Why does baked chicken always come out so dry and chewy? What can I do to make it more appetizing?

Question

I've been using those add-your-own-chicken meals lately. The sides come out great but the chicken sucks. The only good baked chicken recipe I have is for Chicken Divan. Besides that, it tastes better when I fry it.

And I'm talking about chicken breasts. When I do a whole chicken I don't have these problems.

Answer 1

Try marinating the chicken before you cook it. I marinate mine for a full day.
While it's baking, baste the chicken, too.

Answer 2

Easy yummy recipe:

If you have the skin on, take a knife and make a small slit in the skin at the side of the chicken breast. The skin will lift up just enough for you to place about 1/2 a teaspoon of rosemary leaves under the skin. Also, put 1 Tablespoon of real butter under the skin. Salt the chicken as usual. Place about 2 cups of a good orange juice, (the Simply Orange brand is really good,) inside the baking dish along with 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil. Put the chicken breast down in the orange juice and oil. Cover the chicken with aluminium foil. If it is a whole chicken you can insert 1/2 a pealed orange in the cavity of the chicken. (Don't eat the orange after it is cooked. It could harbor bacteria.) Bake the chicken for about 20 min. Lift the foil. WATCH OUT FOR THE STEAM! Make a small slit in the chicken to check for doneness. If the meat looks translucent then it is not done. Keep baking until you are sure it is done. Check about every 8 minutes.

A nice light gravy is good on this chicken. If you aren't experienced with making gravy, just buy some in a jar. If you want to make the gravy, use some chicken stock and thicken it. Add a little rosemary and thyme to it; bring to a boil. Drizzle it over the chicken.

Serve it with orange slices and mashed potatoes. Asparagus or peas are also a good.

Answer 3

Be sure you're not overcooking it; as the proteins denature and curl up, they squeeze tighter and tighter together until they wring all the moisture out of the meat. I've always cooked pretty much from scratch (except for baking... a little too fiddly for my taste), so I'm not sure what all goes into the add-chicken-and-heat kind of dinner-in-a-box... If it's telling you to add cooked chicken before heating, you should add par-cooked chicken (just barely cooked until not pink); that gives you a little bit more time between raw and shoe leather. If you're talking about just roasting a chicken, moderate the time and temperature to make sure it cooks evenly throughout; start on high heat (like 500F) uncovered to brown the skin nicely, then remove, turn the heat down to 300F, cover the breasts with a sheet of heavy aluminum foil and return to the oven for another 30-35 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken and the efficiency of your oven. If you have a probe thermometer, by all means use it -- you want an internal temperature of 161 degrees.

The recipe I've linked to below is a decent one for broiled chicken, which actually has you butterfly it (cooks a good bit faster that way)

Answer 4

Chill the chicken in your refrigerator for 1 hour before cooking.

Heat the oven to the specified temperature before inserting the chicken

Place 3 or 4 large stalks of celery on the bottom of the baking pan. Lay the chicken, breast-side up, on top of the celery.

Place a sheet of tin-foil over the chicken.

When cooked, the chicken should be firm and moist.

Answer 5

I always had this problem till I found this recipe from Emeril on www.foodnetwork.com I made it just as the recipe called for but you can use any part of a cut-up chicken (with the bone in). You can also modify the recipe to suit your own taste. For example, my husband dislikes rosemary so I substituted another herb. Don't let the 40 cloves of garlic and onions fool you, by the time this is cooked you would never know you added that many, they are not overpowering. This recipe is quite delisious and it comes out juicy and moist every time. Oh, at the end when I take the chicken out of the pan, I stir in a little cream to thicken the sauce...YUMMY!!


40 Cloves of Garlic Luscious Legs Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2006



Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings
User Rating:




6 chicken leg quarters, thighs and drumsticks connected (about 3 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
40 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Rinse the chicken leg quarters under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season all over with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet and, when hot, add the chicken leg quarters and cook until browned on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the remaining salt and a pinch of the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have wilted and are lightly golden and the garlic cloves are caramelized slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, rosemary and lemon juice to the skillet and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the skillet and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the chicken with lemon zest. Cover the skillet and transfer to the oven. Cook for 30 minutes, or until chicken legs are cooked through and tender. Serve immediately, with some of the pan juices ladled over all. Serve with Basmati Rice.

If you are looking for a great recipe for chicken cutlets that come moist, juicy and favorful check out Tyler Florence's recipe for "Chicken Francese" on the same website... Out of this world!

Answer 6

Screw the add-your-chicken meals. Mine's healthier, and easy.

Take chicken breasts, add salt, pepper, and garlic salt to them, then place them in a hot skillet. (Use a little olive oil in the bottom of the pan) Once the chicken has browned on both sides, add water to the pan, (enough so that there's about an inch of water in the pan), then cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. The chicken's juicy, cooked all the way through, and healthy!

You can play with the recipe as much as you want. Sometimes I season the chicken with curry powder and chili powder, and serve it with some white rice cooked in coconut milk for a "thai/indian" themed dish. Or, use paprika and chili powder, and serve with spanish rice for a mexican theme. It's so easy!

Answer 7

That's easy, you're baking it too long on too high of a temperature. Try lowering the oven temp by 25 degrees and keep a close eye on the chicken. Generally about 10 minutes per pound of boneless chicken is the rule for baking. But keep an eye on it non-the less. As soon as the juices run clear, it's done! And it'll be juicy and delicious!

Answer 8

It is more fattening, but I like to bake it with the skin on. I don't eat the skin, I just use it to make the chicken moist.
Have you tried marinating the chicken? You don't want to use anything with a lot of salt, because that will dry it out. Also, a trick that I learned, is that if you just sear the chicken in a frying pan on each side, then bake it, it tends to be more juicy.

Answer 9

well, i stuff a whole chicken with onions, and various citrus fruits, but when you grill chicken breasts on the grill, i put thin slices on lime on top of the chicken. i suppose the same could work for the oven.

i also do chicken and rice, and the rice is first prepared with a small can of cream of mushroom soup as the liquid and a 1/4cup of a little bit of water, then place the chicken breasts in the rice mixture in a casorole dish in the oven at 350 for about 30 min or until the chicken is done.

Answer 10

You are not using enough water. A chicken needs 2 glasses of water to cook. Keep your chicken covered. After cooking for an hour and if there is still water. Turn up the heat and let all the water cook away. Don't forget to uncover the chicken. Will be the tastiest chicken.

Answer 11

I cover my chicken breasts with boiling water, a bay leaf and a little onion then bake in the oven. This doesnt take long - but make the obvious checks before removing it!

Sounds yukky i know - but if you want to cook chicken to eat cold, this is the best way. The chicken is moist and somehow retains stacks of flavour.