How do they make chicken so tender?

[CarolPa]

My mother used to bake a cake that called for sour milk and she used the vinegar in it, but I never thought about that with buttermilk. Good idea. I bought a fresh carton on plain yogurt yesterday and am planning to use that for now.

Thanks

 

[Selkie]

I just finished baking four chicken leg quarters this morning, and they are fall-off-the-bone tender and very moist. I used NOTHING on nor with them. In other words I baked them directly out of the grocery store package.
I had placed them in the refrigerator yesterday morning, but they were still partially frozen.
Placing them skin side up onto a wire rack on a cookie sheet, and put them into an oven set at 325F. Set the timer for 30 minutes. At the sound of the timer, flip the leg quarters, set the oven temperature to 450F and start the timer for another 30 minutes. At the sound of the timer, flip the leg quarters for the third time. They should be skin side up. Bake at the same 450F for a final 30 minutes (90 minutes total). Remove from the oven and let cool untouched for about 20 minutes. Checking with a digital thermometer, the thigh should reach about 200F.
Serve your perfectly baked chicken.

 

[CharlieD]

CarolPa, Buttermilk pancakes are great too.

 

[Mad Cook]

CarolPa, Buttermilk pancakes are great too.

Over here scones used to be made with buttermilk or sour milk but yoghourt is easier to find and has equally good results. I would happily substitute yoghourt for buttermilk in any recipe.

 

[Caslon]

I was watching PBS's show Cook's Kitchen last night and they made some chicken Parmesan. The cook sprinkled a liberal amount of kosher salt over the filleted boneless chicken breasts to be fried in panko and cheese , to soften up the fillet breast meat. After 20 minutes, she paper toweled off the moisture that had collected and put the coated fillets in hot oil. I guess a coating of salt for 20 minutes before frying chicken fillets does good things. (?)

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I made home made chicken fingers a couple nights back. I simply deboned breast half, and a thigh. I sliced the chicken into strips. I lightly salted it, dipped it in egg wash, then into a zipper bag with seasoned flour. I let it hang out in the bag for about five minutes, giving the flour a chance to glue itself to the meat. After that, the meat was removed, a piece at a time, bounced against my fingers to remove excess flour, and placed into 360' oil for deep frying. By the time the coating was lightly browned, the chicken was cooked through, but not overcooked at all. It was so tender and juicy that you would swear you'd had an expert in the kitchen. But it was just me.

I still maintain that you don't need to do much with chicken to get it tender and succulent, other than cook it to the correct temperature. This has been true for me with fried chicken, chicken fingers, barbecued chicken, grilled chicken, roasted whole chicken, tempura chicken, panko coated chicken, etc. Oh, and choose a fryer. It's a young chicken that hasn't yet had a chance to toughen up. Roasters tend to be older hens that are made for stewing, long roasting, and soups. They are larger, and can be tough if cooked quickly.

Marinades are acidic. Acids cause muscle fibers to tighten up, resulting in a tougher outer surface. The marinade doesn't flavor the inner meat, just its surface. A brine contains no acidic ingredients, and will flavor the meat all the way through. A proper brine can also tenderize meat.

There are enzymes in milk and dairy products that will help break down muscle tissue, rendering the proteins more tender. I use milk sometimes to help tenderize lean pork, or chicken. Raw pineapple (not cooked or canned) will also tenderize meat, as will papaya, and kiwi.

The things I post are proven methods, that I have learned from others, or by experimentation, and are used in my kitchen every day. When I don't know something, I ask, try the answers I get, and use the techniques that work. Then, when I'm satisfied that I can duplicate the results every time, I share them with anyone and everyone.

Hope this helps.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North