You asked: Why are the chicken breasts I cook rubbery and stringy?
This is a question we received in one of our live weekly chats, where we help you level up your skills in the kitchen.
I know exactly what this reader is talking about, having just experienced this in a recent batch of tandoori-style chicken kebabs I made for my family. Even before I cooked it, I could tell while cutting the meat into pieces that it was going to be tough and stringy. This is a well-documented condition called woody breast. It is a quality, not a safety, issue.
Woody breast has been studied for a while, and essentially what we're detecting is more fibrous, tougher meat. Various factors are at play, including the industry's move toward the rapid growth of chickens and other environmental variables. It sounds as if there has been some movement toward better detecting the condition before the meat reaches consumers buying breasts, but we're not totally there yet. (When it is detected, that meat can be used instead for more processed items, such as patties and nuggets, where the texture is less problematic.)
The good/bad news, then, is that it's probably not something this reader is doing wrong. Once you've bought this kind of meat, there really isn't a whole lot you can do to mitigate the condition in terms of cooking. Even my long time spent marinating it in yogurt did not help.
I will say that if overcooking chicken breasts is an issue (it's easy to do), that can certainly exacerbate the woody breasts. If you're not committed to white meat, chicken thighs and legs tend to be far more forgiving, particularly at higher cooking temperatures. The best thing to do, regardless of which cut you pick, is to use an instant-read thermometer to confirm you're not taking it over 165 degrees for white meat and 195 degrees for dark meat. Certain cooking methods, including poaching or using thin cutlets that finish in minutes (see: Lemon Chicken, pictured above), can help ensure moist meat as well.
Say goodbye to dry chicken breasts with these 4 tips
You asked: How do I adjust chicken recipes for different-size birds?
How to poach chicken breasts for moist, flavorful meat
Food safety tips for chicken: Don't wash it, clean your hands and more
Take the guesswork out of cooking with an instant-read thermometer
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