I get the really thick Costco chicken breasts, put in a glass pan, cover both sides with a marinade, leaving ample amount in the bottom of the dish as well, then cover the top of the pan with foil and cook in oven at 400 degrees for 30 min using the “Convect” bake setting on the oven. They always come out tender and moist. If I don’t use the Convection setting and just use the regular bake setting them come out a bit drier, no idea why. Worth trying and see if works for you.
Tofu
Well, there’s your problem. 
Seriously, I have never had chicken breasts that weren’t dry. It’s just an inherently crappy cut of meat. I vote for drowning it in sauce with a side of thoughts and prayers for the poor souls eating it.
Fantastic! I’m tending to agree with you…
Sous vide them. Problem solved. You can batch cook a bunch of them and freeze them. Then defrost-season-pan sear to your liking.
And I second 165 being too high of temp. If you’re gonna pull, pull at 155-160 and it’ll get to 165 just sitting there via your method.
Btw- guess steve’s guess on Saturday on who likes white meat was right. ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Todd, in your OP you say “other than sous vide.” Why? It is so easy and works so well. Alternatively, sous vide to a slightly lower temperature (e.g. 140) and finish on the grill very briefly for a little color. Works great and is so easy.
Also if you really don’t want to sous vide, for some reason I always get really tender chicken breast on the grill. We live in Socal and can grill 360 days out of the year, so that’s always an option!
Eat thighs, not breasts…
#MeToo. Oh, wait…
If you want moist, tender chicken breasts, just poach them as Chinese restaurants do, in lightly salted water, seasoned with ginger. The slow-and-low simmering is forgiving and requires little attention.
How long do you leave the breasts marinating in the lemon juice? That acid is definitely roughing them up (think of what lemon/lime do to raw fish in ceviche).
Also, are you going for “healthy” per se? If not really, then I find that chicken breasts usually come out best with a breading or a heavy-ish sauce (Asian sauces, mushroom & cream, Picatta/Francese, etc.).
Even if you won’t do 150, Elliot’s dry brining is the key (no sugar!). If you stop cooking at 150 or 155, the carry forward cooking should get you to 165. If you pull at 165, you’re eating at 175
Just do it. Start with one breast and test. I always do it at 350° but the timing is more by feel than by clock. I open the oven and poke the breast. I can tell by the give if the meat when it needs to come out. You get the feel after a while. 10-12 min is just where it seems to fall. Dava still cooks them in a pan until they get hard and dry with a brown crust. Can’t teach the woman.
Edit: Most importantly start out with a good breast. I avoid the bulk packaged grocery store brands because they pump them full of water. Up here were have the free range/organic Rocky or Mary’s that are air chilled and never frozen. I’m sure they have similar down in SoCal. Makes a huge difference in how they cook.
- Lightly salt and pepper the breasts. 2) Wrap/cover each breast wirh a slice or two of thinly sliced prosciutto. Rest for 15 min or longer to allow the prosciutto to adhere. 3) Saute the breast in a film of evoo and butter. When breast is done and prosciutto slightly browned, deglaze with white wine.
If you want to nuke your lean protein, learn to enjoy it dry.
-Al
Another way to do chicken breasts is to place them between wax paper and pound them very flat with a mallet. Then sautee them very quickly over high heat on both sides, set aside. Make a pan sauce with lemon/capers, or Marsala/mushrooms, etc. Return the chicken breasts to the sauce and warm them through.
Or dump the chicken breasts and go with thighs instead.
Bruce
[tt][/tt]
You might want to go over the posts again, work on that reading comprehension (I’d rather do thigh, mentioned above, but the other 3 in the family want breast)…plus…I’m the one who took the thigh from the plate when it was passed around.
I think Jorge’s correct - the lemon juice is killing it, toughening the proteins.
This^^^^^ I make all the time! fantastic. for my daughter also like chicken in salad and pasta same method except just Salt and Pepper maybe a some lemon get pan hot not smoking and follow same rule just brown both sides.
From some internet research:
"When meat is exposed to an acidic marinade, the bonds break between protein bundles, and the proteins unwind, forming a loose mesh. Initially, water is trapped within this protein ‘net’ and tissue remains moist and juicy. But after a while, the protein bonds tighten, water squeezes out, and the tissue toughens. Acid bases include vinegar, wine, citrus juice, and tomatoes. Acidic marinades might actually toughen chicken. So when using a highly acidic marinade for chicken, add a little olive oil and/or minimize marinating time. Two hours is usually more than enough time.
“On the other hand, enzymatic marinades work by breaking down the muscle fiber and connective tissue (collagen). Kiwi, papaya, raw pineapple, honeydew melon, and figs all contain protein enzymes (proteases). Again, they might work too well if the marinating goes on too long. Chicken might turn to mush without passing though an intermediate stage of tenderness. Two hours is usually enough time to marinate chicken.”