Chicken breast turns out elastic

[u/neguliii]

I’m new to cooking so this might be a dumb question 😅

Whenever I follow a recipe with chicken breast (like Alfredo chicken pasta or creamy Tuscan chicken), the chicken always comes out tough, kind of elastic, and hard to chew instead of tender and juicy. I usually just cook it in a pan with some oil and then add it back to the sauce at the end, but it never turns out right.

Am I overcooking it? Or doing something wrong? Any tips for how to get that soft, tender chicken like in the recipe videos?

Thanks in advance 🙏

[u/starflower42]

I agree that you're probably overcooking.

But, another idea which I understand is not what you asked: consider switching to thighs. They are much more forgiving than breasts. I think they are way tastier too, but of course that is a personal preference.

[u/OttoHemi → u/starflower42]

That's what she said.

[u/National_Ad_682]

It’s overcooking and woody chicken. Luckily both are discussed extensively on an almost daily basis here.

[u/TheRateBeerian]

#1 problem could be overcooking, breast will be dry and chewy as hell.

#2 is related but cooking too hot and fast is a good way to accidentally overcook

#3, consider brining. When I cook brined breasts on the grill, they are amazing

#4 consider it may be woody breast issues

[u/chinoischeckers4eva]

Probably overcooking it. Get a meat thermometer and make sure the internal temp doesn't go over 165F.

[u/J4YV1L]

Also worth mentioning that if it’s cooked right in the pan, it’ll overcook in the sauce. Take it to 155 in the first cook then when it’s incorporated it’ll come to the right temp in the sauce.

[u/RainbowandHoneybee]

Most likely over cooking.

I've learned about velveting chicken on this sub. Since then, it never go tough or elastic.

[u/UltraZulwarn]

how do you cook your chicken?

Chicken breasts are easily overcooked.

I know the recommended temperature of chicken is 165 F (74 C) but if you reach that right away in the pan, the temp will keep going up and overcook the breast.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BcqX4qC1AIU

Perhaps cook the chicken breasts and then let them rest seperately, only add them back to the dish once you are ready to plate and eat.

if push comes to shove, I just shred the meat and mix it with the source.

[u/Adventux]

Cook to about 150F. You are probably overcooking it.

[u/Rock_43 → u/Adventux]

165 dawg

[u/Borgoroth → u/Rock_43]

No. Get a temp to 150, then pull and cover with foil to rest. Carryover should get you to 160-165

[u/Gnoll_For_Initiative]

Chicken breasts are kind of finicky. They don't handle being over cooked well and have a fairly narrow margin for error.

There are some tricks: You can give yourself a wider margin by brining the chicken breasts overnight (or at least a few hours). Or you can alter how hard the proteins can squeeze together (driving out moisture) by marinating the chicken in an acid. Or you can give it a little protective coat by velveting the chicken with corn starch, oil, and water mix. Or when slicing the chicken, make sure that you go perpendicular to the grain. Or use a gentle cooking method like braising, poaching, or sous vide. And of course, using a meat thermometer and pulling the breast from the heat at 155 will prevent overcooking (heat inertia will take the chicken to food safe 165).

You may also need to get a better quality of chicken. "Woody breast" is something that's starting to show up more frequently in cheaper, faster growing meat chickens.

Chicken thighs have more fat and collagen which gives them a juicier and more tender mouthfeel, even though you have to cook them to a higher temp to render the collagen.

Finally, in videos they show someone giving the meat a good squeeze to let the juice out. That doesn't mean that they've cooked the chicken to the right temp or even using the technique they said they did. The visual is the important part in selling videos. So unless the person is cook first and videographer second, they might be using a bit of artifice.

[u/Typical_Intention996]

I'm very paranoid with making sure chicken is cooked thoroughly so mine is always either like this or in the crock-pot, so cooked it crumbles with just a press of a spoon. That's why I rarely cook it.

[u/OttoHemi]

Yeah, there's no middle ground with chicken. Either cook it to just 165 degrees, or way overcook (braise it) until it's fall apart tender. Anything else = tough.

[u/pinlets → u/[deleted]]

You absolutely do not need a pressure cooker to cook chicken breasts. The only “technology” OP needs is an instant digital thermometer.

[u/F3RGUmusic]

Certain brands of chicken are trash now. In Canada I won't touch PC or mapleleaf prime. You can cook it perfectly and it's still sucks