How to cook baked chicken w/o it being tough?

Question

Everytime I bake chicken breasts, it comes out dry and tough. What can I do to have it moist and juicy? I wash my meat, season it, and throw it in the oven. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

instead of just throwing in oven....put it in a pan with a little water and butter and sprinkle some of the seasoning in the water ( i like to use the lipton soup mix seasonings..any flavor you like..garlic and herb is delicious) cover pan with aluminum foil. poke a few holes in it with the fork. bake it as usual. you will see a huge difference is flavor and moistness

Answer 2

I'm not a gourmet chef by any stretch, but I seem to do a good job with this kind of thing. I think that you may be baking yours too long at too low of a heat, so they're losing all the moisture. This is what happens when people grill their chicken at a low temp for too long on the bbq- tough and dry. I grill mine basically the same way I broil them.

Here's how I make chicken breasts in the oven:

Take the breast and coat it lightly with olive oil. Put whatever spices on both sides. Line a small metal pan (9x9?) with foil. Put oven on broil. Put breasts in pan and in the oven, on a lower rack. Turn after the breasts start getting light golden brown a bit on the top, then cook until they're the same on the second side. If a meat thermometer still shows they're under 165 degrees, then I turn the broiler off, but leave the oven door closed for a few more minutes. I think it usually takes 20 minutes total.

This is even easier in a toaster oven that has a broil feature.

Answer 3

Simple and cheap seem to apply to your mother in law. Fix her some rice, or potatoes with it. Make gravy from the drippings from the chicken that you have seasoned earlier. I hope you live where you have access to some greens for a nice salad. Throw some cran-raisins or something just a little exotic in it apple, raisins. Some sort of frozen vegetables if you can't get fresh. Act like you are interested in what she is saying, ask her a pertinent question about what she is babbling on about. Make sure she gets a breast if that is her first choice.

Answer 4

You may be over cooking it. The way I cook my chicken, and it comes out juicy almost everytime, is to wash, season and then wrap the chicken in foil. I then put it in the oven for 35 minutes at 350.

Also, something I noticed when cooking chicken, if it is frozen and we thaw it in the microwave, it comes out rubbery after cooking. Not sure why though.

Answer 5

I always cover mine with foil but you need to add liquid, any kind of your choice. Check the chicken every so often to make sure the liquid hasn't dried up. And slow cook it. I usually put mine on 350 and cook it for a couple of hours (a whole chicken).

Answer 6

You are cooking it too long. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the cut, and by your oven's temp. Reduce your baking time by 5 or 10 minutes. You may need to experiment, i.e., the first time, bake for 5 minutes less and test a piece by cutting the fattest part of the breast to see if it's cooked, and adjust the time accordingly.

Answer 7

I almost always cook chicken in the oven. This is how I cook thawed boneless, skinless chicken breast:

Wash
Marinate or season
Bake at 350 for 27 minutes...I promise you it will come out perfectly tender and juicy.

Good luck!!

Answer 8

well, usually with mine I add foil to cover the chicken to keep the steam in.... I also add olive oil to the bottom of the dish.... But prepare the meat the same way, but not a lot of salt based products since I heard too much salt takes out the moisture.

Hope this helps!

Answer 9

I've found that pounding chicken makes for the most tender. Just stick it in a bag and wack away with the side of a mallet until it's twice as wide as before.

**I like Jossi's idea and will try it tonight! (I called ;-))

Answer 10

Try soaking the chicken breasts in brine solution of 1 cup salt and 1 cup sugar per gallon of water. Just 2 hours in this solution will impregnate the chicken breast with both flavor and moisture, and you will love the results.