I"m not sure that the chicken is not the fault here. We went out to eat a while back. Olive Garden I think it was and I got the grilled chicken, which is usually pretty good. I had to send it back. First bite tasted like rubber. Thought it might just be me but the second bite was no better. Let the wife try it and she spit it out. They fixed another order and that one was fine. Worst chicken I ever had.
Rubber chicken
- Thread starter fieldgrade
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These were “very large” chicken breasts. “Big” poultry, especially boneless/skinless poultry, needs all the help it can get to stay tender.
Were they brined? Marinated? Were they butterflied? Malleted down to a uniform thickness?
Brines help season and hydrate meat through osmosis. Marinades can also tenderize if you use specific ingredients with enzymes that break down proteins, like citrus juices and pineapple. Butterflying, or malleting to a uniform thickness, means the whole piece of meat cooks through at once, preventing a “thinner” end from getting halfway to jerky while the thicker end cooks through.
Also, to the people doing chicken breasts in the slow-cooker… where is that coming from? Breasts have basically no fat or connective tissue. There is nothing to render, gelatinize, or break down. Slow-cookers do better with bone-in thighs, or better yet, fatty, sinewy cuts of beef and pork.
If you want breasts cooked in a sauce, just braise them in a Dutch oven or deep pan until cooked through. You can get breasts near-fork tender without dehydrating them completely.
Were they brined? Marinated? Were they butterflied? Malleted down to a uniform thickness?
Brines help season and hydrate meat through osmosis. Marinades can also tenderize if you use specific ingredients with enzymes that break down proteins, like citrus juices and pineapple. Butterflying, or malleting to a uniform thickness, means the whole piece of meat cooks through at once, preventing a “thinner” end from getting halfway to jerky while the thicker end cooks through.
Also, to the people doing chicken breasts in the slow-cooker… where is that coming from? Breasts have basically no fat or connective tissue. There is nothing to render, gelatinize, or break down. Slow-cookers do better with bone-in thighs, or better yet, fatty, sinewy cuts of beef and pork.
If you want breasts cooked in a sauce, just braise them in a Dutch oven or deep pan until cooked through. You can get breasts near-fork tender without dehydrating them completely.