OT - Cooking Chicken Breasts

ChinaDogSunflower

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Aug 26, 2012
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First, I puncture the breasts thoroughly. Then, I submerge them in Dales for 24-48hrs. Cook to your liking
 

PooPopsBaldHead

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Dec 15, 2017
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Strain Stubs Chili, Lime, and Ginger marinade. Inject the liquid into the thighs and breasts. Separate the skin from the meat but leave it intact. Rub the solids you strained under the skin of the breasts and thighs. Pat dry. Cover the entire bird in Plowboys Yardbird seasoning. Truss up the bird

Throw it on the rotisserie at 350 for an hour and a half.

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Give the breast to some other shmuck and take a whole quarter. Both if you're really hungry.

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It's the juiciest, crispy skinned, and most flavor packed chicken you can make. Brining is better than nothing, but poultry is best when it's injected. Mix and match your flavors and seasoning, but straining the marinade and rubbing the goodies under the skin is legit. And the rotisserie over hot coals inside a closed lid destroys every other method of cooking chicken (at least unbattered chicken.)
 

blacklistedbully

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Apr 9, 2010
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Brining is a must for chicken or turkey. No other way to effectively impart flavor to the meat itself. If you don't have the time or will to brine, pound those breasts to about 1/2" flat, put on your favorite dry-rub and pan-fry the way you like. Breast meat will still be bland, but you'll get enough of your dry-rub with each bite to compensate.
 

Ranchdawg

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Dec 13, 2012
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Chicken breasts are just about tasteless. If you want taste go with thighs. Brining is about the only way to add flavor internally to chicken breasts. Liquid adds more flavor, ie Tobasco adds more flavor than Tony Chacheries, in a brine. My favorite breast recipe is as follows. Big skinless chicken breast, cut a slot about 3/4 through the breast down the center. Then cut a pocket on each side into the breast. Cut a block of cream cheese about 1/4 inch thick and stuff into the pockets. Add about a teaspoon of diced jalapeños to the pockets. Use toothpicks to hold the pocket closed. Season with your favorite seasoning, my favorites are a garlic butter seasoning or just regular butt rub. You can grill/smoke to 165 as is or for the unfearfull , wrap in bacon. I also think that cooking breast low and slow indirect heat allows more flavor than grilling hot and fast.
Chicken thighs are the best for flavor. We used to cook and grill wings and breasts but the price has gone up for what you get. Same with drumsticks. We moved to thighs and found them even more flavorful.
Find a good Chicken Marsala recipe and marinade overnight. https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/chicken-marsala.html
We cook it about once a month.
 

The Peeper

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Feb 26, 2008
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The old lady and I eat Costco chicken breasts several times a week for dinner (supper for those of you from the country). I season them and air fry (no breading as we like to stay lower carb). I've tried every seasoning and there's just not much difference in any.

Any special marinading/seasoning processes to really get the flavor throughout? Pan frying is the best way to cook, but Costco must get their chicken from Chernobyl Farms, because they are yuuge!

I grill or smoke them them on the weekends, but I'm looking for easy ways to cook during the week.
Dump the breasts and go with thighs only, you won't look back. I've never understood how anyone can put that white dry stringy stuff in their mouth.
 

Uncle Ruckus

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Apr 1, 2011
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Someone said sous vide - I have one, and maybe I did it wrong, but it over cooked it the one time I tried. Have to marinade. I do mine in a vacuum sealed container with my food saver. It makes it marinate way faster. Brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, garlic, w sauce, a little lemon, hot sauce. You can’t mess it up really, use whatever you want. I plan on doing sweet tea at some point. Fruit juices are good too - peach is really good.
Change up the seasonings each week. Sometimes do a bbq rub and smoke them. Sometimes make them Mexican. I’m signed up for kosmos q monthly secret seasoning thing where you get sampler bags of seasoning and you vote on whether they need to mass produce it or not - so I use the sampler a lot of times. Meahead’s Simon and Garfunkel rug is great on chicken - look up the recipe. Or, just use coarse salt and pepper, garlic, and a little paprika. Baste it with butter, garlic and herbs.
In the end, it’s hard to screw up the flavor of a chicken breast - it’s about temperature. Pull it at 160, cover with foil. It’ll rise to 165 and be perfectly juicy.
 

PooPopsBaldHead

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Dec 15, 2017
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Someone said sous vide - I have one, and maybe I did it wrong, but it over cooked it the one time I tried. Have to marinade. I do mine in a vacuum sealed container with my food saver. It makes it marinate way faster. Brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, garlic, w sauce, a little lemon, hot sauce. You can’t mess it up really, use whatever you want. I plan on doing sweet tea at some point. Fruit juices are good too - peach is really good.
Change up the seasonings each week. Sometimes do a bbq rub and smoke them. Sometimes make them Mexican. I’m signed up for kosmos q monthly secret seasoning thing where you get sampler bags of seasoning and you vote on whether they need to mass produce it or not - so I use the sampler a lot of times. Meahead’s Simon and Garfunkel rug is great on chicken - look up the recipe. Or, just use coarse salt and pepper, garlic, and a little paprika. Baste it with butter, garlic and herbs.
In the end, it’s hard to screw up the flavor of a chicken breast - it’s about temperature. Pull it at 160, cover with foil. It’ll rise to 165 and be perfectly juicy.
You probably went to hot. I did my first time with the SV.

The old 165° minimum temp is really talking about pasteurizing poultry to make it safe to eat. If it hits 165° for just a few seconds it's good. It can also pasteurize at 145° for 10 minutes. If you go 165° on the sous vide with a breast you are going to have a bag full of juice and stringy dry chicken.


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I go 145° for 1.5-2 hours depending on the thickness. I pack the bag with a little seasoning and let it soak in overnight if I can. You end up with super tender and juicy chicken but it's weird not having a little crust. I either shred it or cube it for enchiladas or chicken salad, or just kiss it on a few sides in the skillet or griddle for some kind of color if not using it in another dish.

ETA. For thighs go higher for longer 165° for 2-4 hours is best.
 

Uncle Ruckus

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Apr 1, 2011
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You probably went to hot. I did my first time with the SV.

The old 165° minimum temp is really talking about pasteurizing poultry to make it safe to eat. If it hits 165° for just a few seconds it's good. It can also pasteurize at 145° for 10 minutes. If you go 165° on the sous vide with a breast you are going to have a bag full of juice and stringy dry chicken.


View attachment 345231

I go 145° for 1.5-2 hours depending on the thickness. I pack the bag with a little seasoning and let it soak in overnight if I can. You end up with super tender and juicy chicken but it's weird not having a little crust. I either shred it or cube it for enchiladas or chicken salad, or just kiss it on a few sides in the skillet or griddle for some kind of color if not using it in another dish.

ETA. For thighs go higher for longer 165° for 2-4 hours is best.
I can’t remember the temp I went with, but it was below 165 for sure. I cooked for probably two hours then quickly seared. Just wasn’t very good. I’ll try again soon
 
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PooPopsBaldHead

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Dec 15, 2017
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I can’t remember the temp I went with, but it was below 165 for sure. I cooked for probably two hours then quickly seared. Just wasn’t very good. I’ll try again soon
Oh, it's still not going to be real good lol. It's always going to be a bit off vs cooking traditionally. Anyone telling you they get great steak, chops, or chicken off the sous vide has different standards than me I guess. It's just a matter of convenience like a crockpot.


Have you reheated your BBQ in it yet? I took mine with me this past weekend on a trip in the RV. I had leftover beef ribs, sausage, and pulled pork from last weekend and it's just so good when you vac seal the leftovers, freeze it, and reheat in the SV. Outside of the less crispy bark, it's just as good as the day it was smoked. No other way to reheat Q for me now.
 

BulldogBlitz

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Dec 11, 2008
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I've done breasts in the airfryer once. Didn't like the texture, won't bother again. I will saute, grill, or bake. Depends on which way as to the seasoning or marinade.
 

paindonthurt

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Jun 27, 2009
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Uncle Ruckus

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Apr 1, 2011
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Oh, it's still not going to be real good lol. It's always going to be a bit off vs cooking traditionally. Anyone telling you they get great steak, chops, or chicken off the sous vide has different standards than me I guess. It's just a matter of convenience like a crockpot.


Have you reheated your BBQ in it yet? I took mine with me this past weekend on a trip in the RV. I had leftover beef ribs, sausage, and pulled pork from last weekend and it's just so good when you vac seal the leftovers, freeze it, and reheat in the SV. Outside of the less crispy bark, it's just as good as the day it was smoked. No other way to reheat Q for me now.
That’s what I’ve used it for mostly and it’s great. I think it makes a really good filet too. I cook it to 115, sear until 125 and rest. I’m waiting to run across some really thick pork chops that aren’t over-priced and will try them like a steak.
 
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