink is gone (or not). Trust me, you will be amazed.

marinate in chicken stock in the fridge overnight before cooking.

I found this advice on http://www.cookingforengineers.com/, basically, you heat the pan until it's really hot, you know the temp is right if a spot of water you throw on it evaporates straight away with the husshshshsh sound (or whatever:)), then you put the chicken. It takes about 10 minutes to cook well, and it has that crisp crust, but remains very very soft inside. Also, it helps if you marinade it in olive oil for at least half an hour before cooking it, you can add some chilli as well. And then you don't put any oil on the pan. I've tried this and it works perfectly.:gl:

Brining. Brining. Brining. And cooking with bone in.

I take 6 bone-in breasts and soak in water, 1/2 c salt, dash of apple cider, cinnamon, and a squirt of Stevia. Hour tops.

Important to dissolve salt in a cup or so of boiling water first. Add other ingredients and about 4-6 cups water (any spices you like..i just happen to prefer apple cideer vinegar and cinnamon) and chill till at least 40 degrees. Then add chicken, refrigerate for an hour.

drain, dry and you are ready to bake.

Tender, moist, flavorful. I roast 6 at a time in an old 1960s rotisserie. Better than any store and no crap additives.

If chicken tastes salty, you either used too much salt or soaked it too long. Full chickens take longer.


Can brine shrimp...even quicker. Pork (not to evryone's liking)...and any poultry.

Brining. Brining. Brining. And cooking with bone in.

I take 6 bone-in breasts and soak in water, 1/2 c salt, dash of apple cider, cinnamon, and a squirt of Stevia. Hour tops.

Important to dissolve salt in a cup or so of boiling water first. Add other ingredients and about 4-6 cups water (any spices you like..i just happen to prefer apple cideer vinegar and cinnamon) and chill till at least 40 degrees. Then add chicken, refrigerate for an hour.

drain, dry and you are ready to bake.

Tender, moist, flavorful. I roast 6 at a time in an old 1960s rotisserie. Better than any store and no crap additives.

If chicken tastes salty, you either used too much salt or soaked it too long. Full chickens take longer.


Can brine shrimp...even quicker. Pork (not to evryone's liking)...and any poultry.

it;s true that brining works, my mother is a chef and says it's the ultimate way to get good chicken. But she also doesn't do it because it can be so unhealthy. It's another factor as well. If you eat cottage cheese that's high in sodium, if you have brined chicken as well you may need to watch your Na intake like your protein.

i can't believe i just said ultimate haha.

it;s true that brining works, my mother is a chef and says it's the ultimate way to get good chicken. But she also doesn't do it because it can be so unhealthy. It's another factor as well. If you eat cottage cheese that's high in sodium, if you have brined chicken as well you may need to watch your Na intake like your protein.

i can't believe i just said ultimate haha.



Why unhealthy? All kosher poultry is brined. Always has been.

I've eaten brined chicken nearly every day for two years now and it has had no negative effect on my 49-year-old system.

I can see the danger to those who use excessive salt or have sodium issues, but in general, I haven't seen any studies pointing to the harmful effects of brining.

Would be happy to learn though.

The secret to tender chicken is rubbing kosher salt into it before you cook it. Another way make the chicken to be tender is to cut the chicken breast at a 45 degree angles after its done cooking.

Crock Pot....


Dump your chicken / turkey / whatever you want in it.

Even from frozen, just add a cup of warm water to it if it's starting from frozen.

Chuck the crock pot on high for 4hrs and you got a pot full of tender-ass meat....

I do this almost everyday....

I use the oven at 225 C for 35-40 min (may vary with oven, I don't know), packed in aluminum foil. Make a tiny hole in the foil with a fork. Unrap it as soon as it's done and let it rest for a couple of minutes on a plate. Best chicken breast I've ever had.

My bet is that you might be cooking it too long. Which for chicken is understandable with the paranoia of e. coli and whatever.

I use a George Foreman grill for my chicken, and tenderness depends on total cooking time. 6-7 minutes is nice. 8 minutes is alright. 9-10 and it's too dry. That's total cooking time; halfway through that I flip it over.

Although there were some interesting alternatives in here too.

Here's the method/ingredients I used just now. It's an impromptu adaptation of the traditional Wiener Schnitzel recipe, only without the frying and huge amounts of oil (and using chicken instead of Veal)

Get two boneless skinless chicken breasts, remove from package, rinse breasts with cold, clean water, pat dry with paper towel, set aside on plate.

Combine 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 - 2 tablespoons paprika, 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1.5 teaspoon sea salt. Sift ingredients together in some kind of shallow dish big enough to accommodate at least one boneless skinless chicken breast flat. (Adjust spices to taste) Set aside dish.

Combine one egg, one tablespoon NF yogurt and one teaspoon extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl. Beat ingredients together well, set aside.

Dump some Progresso (or whatever brand) italian bread crumbs (I like the garlic and herbs flavor) into yet another dish. Start with a cup of bread crumbs and as more as required. Set Aside.

Take a non-stick pan, set on stove, turn stove on high. Pour a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil in pan. Roll pan around to evenly distribute oil. When pan seems fairly hot (but well before the olive oil starts to smoke or even smell) take one of the breasts, and immerse in flour mixture, really, really, well. Sprinkle some of the flour on top and try to tap it into any folds or cracks or crevices on breast.

Next, take breast and quickly drench in egg mixture, being sure to completely coat it, but don't soak it in the egg: you just want to coat it and minimize any of the flour coating underneath from coming off.

Next, drop the egged breast into the bread crumbs and coat thoroughly. Turn over a few times, if you need more crumbs, add more from container.

Pan should now be hot, oil dispersed and now drop the breast into the pan and roll around to allow it to absorb a bit of the oil. Flip the breast and do the same on that side. (note: you're not trying to 'fry' the breast in the small amount of oil, just slightly moisten the breadcrumbs with the oil. Let the breast cook about a minute on each side on high and then turn the heat down to low. Cover the breast with a high-temp proof lid, bowl or plate and let sit on low for about four minutes.

After four minutes, flip breast and let cook for another four minutes.

Remove cover and check breast for firmness with the 'push test'. If not yet done, continue to cook for two or three minutes on each side until breast passes firmness push test.

If breadcrumb coating burns too fast, you have the temperature up too high. Turn heat down lower and cook breasts longer on each side.

Okay, first: I'm a trained cook, from the 'French school' (the traditional one with the poofy white hats).

Second: a lot of these suggestions, not to be offensive, are excessive... even contradicting the science of things. I will not point any fingers, but just reinforce the truth of the matter.

The essential thing that you need to know, as it has been mentioned, is that you have definitely been overcooking your chicken. Here are some key pointers in avoiding that:

1) When baking, don't go over 350 F.

2) I take it you're cooking them without the skin, which means that 'dry heat' is a no no. So you will want to cover the chicken when you bake it, to keep in the moisture.

3) It's trial and error from here, and you'll get better over time as you do this:

For medium-large chicken breasts, use a meat thermometer to bring the centre up to 165 F, then let it sit for 5 minutes, covered. This will allow the heat from the exterior to balance out with the interior, which is called "carry-over cooking". It will also allow the juices to redistribute evenly.

For smaller pieces, you will likely have to try checking them earlier in the process by taking the largest of the pieces and making a partial cut in the thickest part, to make sure the middle has juuuust cooked (while still being juicy).

Eventually, you may get so good that you won't have to do exploratory surgery on your chicken:tucool:

Human Clay,

Are you saying not to use a skillet on the stove, e.g., only bake in the oven? I made some today on the stove with some onions and it was tasty, however a little dry.

Human Clay,

Are you saying not to use a skillet on the stove, e.g., only bake in the oven? I made some today on the stove with some onions and it was tasty, however a little dry.

Nope, you can cook it a number of ways. The first two suggestions were directed at baking. The third is all-purpose, regardless of cooking method.

One thing I'll add, though: I do recommend that, for full breasts, you use a grill or a pan only to get the desired markings/texture on them and then finish cooking them in the oven. This will prevent the much joked about "black on the outside before it's cooked on the inside" effect. Also, avoid brushing the meat with sugary sauces until cooking is mostly, if not entirely, complete; this will also curb char (sugars/carbs caramelize, which is good... but can quickly burn).

I've started using a technique I saw on Jay Cutler's video, "One Step Closer." He uses scissors to cut the meat up and puts it in the skillet along with onions and asparagus. Today I covered the chicken to see what the steam would do. I also used a pretty high heat setting and used a thermometer to check the inside temp. I left it sit covered for 5 minutes then moved it to a tupperware container and covered that with saran wrap, left it cool, then refrigerated. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try it and see if it's less dry when I add it to my lunchtime salad.

A very good friend of mine (and GOOD cook as well) told me this many years ago, marinate the chicken (or beef if you prefer) in egg whites. Something about the proteins in the egg whites help to soften the meat, I`m no super cook but it does work:tucool:

Try this:
Buy a meat probe first of all. 10 bucks at walmart well spent for one that will beep when a user set temp is met.

Key here: let your chicken get to room (or near room) temp before you cook it. I'll go into reasoning if you really need, but just trust me. My man Alton Brown reccommends this when cooking all meats.

.5 Tbsp Olive oil, some salt pepper thyme and rosemary per chicken breast. Make sure it is covered evenly then put it into an oven safe dish at 350 degrees.

Pull it out when internal temp is 160 degrees. Residual heat will bring it up to 165. Perfectly done, pretty tasty, and very healthy.

The best way to keep chicken from being too dry is to monitor your temp, so the post above would be the best approach to keeping it moist.

In Chinese restaurants they use a technique called velveting to make the chicken tender.
http://www.themediadrome.com/content/articles/food_articles/skillset_velveting.htm

Once you've read the link you'll realise that this adds a heck of a lot of calories to the dish though.

You can acheive a similar, albeit lesser, effect by simply dusting the chicken breast pieces in a little cornstarch before cooking though. This keeps the added calories to a minimum.

As already mentioned stir-frying and making sure not to overcook the chicken combined with this will make sure you get tender and juicy chicken breasts.

Thanks for all the great advice!

It would seem that I was overcooking it. I have also found that it helps to flatten the meat into a more uniform thickness so that it cooks evenly.

Thanks everyone!

-Eric

Lots of good advice in here, but I wanted to add one more tip:

If you are specifically looking for ways to reproduce Chinese stir-fry results, check out my post on Healthy Chinese Cooking for the Kitchen Impaired (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=148848#post148848) for exact marinade and sauce recipes and cooking techniques.

Cook it slow, stew / crock pot. And why use expensive breasts? Use thighs - tastier darker meat. Cook with vegetables, onion, garlic, herbs. The chicken will fall off the bone, it'll be delicious and good for you. Cook with some wine too.

Alternatively, a really unhealthy way to keep chicken juicy is to cover it in breadcrumbs and fry it. The breadcrumbs help to keep the moisture in. But it is not really very good for you......

Pour some white wine in a baking dish, put the chicken in, bake as usual.