How do I saute chicken breasts without them drying out and being tough? - I use olive oil to cook them in..?!
Answers: I generally slice up chicken breasts and put them in a saute pan with olive oil (sometimes bread crumbs)... however, after they cook and i put them in pasta, they become tough and dried out.... how do I avoid this?
Buy yourself a meat thermometer and stab a couple
pieces onto the stem and get a reading. It should read
165 degrees F. If the meat goes above 212 degrees F
the internal moisture will boil off and the meat will dry out.
Manja!
timing is evrything
use a meat tenderizer and/or marinate the chicken overnight in the fridge.
I think you are overcooking them.
Dont overcook them. This is how I do it. Let them come to roomtemperature. Cook them for a minute or so on a high flame, than reduce heat as much as you can and cook another few minutes. Add to pasta just before eating.
If the chicken is dried out, it means you are cooking it for too long.
Marinate them in Italian salad dressing for 3-4 hours before cooking and then cook them in the marinate.
Gives the chicken good flavor (would go well with pasta) and keeps them nice & juicy.
Flour them first. Let them sit for about 5 minutes-use medium heat. I would in the last minutes of cooing incorporate some of the sauce that you use for your meal.
soak them in a brine for at least an hour prior to cooking, then rinse before cutting them up. The brine will help them retain their moisture. It also is a matter of timing - you should only saute them to done, and add them to the pasta at the last minute before serving.
they shouldn't be drying out with olive oil. maybe add some type of a juice or fruit, like adding some chopped tomato or lemon juice to the chicken after it's browned a bit. onion's good too. veggies give off water when they cook which will moisten the chicken.
Boneless chix breasts are notoriously easy to dry out. Try not to cook them past 155 degrees farenheit, and less if you're going to finish cooking them in the pasta. Invest in an instant read thermometer. It's invaluable.
Also, if you switch to using bone-in chix breasts, they will be tougher to dry out than the boneless variety.
You're overcooking them. Also, I wouldn't add bread crumbs, it's only absorb moisture from the breasts.
olive oil in my opinion is the best for chicken, but try boiling the chicken breasts first in water so they are moist - then slicing and frying in oil (not too long though )
Steamed breast even better
Chicken breasts don't need a lot of cooking. Just till the pink is gone and they are not leaking juices anymore. Then quickly remove them. I marinade them in olive oil and vinegar salt and black pepper and garlic... mmmm but its flash fry and they stay juicy and moist.
Ok I'm not sure if this is what you mean but the key point is, longer you lay it, the softer you'll get. So what I did was to put the breasts in a cup, use tomato sauce, olive oil, garlic and lemon. mix it up and make sure to do it well. Then close the cap and let it lay in the fridge at least 12 hrs. After 12 hrs, you can cook em in a pan with olive oil, softest you can get. Bonne apetite!
I saute' my chicken real hot on each site to seal the juices in. Then I let them simmer covered up either on top of the stove or in the oven till done. If I am worried they are not quite done I will zap them for 1 minute in the microwave. That is better than keep cooking it as the meat will say juicy.
i would try to brine them overnight before cooking. you can get multiple brining recipes off line. good luck
try using chicken breast tenderloins they are smaller and you shouldnt have to cut them i allways use olive oil and i add vegies like onion and red and orange bell peppers i also cover and simmer chicken cooks fastso watch it close also try rinsing your noodles to stop the cooking process toss the noodles with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking okay now im hungry what time is dinner
you are cooking it to long
Maybe you are cooking them too long. I trim to make sure they are even sized lightly salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and use medium - high heat and saute in olive oil and a little butter for 3 min on each side. They are tender and juicy.