Additionally, bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking, if possible. Adding cold chicken to a hot pan can result in uneven cooking. Use a cooking method that adds moisture including slow cooking, braising, stewing, steaming, and simmering, which can soften tough fibers in the chicken.
Moisture: Introduce moisture to the chicken to help soften it. You can do this by marinating the cooked chicken in a sauce or broth for a while. This can help rehydrate the meat and add some flavor. Just be careful not to over-marinate, as the chicken could become mushy.
It's undercooked. Collagen tissue, which can make meat tough or rubbery, and which chickens have a lot of, doesn't melt at 165°F. It starts melting at 180°F. The meat needs to reach an internal temp of 180°F and stay there for 20 minutes or so, to allow the collagen to fully melt.
Brines and marinades help tenderize the meat by bringing more moisture in the protein. With that extra moisture, you lose less when you cook. The simplest way to do this is with a dry brine — unwrap the chicken breasts, salt them on both sides and let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic. Included with each meal is a set of instructions to help you cook the meals.
Pounding helps tenderize the meat by breaking down its tough fibers. It also thins it out for more even cooking. Do this before frying, grilling, or roasting for better retention of moisture content. To tenderize chicken breast, place the meat on a durable, flat surface.
One of the primary contributors to tough chicken meat is the age of the bird at the time of slaughter, Knight said. “As the [bird] gets older the muscle fibers become tough,” he said. “So a 2-year-old hen or 3-year-old farm rooster is going to be tough.”
The Role of Temperature and Cooking Time
When you cook chicken at a high temperature, the muscle fibers of the chicken contract rapidly, causing moisture loss. However, if you cook your chicken too low and slow, the fibers will break down, resulting in a mushy, dry texture.
“Woody breast” describes a quality issue stemming from a muscle abnormality in a small percentage of chicken meat in the U.S. This condition causes chicken breast meat to be hard to the touch and often pale in color with poor quality texture.
Is it okay to eat rubbery chicken? That's a common question that pops up due to how easy it is to overcook it. The answer is yes, but it's not nearly as pleasant as properly cooked chicken. Overcooked chicken is usually very dry and difficult to chew.
How to cook chicken. Roast at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 (whole chicken: 25 mins per 500g, plus an extra 25 mins; breasts, 15 mins; thighs and wings, 40 mins). Grill or barbecue (breast, 7-10 mins; cubes or strips, 5-7 mins; drumsticks and thighs, 25-30 mins; wings, 40 mins).
A dry brine calls for rubbing salt over a chicken breast (or Thanksgiving turkey) and a wet brine calls for submerging the breast in salt water. Salt draws moisture from the meat and causes the proteins to collapse a little, tenderizing it and making room for more moisture and flavor to seep back in.
That being said, if chicken is coming out tough, then two things are almost certainly true: (1) you're cooking chicken breasts, and (2) you're using too much heat. In order to stop making tough chicken, you need to address one or both.
Findings. By the three-hour mark, the most tenderizing marinades were lemon juice, tomato sauce, orange juice, and yogurt. The buttermilk-marinated chicken was barely more tender than an unmarinated piece.
You can add a little bit of water or broth to a pan and simmer the meat for a few minutes. The goal is to allow the liquid to penetrate the meat without allowing it to overcook even more. This should take a couple of minutes. If you add a couple tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice, this also helps revive the meat.
However, while cooking chicken breasts especially, I shoot for closer to 150°F (65°C) and try to hold it there for a couple minutes. This extra time at temp also leads to pasteurization, so your chicken breasts are safe to eat and won't dry out or get a little tough, like at 165°F (75°C)—but more on this below.
It will be a tough bird. I have found from past experience that aging will make it taste better but not more tender. I have butchered young cockerels at 4-6 months of age and they are tender enough for roasting. Anything older than that will be good for stewing or Coq Au Vin.
Low and slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or smoking are most effective when trying to create tender, succulent chicken.
Marinating your chicken in something overnight can help make it all the more juicier and tender. You can use a gluten-free, acidic marinade (like olive oil and lemon juice) or something breadier (like baking soda, egg whites, and buttermilk).
Velveting is a simple process of using baking soda or a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch and oil to marinate and tenderize economical cuts of steak, chicken and other meats before cooking. Velveting meat softens fibers to reduce toughness and enhance juiciness for maximum flavor and tenderness.
The Best Temperature for Baking Chicken, According to Chefs
Each of the chefs I spoke to told me the same thing—while there's a range of temperatures that will accomplish the task of baking a chicken, 400°F is practically foolproof, no matter the cut.
Adding cold chicken to a hot pan can result in uneven cooking. Use a cooking method that adds moisture including slow cooking, braising, stewing, steaming, and simmering, which can soften tough fibers in the chicken. Most of these methods cook the chicken at a lower temperature in a liquid for a tender, juicy result.