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So, whats the deal?

post #1 of 10
11/29/04 at 8:38am
Thread Starter 
With breasts?

Turkey and chicken I mean. They are dry, and flavourless, and they are easy to botch. So why do people go gaga for them? I can't stand the things, really. Legs, thighs, backs, thats where the flavour is. If you want to eat, say, jerked chicken, thighs will taste like chicken with jerk seasoning. All breast tasts like is the seasoning. Dry and chewy at that.

Just wondering?
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post #2 of 10
11/29/04 at 8:51am
De gustibus non disputandum est. (sp?)

Too many people are afraid of fat, what can I say? And too many people simply don';t know how to cook. That's why our mission -- and we DO choose to accept it -- is to try to get our friends and neighbors to lose their fear of cooking, and of flavor, and of all those other good things.
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post #3 of 10
11/29/04 at 8:54am
I generally cook chicken thighs. Cheaper, more flavor. But breasts can be done well, especially bone-in and skin on.

Boneless skinless breasts do present very well. It is a bit more prep work to get the thigh to present well.

As long as the demand for breasts is high, I can enjoy cheap thighs.

Phil
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post #4 of 10
11/29/04 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
LOL I am all for cheap thighs

Thanks.

Really, there are a lot of good, earthy dishes that are low in fat that can be done with thighs. The fat content difference isn't that large either (I could be wrong there) and I do know (info campaine a few years back) that the darker meat contains significantly more nutrition, so looked at as nutrition VS fat, dark meat is a clear victor as opposed to calories VS fat where white meat wins.

I agree, a poached breast and white asparagus tip and whipped potoes with bechemel looks impressive and just wouldn't have the same look had it been done with a dark meat. There are uses for breast I will concur. If I do buy whole birds (rarely) I will do the breast in openface sandwhiches, lots of flavour in the gravy, (OK, fat and I are not antagonists).

I wonder if it was maybe a chef or restaurant or hotel that popularised breast meat in some dish, that became so succesful that we just eat it now as a matter of course. If so, what dish was it? OR is it something thats just been the fav of the masses for centuries?


Oh, and a dish that was taught us in school has become a family fav since. Chicken Chasseaur, or, since my spelling is attrotious and I can't use tomatoes and use celery instead, Chicken Chaser. I find this does best with dark meat.
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post #5 of 10
11/29/04 at 12:43pm
I actually have a hard time finding chicken breasts with the skin on them at the store I go to. Instead, it all boneless, skinless, tasteless funless chicken breasts for the herds of yuppie dooshbags looking for a convenient Atkins friendly meal. What is good about chicken is that it is cheap meat- therefore you can find all sorts of recipes from all corners of the world to make chicken good. Its even cheaper if you go with the dark parts. Its an easy meat to marinate- so the flavor of every chicken dish is very easy to influence.
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post #6 of 10
11/29/04 at 4:43pm
you can always brine the breasts to defeat the dry characteristic but what about flavor? Well, I learned this trick where you boil the brining water with a small handfull of pickling spices. Cool it off and add the salt and sugar. Brine the bird/breasts and the flavor holds during cooking but mellowed a bit. No more tasteless chicken breasts.

Jock
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post #7 of 10
11/30/04 at 6:21am
Jocko...

My sentiments exactly...

Through brines, rubs and marinades you can break down the cell walls to accept and dance with moisture...

Why bash a food anyway...?

As a culinarian it is up to us to take something that is ordinary (in this case, chicken breasts) and make it phenomonal...

My fovorite is to sous vide chicken breasts with whatever flavor you want...

Long marination/brine, skin on, grill skin side and then sous vide low and slow covered...the ultimately perfect chicken breast...

One time I did this with a meditarranean marinade/brine with tumeric and curry that was phenomonal...after I sous vide the chicken and it sat in the hot box on a covered plate for four hours, it was still as moist as it was when it came out of the oven....

Now...that's what cooking is all about...
Discover the science and blow them away...

The World According to Cheffy....
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post #8 of 10
12/1/04 at 10:38am
unless your buying fresh(never frozen) chix breast or prepping out whole birds, i would put $$ on it that the product is already brined-"flavor enhancing" or "injected" as they market it. Same for turkey.
I, personally, don't care for brined birds anymore. Texture just ain't the same-of course it holds well if that wedding party of 500 is running a few hours late ot that line cook forgot about it in the oven.
Season and cook it properly and there's nothing wrong with it. Of course some birds have more flavor than others, but even factory birds can taste great if not overcooked-undercook a touch and let carryover take care of the rest.
hth, danny
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post #9 of 10
12/2/04 at 6:28am
I use fresh local birds. Free range yada-yada. The B's are quite flavorful and never dry. Even hard to make em that way when a guest (ussualy someone youthfully challenged).
As for store bought mass produced chix, I agree whole heartily.
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post #10 of 10
12/5/04 at 9:43am
Use it as a vehicle and take advantage of the texture. I find if you cook the breast as is, many of the above situations can be true. If you take your mallet and pound the breasts to 1-2 cm thick, brine, marinate, or whatever you do with it, and then cook it. It takes much less time and the tenderizing breaks the fibers apart and leaves a very tender texture. This is your opportunity to use it as a vehicle for many great flavors. Try salsas, sauces, soups, ragouts, salad toppers, chicken salads, whatever. I have clients that want nothing but breasts when having chicken so I have had to get real creative. :lips:
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