Making chicken without it coming-out dry?

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Have you ever tried salting the chicken, putting on a rub/seasonings, and putting the chicken in the fridge over night? Salting the chicken releases the fluid which then goes back into the meat along with the rub. Makes the chicken both moist and flavorful. I think this is called dry brining.
 
I second the brining suggestions. In an unseasoned chicken, there is a very small window between when the chicken reaches a safe temperature and when the proteins contract so as to squeeze the juices out. Usually, at least part of the breast gets dry before the rest of the chicken gets to a safe temperature.

Brining (which includes dry rubs containing salt that stay on longer than six hours) serves to unwind those proteins a bit, so they are less effective at squeezing the juice out. This buys a bit of time for that window between “done” and “over-done”. It also results in meat that is more evenly seasoned throughout. (Caveat: the salt and sugar go in, but many spice flavors, being “oily” in their chemical make-up, do not.)

I’ve also had good luck with butterflying and pulling the legs up to protect the narrow part of the breast from the heat.

Be sure to the chicken set long enough for the juices to re-distribute before slicing. If you cut into it too soon after taking it out of the oven, the juices that would have gone back into the breast will wind up on your cutting board.

One caveat: As the salt sits in the meat, more and more of those proteins unwind. As you wait longer and longer, the meat will get a softer and softer texture. If you find the texture of the chicken is too soft and ham-like for you, don’t brine quite so far in advance.

Also, if you find brines leave the chicken tasting too salty, switch to a brine that uses both sugar and salt. The chicken’s flavor will be more balanced.

Finally, if you are grilling or baking a boneless chicken breast, take the time to pound the breast out a bit, so that the difference between the thickest and thinnest sections isn’t so great. When baking, I also tuck that skinny little bit under a thicker section, so the thickness of the whole piece is as close to even as possible.
 
Geez, now everytime i see this thread title, i see the word ‘children’ instead of chicken.

pretty funny if you ask me. Although i do recommend looking up online for advice like at martha stewart. They have GREAT cooking tips. 🙂 and many delicious meals that you can make.
 
BlueShadow123 said:
Geez, now everytime i see this thread title, i see the word ‘children’ instead of chicken.

pretty funny if you ask me. Although i do recommend looking up online for advice like at martha stewart. They have GREAT cooking tips. 🙂 and many delicious meals that you can make.
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You might enjoy *The Witch’s Guide to Cooking with Children *by Keith McGowan and Yoko Tanaka. 😃
 
JAGCath28 said:
One of the best ways to keep chicken from coming out dry is to brine it for an hour prior to cooking. Brining would consist of putting the chicken in a bag (or bowl) of warm water with a decent amount of salt. The salt causes the chicken to absorb the water. Once you are done brining, you rinse the chicken off to get the excess salt off and then cook as you desire.

We tried this when we made chicken marsala and it came out wonderful. If we don’t brine, we marinade the chicken. Both methods do the same kind of thing. We’ve even brined whole turkeys and whole chickens. The result is so juicy and delicious. The longer you let it brine the better, but an hour would work on smaller pieces of chicken.

God Bless,

Jessica
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Yep!! Nothing like it.👍
 
LotusCarsLtd said:
Anyone have any tips for cooking chicken so it’s moist and juicy and yet not undercooked?

Pax!
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Brine it!

If no one has mentioned this before, throw a bit of sugar and salt and maybe a bay leaf into water to cover the chicken, refrigerate, brine for an hour or two, drain, pat dry, and cook as usual.

I use a zip plastic bag to brine it, less mess to clean up.

Works on whole chicken and chicken pieces alike.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
Brine it!

If no one has mentioned this before, throw a bit of sugar and salt and maybe a bay leaf into water to cover the chicken, refrigerate, brine for an hour or two, drain, pat dry, and cook as usual.

I use a zip plastic bag to brine it, less mess to clean up.

Works on whole chicken and chicken pieces alike.
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Brining not only allows you to keep your chicken moist, it also offers you the opportunity to impart flavor! Add all types of herbs and flavorings to your brine and you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Here’s a basic Brine ratio that works every time: 1 cup of Kosher Salt/ Gallon of water. The rest is up to you!
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
You ain’t et chicken till you et brined beer can chicken! 😃
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Honestly, I’ve become more partial to brined, butterflied, and roasted chicken, where you truss the legs up over the thin part of the breast. Beer can chicken has really moist breast meat, no doubt about that, but for some reason it has come to taste washed-out to me.
 
EasterJoy said:
Honestly, I’ve become more partial to brined, butterflied, and roasted chicken, where you truss the legs up over the thin part of the breast. Beer can chicken has really moist breast meat, no doubt about that, but for some reason it has come to taste washed-out to me.
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You just need more beer. 😉

When I’m cooking not-brined chicken off the bone: breast chunks, cutlets, whatever, rubbed or marinated, either grilled or panned, I always make sure to cook it till it’s JUST done.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
You just need more beer. 😉
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In the cook or in the can? 😉

Incidentally, Cook’s Illustrated did a test and found that the quality of the beer had no effect on the quality of the chicken. You can buy the cheap stuff, use two cans for three chickens, and save the good stuff for direct consumption.

Soda doesn’t work, but they said lemonade was a reasonable substitute, for people who don’t buy alcohol. Herbs put into the beer can didn’t get into the chicken; put those directly on to the bird.

If you don’t have a grill handy, a convection oven will work.
Sailor_Kenshin said:
When I’m cooking not-brined chicken off the bone: breast chunks, cutlets, whatever, rubbed or marinated, either grilled or panned, I always make sure to cook it till it’s JUST done.
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Yes. That’s just to 160 in the breast, and just over 165 or so in the thigh. If you don’t get the dark meat a bit more done, the barely-cooked blood near the bone can give the meat a tinny taste.

IOW, consistently good chicken that’s bigger than a cutlet requires a good thermometer.

I think the other biggest thing people forget to do is to let a big piece of roasted meat rest before you cut into it. That’s very important. We don’t eat the skin, so I like to let chickens stand breast-side down. (The skin gets a bit soggier, that way.)
 
If you’re going to BBQ / grill the chicken, brine it first. Brine it in a mix of cold/ice water with kosher salt, brown sugar and some sprigs of fresh thyme. If you’re going to fry or bake it, put the pieces in a zip lock bag and cover with buttermilk. Flip it a few times so that both sides can soak it in.
 
Just to set the record straight, solar cooking will NOT poison you. That was not a responsible thing to say. The temperature in the pot is hot, the food is not just sitting there.

It is the same method that a crockpot uses, and they don’t poison people either.

In undeveloped countries, they use solar cookers to not only feed themselves, they use them to boil their water so it is safe for the people to drink, it saves lives.

She asked for ideas on how to make chicken that wasn’t dry, and I told her how I do it.
 
EasterJoy said:
In the cook or in the can? 😉

Incidentally, Cook’s Illustrated did a test and found that the quality of the beer had no effect on the quality of the chicken. You can buy the cheap stuff, use two cans for three chickens, and save the good stuff for direct consumption.
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In the cook, of course. 😉

For beer can chicken we buy what we call ‘hair beer.’ Beer good enough to wash your hair in, but not to drink… 😛

Oh, and you can always mail me the skin. We’re happy to eat it!
 
LotusCarsLtd said:
Anyone have any tips for cooking chicken so it’s moist and juicy and yet not undercooked?

Pax!
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You have a crock pot? That seems to work for me. I have a large crock pot, I can put a small (whole) chicken in it…and I add cream of chicken soup or broth or whatever I happen to have on hand.
Sometimes I add veggies, sometimes not.
 
I hate to give all my secrets away, but here goes ( I am a master griller and smoker).

You can use beer can chicken, but there is an even better way.
  1. Make a rub (lemon pepper, salt, rosemary, and a pinch of Rosemary)… Taste the rub, if it does not taste good, you will not like it on your chicken.
  2. Get any chicken whole, or pieces with the the skin. You can remove the skin after cooking if needed. Use olive oil or mustard, rub the chickens down with the mustard or oil. Loosen the skin also and get the oil/mustard under the skin. If you use the mustard, you will not taste it after the chicken is done.
  3. Sprinkle the rub (lightly) on the chicken pieces, also when you get your hands dirty and full of the rub putting in on the outside, get some rub under the chicken skin. PUT THE SKIN BACK.
  4. Get a pan that has a rack in it. Some call it a roasting pan, they are not very expensive. Spray it with oil or spray so that it will clean easy. Add the chickens so that they are not touching WITH SKIN UP.
  5. Set the oven to 250F-300F. (chicken will go in middle rack)
  6. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT STEP, MOST OTHERS NEVER DO THIS. Add water to the bottom of the pan up to the rack. The reason for the water is that the chickens during roasting will drip lots of fat. The fat will fall into the water and NOT FLASH OR BURN. When it burns , the burnt taste gets on the chicken. You will not have burnt tasting chicken. DO NOT LET THE WATER EVAPORATE OFF. Keep adding water as needed. Add chicken to oven middle rack.
  7. When the tops/skin of the chickens, are looking roasted and turn crispy (you can get them as crispy as a potato chip) they are done. The temp at this point of the chicken should be >160F or more like 180F from my numerous times of doing this.
  8. When the chickens look done, remove and let them rest for 5 mins. THEY WILL BE HOT.
  9. They should be tender and delicious, my familiy eats these chickens all the time. I buy them on sale and pay 1/2 of what you can buy them for.
If you have questions IM me. I guarantee you will have good chicken.
 
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