How do you cook chicken so it is moist?

Question

I cook chicken breasts a lot - fry, bake, crock pot, oven...and can never get them moist...help!

Answer 1

I like "snakecharmer's" recipe, but my wife is allergic to MSG in the packaged soup mix.

Over the years, my family has loved "DFC" (Daddy's Fried Chicken).....our own recipe for breading the boneless skinless breasts:

Make sure you "Filet" the breasts into more manageable size pieces, before cooking. about 1/4 inch is great thickness.

You need to buy a bottle of Chicken Wing hot sauce, preferably one w/o MSG.

You need stale crackers, but fresh crackers will do. I love corn flake crumbs mixed with stale cracker crumbs.

1) mix 1 beaten egg with 1 tbsp milk & 2 tbsp hot sauce
2) mix crumbs, salt, paprika, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, sage, thyme, basil, curry, ginger. (Just trace amounts of the last 4, I did that so I'd have '11 herbs & spices' like KFC...lol)
3) dip the breasts in the hot sauce & egg mixture, then turn the coated breasts into the flour & spice mixture, coating it evenly.
4) fry to a golden crispy brown on both sides. This can be a trial & error process. Make sure your canola oil is hot enough to fry potatos in.

The coating, the breading, ensures the chicken is moist & tender.

Answer 2

I'll give you my top 3 ways:

1) In the oven, bake with flavored rice (already prepared from a box) spread over top of it.

2) In the oven, bake marinated chicken wrapped in tin foil. (I have an excellent, easy recipe for lemon chicken using this technique. See the link in my profile.)

3) In a frying pan, cook 6 minutes per side on med hi heat, turning ONLY ONCE.

Btw, we only buy them frozen (they don't have to be fresh as someone suggested). And turning them frequently in the pan is the worst thing you can do.

Answer 3

If frying don't cook them too fast and turn frequently. Use olive oil. If cooking in the oven try doing it on a wire mesh over a roasting tin and spread with butter. Put a pint of water in the tin so that as the chicken cooks it gets steamed as well. You can use the water to make gravy afterwards. I cook whole chickens this way with a generous knob of butter inside and wedge of lemon and half an onion. The juices drop into the water and make a delicious stock. Make sure you use good quality chicken. The dryness is possibly due to using meat from battery hens. Try to get free range or organically fed if you can.

Answer 4

Chicken breasts have little connective tissue; that means they can be cooked quickly because the long cooking time needed to soften connective tissue isn't necessary. They also have little fat, which means they can become dry if cooked too long. One way to ensure juicy, moist chicken is to brine it before cooking. To brine chicken, place thawed chicken breasts in a solution of salt and water for about 1 hour in the refrigerator. The cells will absorb water through osmosis.

Answer 5

I always put the oven on 350, place chicken breasts in foil lined pan, and cook for 15 minutes. I then take it out and let it sit for 5 minutes in the pan. I always get nice, juicy chicken that is just to the point of not being pink, right where it's the juiciest!

Answer 6

First of all, you're clearly overcooking the meat. So step one is to cut down your cooking times.

And the best way to keep any meat juicy is to sear it first. Get all sides browned at very high heat, then either turn it down and let it cook out, or start baking. Searing the outsides locks the juices in, and unless you overcook it, they'll stay in.

Your best bet is searing in cooking oil or olive oil. Heat the pan, put the oil in. You want the oil hot enough to almost be smoking, and if you drop a drop of water into it, the water will bounce and crackle. This will not burn the meat unless you keep it on too long, you do it just long enough to get a good brown color all the way around.

Answer 7

I agree with the first answer, crock pots are great if you have lots of time to let them sit. If you don't have lots of time, buy a foreman grill, mine always keeps whatever I'm cooking very moist and delicious. It also removes excess fat for a leaner chicken breast.

Answer 8

I must agree with mcspic63 and his very simple answer. There are a lot of good ideas on cooking chicken listed here, but when it comes down to it you should be able to cook it any regular method without it drying out, and people tend to overcook white meat, not realizing how quick it cooks through. That, and quality of meat always makes a difference - skip the cheap stuff.

Answer 9

Marinate them beforehand or soak them for a while in a little salt water (brining) before cooking. It's very quick, just put them in a ziplock bag with some marinade/brine, close bag, shake, leave in fridge for an hour before cooking.

Here are some basic recipes (scroll down to the chicken section):
http://southernfood.about.com/od/bbqsaucemarinade/r/bl30408g.htm

Answer 10

Down here in south La. we use the Cajun Injector. It's a long needle used to inject flavorings in meat. This is a excellent tenderizer and moisting technique.