Cooking Guide

You're reading Keeping Your Chicken Tender And Juicy, posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 2:36 pm in Cooking Tips, on BrainBloggers at the Cooking Guide blog. More after the jump.

Chicken tastes at its best when it is juicy and tender. Like with all food though you have to do the right things that can help you to achieve this taste.

- The first thing you should never do is to let your chicken dry out in the refrigerator. Dry chicken equals touch chicken. When storing make sure it is wrapped and sealed until you are ready to cook it.

- Try not to freeze it for a long period of time. The juices held inside the cells will freeze and act like little spears or will rupture some of the cell walls. This means that as it defrosts you will lose some of the juices that make it tender.

- Cook bone-in chicken to 180 degrees and boneless chicken to 170 degrees. Undercooked chicken will be tough and rubbery because it takes a fairly high internal temperature to soften the proteins in the muscles and make them tender. But don’t overcook chicken either, because moisture will start to steam off, and the more chicken dries out, the tougher it gets.

- Keeping the skin on the chicken while you cook will help to keep the juices in and will result in more tender chicken.

- When microwaving any chicken product, cover with a loose tent of waxed paper to prevent drying. Fry or roast breast pieces rather than microwaving them if tenderness is a top priority for you.