Sauteing and Grilling Chicken

[knight76]

I am going to be cooking one of the creamy pasta recipe's from my other thread but am after tips on how to saute or fry chicken so it does not come out dry?

Chicken for me, seems to cook through, but be dry and quite hard. I am guessing sauteing in butter would help this but what is the secret for this?

I tend to cook chicken so it is completely white all the way through as I am worried about being poisoned.

 

[GB]

I can not recommend this enough...Try brining your chicken before cooking. You will be amazed at how juicy and flavorful it turns out even if you overcook it.

Just mix up a batch of salt water. I do not measure, but it should be pleasantly salty. Maybe a little less salty than the ocean. Soak the chicken in this brine for 2 hours in the fridge. You can go as long as three, but I would not go past that. I find 2 hours is idea though. This is for breasts by the way. A whole chicken can brine for longer.

Dry the chicken and cook however you want.

 

[pacanis]

I trust my thermometer when it comes to chicken, so as not to overcook it. It's always moist, whether done in a pan or on the grill. I don't see as how the switch to butter will change your results.
But you are better to overcook it rather than undercook it.
I go by 180F for breast meat and 160F for thighs. Stuck in the meat and not a bone. And actually, I usually like the thighs a bit warmer, as dark meat is juicier anyway.
I'm sure others will post their temps, too.

 

[Andy M.]

Chicken breasts are uneven in thickness so you cannot avoid thin parts being overdone by the time the thicker parts are cooked properly. You can minimize this by cooking the breasts until they are just done and no more.

If you are cooking them whole, I recommend browning them in a skillet on both sides then putting them into a 350 F oven to finish the cooking with a gentler heat.

Cook the breasts to an internal temperature of 161 F measured at the thickest part of the breast. They are done and safe at that temp. Remove them to a plate and cover loosely with foil for 20 minutes to rest and allow the juices to be reabsorbed by the meat.

I cook thighs to 180 F. They remain juicy longer.

 

[knight76]

Hmm, Brining. after the brining period can I just take the chicken pieces out and put them straight into the skillet with a bit of a drain off, or do I need to let them sit to get rid of surface wetness?

Found a bit of an article here: Brining - How to Brine Poultry, Fish and Meat with recipes and information.

 

[Andy M.]

Pat them dry with paper towel.

 

[Constance]

You might also consider steaming the chicken.

 

[GB]

after the brining period can I just take the chicken pieces out and put them straight into the skillet with a bit of a drain off, or do I need to let them sit to get rid of surface wetness?

Well if you put them into the pan still wet then it will be harder to brown and they will steam a bit. If that is OK with you then yes you can put them right in the pan. If you want to brown then then patting them dry first would be beneficial.

 

[knight76]

For the purpose of the fettuccine dish I would like to brown it as it will look better against the white of the sauce.

With brining - Couldn't you brine a nice thick piece of ribeye and then pat dry, sear and oven cook to finish for a nice juicy steak? I was reading in my link I posted about brining that you need to add some saltpeter to the brine to ensure the meat does not turn white during brining.

 

[GB]

There is no need to brine steak. If cooked properly it will not be dry.

 

[knight76]

There is no need to brine steak. If cooked properly it will not be dry.

Somehow I knew that was going to be the answer

 

[bowlingshirt]

Put the breast between two layes of plastic wrap and gently use a mallet to flatten and even out the chicken. You should then be able to saute the breast to nice golden brown color on the outside while maintaining a juicy inside.

 

[jennyema]

For the purpose of the fettuccine dish I would like to brown it as it will look better against the white of the sauce.

With brining - Couldn't you brine a nice thick piece of ribeye and then pat dry, sear and oven cook to finish for a nice juicy steak? I was reading in my link I posted about brining that you need to add some saltpeter to the brine to ensure the meat does not turn white during brining.

Brining doesn't really work with beef the way it works with pork, chicken and shrimp. So you shouldn't try to brine beef.

And NO, there is no reason to add saltpeter to a brine. Salt and sugar do not turn meat white.

 

[ironchef]

If you need to brine beef--especially ribeye--to make it juicy, you've got problems.

For safety reasons, chicken *should* be cooked to a minimum of 160 degrees F to kill any possible salmonella, but chicken does go from a raw to cooked state at 140 degrees F. Regardless, if your chicken is not brined, cooking it higher than 165 will result in dry cardboard. If you don't have a thermometer, do the juice test. Poke a small hole in the chicken all the way to the center. If the juices run clear, you're good to go.

 

[DaveSoMD]

Put the breast between two layes of plastic wrap and gently use a mallet to flatten and even out the chicken. You should then be able to saute the breast to nice golden brown color on the outside while maintaining a juicy inside.

Exact;y what I was going to post. I do this all the time with Bnls/Sknls breasts. The other option is to roast bone-in and skin-on breasts in the oven at 350 degrees. The fat from the skin wil help keep the breast meat moist.

Depends on what you are planning to use the chicken for.

 

[GB]

If you don't have a thermometer, do the juice test. Poke a small hole in the chicken all the way to the center. If the juices run clear, you're good to go.

This is all accurate information. The only problem I have with this method is that juices will run clear at 185. They will run clear at 200. This method only tells you if the chicken is safe to eat because it has been cooked to a high enough temp. It does not tell you if you have overcooked it. Of course if you do not have a thermometer then it is a great way to know if you cooked the chicken until done.

 

[pacanis]

My thermometer must be 15 degrees off, because the breastmeat of the chicken I cook is always cooked to 180 and has never resulted in dry cardboard. And I don't let it raise to 180, it is 180 when it comes off the grill over stove.
I'll have to check my digital probe against my old dial thermometer.

 

[jennyema]

Pacanis

180 is way too much for breast meat. Plus if it's 180 when you take it off the heat it''ll be 190 or more after, accounting for carry-over temperature. Just the physics of cooking means that that meat will, in fact be drier that meat cooked to a lower temperature.

Your thermometer may not be to blame. Take the chicken off the heat at 160 and cover it for a few minutes. Then cut into it. I'll bet you $$$ that it will be fully cooked and pretty juicey.

 

[pacanis]

I'll give it a try next time, Jennyema, after I compare two thermometers, but the thermomter must be off for what I've been reading. Because believe me, I'm the last person that will eat a chicken breast if it is dry. I don't even like white meat.

 

[GB]

You don't need to compare two thermometers. Just boil some water and put the one thermometer in. It should read 212 (assuming you are at sea level).