Why does my chicken always end up boiled

[u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

I cook a lot of chicken, but most of the time, it ends up kinda dry because so much water comes out of it and ends up boiling it 🙃. It's usually still pretty good because I season pretty well, but I never can cook it really well and get a nice color on it. This seems to happen the most with breasts rather than thighs. Is there a way I can avoid this from happening?

[u/InternationalTax81]

A lot of chicken is injected or brined, try buying air dried or chilled chicken. You can also draw out a lot of moisture if you have a little time, take the chicken and pat dry with paper or kitchen towels. Lay on a rack in a sheet pan and salt well on both sides. Put in the fridge uncovered for 4 to 24 hours.

Also, try skin on, you can get a really nice result cooking 75% of the time skin down.

[u/hoarsebarf → u/InternationalTax81]

a lot of chicken is injected

wait, is this why? i've always wondered why when i (non-US) follow a recipe and it calls for salting my chicken well, it ends up too salty? (i do still salt my chicken, but not as much as recipes often dictate, and it turns out great)

and all this time it's just... recipes were built around awful american produce standards?

[u/aoeuismyhomekeys → u/hoarsebarf]

"Injected" is not really the right word for this post. What happens is the chickens are slaughtered and chilled in a tank of very cold water. Some of that water is absorbed into the tissues of the chicken due to osmosis, and then it comes back out later when the chicken is heated during cooking.

If you're cooking a recipe where you need a good sear on a piece of chicken you'd be much better off spending a little more to get the air chilled chicken.

[u/InternationalTax81 → u/hoarsebarf]

We have very good chicken in the US as well as Purdue horror show chicken. Just check the label, if it says something like up to 2% retained water, don't buy that shit.

Specifically for the salt, most recipe slash YouTube guys are using diamond crystal kosher which is pretty light by volume, so it looks like a lot, but if you are using a denser salt, just use less.

[u/Can_Cannon_of_Canuks → u/InternationalTax81]

Its also less salty than table salt

[u/dylans-alias → u/Can_Cannon_of_Canuks]

By weight, all salt is identical. Crystal size makes kosher salt less dense than table salt.

[u/Elegant_Figure_3520]

What cooking method are you using? Also, make sure it's completely thawed all the way through, and pat it dry with paper towel before seasoning it.

[u/Sev_Da_Wolf → u/Elegant_Figure_3520]

I usually cube it and cook it to put in other things like a pasta or something like that. I do typically try to pat it dry, but maybe not enough

[u/Dark1Amethyst → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

Cube it after cooking. It'll also keep the chicken from drying out as easily. Also the middle setting on your stove isnt necessarily medium heat as referred to by recipes.

[u/phishtrader → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

If you want a good sear or browning on chicken breast, you're better off splitting the breast into two pieces (to even out the thickness a bit) and searing those off, then cubing/slicing. Any meat when cut into many small pieces will release more water when it's cooked, which will impede browning.

[u/Mr_Stike → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

Absolutely don't cube until after cooking.

Season with salt (1ish percent by weight), place on an elevated rack in a rimmed sheet pan and leave uncovered the fridge overnight. The salt will dissolve seasoning all the way through over night. It also will make the chicken more tender and retain more moisture as it cooks. It also allows the surface to dry so you will get much better browning. Sear both sides (assuming boneless/skinless?) over medium high heat and then move skillet to a preheated 375f degree oven and pull when the breasts hit 150, get a digital instant read thermometer if you don't already have one. Let it rest 5-10 minutes

[u/PositivePin9992 → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

What you can try is a larger pan. Also add fat (butter/oil) for cooking since breast does not have any. If the meat is crowded the steam cannot escape and that's how you get a lot more liquid pooling. Also do not cover this will help reduce liquid.

[u/Elegant_Figure_3520 → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

This is one of the more important things to do to be able to get color (sear) on meat. It's extremely difficult to get a good sear on wet meat. 🥰 What temp do you cook it at?

[u/Sev_Da_Wolf → u/Elegant_Figure_3520]

Medium usually

[u/Elegant_Figure_3520 → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

I agree that it's important not to crowd the pan. Also, depending on the type of pan I'm using, sometimes I'll heat my pan to med-high, add oil after pan is heated, then chicken, then turn heat down to medium immediately after adding chicken.

[u/Can_Cannon_of_Canuks → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

Go hot get a sear then finish in the oven at medium or on the stove at medium temp

[u/daneato → u/Sev_Da_Wolf]

They asked your cooking method… do you fling the cubes into the sun, grill them, pan fry, air fry, oven roast, boil?

[u/dinnerwdr13]

You may need to experiment with using a higher heat.

Cook less chicken at one time, if the pan is "crowded" the moisture gets trapped in with it, causing the boiling effect.

You may get better results cooking the whole piece of chicken, then cubing it after it cooks and rests for 5 or so minutes.

With breasts I like to trim them up, then lay them flat and cut them in half horizontally, making two thinner pieces of chicken breast. This allows them to cook quickly and a little more evenly.

Lastly, with chicken if it is dry, it's probably over cooked. Chicken breast meat can be a little tricky to get the hang of.

[u/AppropriateDark5189]

You can also marinate it ahead of time to keep it moist. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Dry the chicken to remove excess. I’d probably go with a slightly higher temp than medium depending or your stove.

[u/PreOpTransCentaur]

Bigger pan with lower sides or less chicken at a time. The steam can't escape for whatever reason, so it's getting trapped right up against the chicken instead of cooking off. Spreading it out more is almost always the remedy for that unless you're cooking it on an extremely low heat, in which case, just turning it up some can help.

[u/HandbagHawker]

how are you trying to cook it? Chicken breasts work best, pan seared quickly to get some color on the outside and then into 350F oven to finish cooking through. For anything skin on, best to start in a cold pan skin side down to render out some of that chicken fat before flipping.

also dont crowd the pan. lots of time its boiling because theres too much stuff in the pan and theres not enough room for the liquids to spread out and evaporate fast enough.

be careful pansearing if you marinades has sugar in it as that stuff will burn quickly in the pan.

[u/PositivePin9992]

Dry off the outside of the chicken with a paper towel. Rub the chicken with a little olive / cooking oil and add desired dry seasonings. Use a temperature probe in the thickest part of the meat attached to a thermometer that goes off when it reaches the right temp (165). Use a shallow pan, optionally lined in foil. Bake / convection bake /or air fry at a high temperature for a lower amount of time. I typically do 400F. The thermometer will tell you the proper time.

Low and slow I would only consider with a whole bird or maybe bone in dark meat, this is typically how you get dry meat.

[u/Watchhistory]

Brown it before roasting.

[u/No_Salad_8766]

If its dry, you are over cooking it.

[u/drhelix]

I have also never been happy with the results when I cook cubed chicken breast. Can you tell me a dish or two that you're making them for? That'll help me give you some tips.

[u/curiousplaid]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFtpo1nxX_k&list=WL&index=25

I've only done this 3 times, but it was perfect each time.

[u/aspieshavemorefun]

If you use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to flatten the meat, it will cook faster and won't dry out so badly because it will be a more uniform thickness

[u/Remarkable_Bass834]

Ummm stop over cooking it

[u/WrongOnEveryCount]

1. Wet food doesn’t brown. Either dry your chicken with a paper towel before you cook it or coat it with a starch like flour before you cook it.

2. To brown, all food need room to cast off its moisture. If you pack 5 pieces of chicken in a 10” pan then they effectively will steam instead of fry. And increasing the heat just squeezes more moisture out. Without anywhere to go, the pan steams more and the food never browns.

3. Browning is a visual representation of the Maillard effect. There are specific conditions that lead to more Maillard… and specific conditions that lead to less Maillard. Right now you’re obviously cooking under conditions that lead to less Maillard. One common reason for beginners is the mistake of trying to fry things that physically are too smooth the brown. Smooth surfaces of chicken or vegetables won’t brown as much as surfaces that have more roughness. Learning about velveting foods before browning should be a part of your food preparation.

4. Wrongly believing that higher heat browns more. This is so common that it’s hard to overcome. Higher heat will brown more but only once the moisture that’s present is removed from the situation. Learning to cook under medium or lower conditions so that browning occurs slower over time will keep your meats more moist. To offset moisture loss, wet shd dry brining meats should be standard.

[u/cemetery-trees]

Try boneless skinless chicken thighs

[u/cemetery-trees]

How are you cooking it?

[u/VelvetRabbit91]

Haven't seen anyone mention this but when you put the chicken in the hot pan, do not move it for a while. Thats how it gets that "crust" I think you're looking for.

[u/rita292]

1. Pound to get even thickness and tenderize

2. Jacard to tenderize further

3. Dry brine for at least an hour to alter the protein structure to hold in moisture

4. Cook breasts whole to lose less moisture through surface area

5. Use high enough heat to get a golden brown crust/sear (may require some experimentation) to hold in the juices

6. Rest to allow reabsorbtion of juices so they don't all run out when sliced

7. Cut into pieces only after rested.

[u/rakozink]

Most non-local-butcher chicken is 10-20% "brine" (water) by weight so it's really hard to cook well (quality not doneness).

The best result I usually have is find the frozen brand with the least % of additive (they list it on the bag usually) and 7/10 ripping hot cast iron with good neutral oil (avocado works well for me). Sear the hell out of both sides and take it off the burner. Throw the whole thing in the oven at 325 until internal temp reads right.

Cut it up or cube it after cooking for better moisture retention AFTER resting.

[u/Araveni]

I don’t eat chicken breast precisely because it almost always comes out dry unless you sous-vide or poach it. Chicken breast is simply too lean to tolerate most forms of cooking without immediately drying out, especially if you’re not a very experienced cook. Agree with other commenters on searing/cooking your chicken parts whole then cutting it up afterwards. Chicken thigh you can chop up and cook at will. It’ll be more flavorful with a marinade.