Chicken Breasts are gross.

[Kaido]

I do love the thighs, I think they taste awesome. It's just that being the... "amateur" lifter I am, I often have pretty high protein macro goals for the day. I get more protein per volume of chicken breast than I do per volume of thigh assuming I'm going to consume say, 600calories of chicken that meal.

More or less, if I opt for thighs, I have to eat more protein in another meal(s) and almost no fat anywhere else, which sucks.

These chicken thighs are one of my go-to dinners:

http://asweetandsavorylife.com/reci...e-rubbed-chicken-thighs-my-go-to-easy-dinner/

Dang, think I'm gonna make those tonight, om nom nom

 

[Ns1]

Wait what? I have literally never seen this food product.

 

[MrSquished]

Wait what? I have literally never seen this food product.

You go to Costco? In the post above the 2nd picture is the brand Costco carries.

Most of the large grocery stores by me carry them also.

 

[preslove]

That last sentence proves you know fuck-all about food.


And upon further review, that first sentence proves you know fuck-all about food. Chicken breasts are fairly bland on their own, but they're a blank canvas. In the hands of an idiot they're not too good because they won't improve beyond the blank canvas stage. In the hands of somebody who knows what they're doing chicken breasts can be a lean, inexpensive foundation of a delicious meal. All it takes is a tiny degree of skill and a tiny understanding of spices. You clearly lack both. As has been shown with the OP, if someone thinks chicken breasts are gross or garbage it's because they don't know how to cook them well.

Wow, what an ignorant, pretentious asshole. Any recipe with chicken breasts will be improved substantially by using thighs. And they're much better for grilling because you can easily get a great char without overcooking. And as you grill, fat RENDERS out of the thigh, leaving flavor, reducing the fat content of the resulting dish. Only a fucking moron would get a chicken breast and ADD FAT with olive oil. Olive oil is just as calorie dense as chicken fat...

And yes, the only reason people use such a shitty cut of meat as the chicken breast is the mistaken belief that it is better for you. The only cut it could ever beat out is the drum stick.

 

[Ns1]

Wow, what an ignorant, pretentious asshole. Any recipe with chicken breasts will be improved substantially by using thighs. And they're much better for grilling because you can easily get a great char without overcooking. And as you grill, fat RENDERS out of the thigh, leaving flavor, reducing the fat content of the resulting dish. Only a fucking moron would get a chicken breast and ADD FAT with olive oil. Olive oil is just as calorie dense as chicken fat...

And yes, the only reason people use such a shitty cut of meat as the chicken breast is the mistaken belief that it is better for you. The only cut it could every beat out is the drum stick.

I used to think this way, but my latest chicken breast experiences have been quite good. Seasoning and proper cook is essential to great chicken breast.

However, like I mentioned earlier, the second chicken breast goes into a microwave it is turned into shit.

 

[preslove]

I used to think this way, but my latest chicken breast experiences have been quite good. Seasoning and proper cook is essential to great chicken breast.

However, like I mentioned earlier, the second chicken breast goes into a microwave it is turned into shit.

Did you actually put meat in the microwave? The only thing I've ever cooked from raw in a microwave was veggies, which turn out great, btw.

Though, I barely touch my microwave anymore since I bought an air fryer.

 

[Ns1]

Did you actually put meat in the microwave?

I don't mean cook breasts from raw; I mean leftover chicken breast put into a microwave = shit.

 

[Kaido]

You go to Costco? In the post above the 2nd picture is the brand Costco carries.

Most of the large grocery stores by me carry them also.

Nope, Sam's Club - but I haven't ever seen boneless thighs. Neat!

Can you eat the whole thing, like a BSCB?

 

[preslove]

I don't mean cook breasts from raw; I mean leftover chicken breast put into a microwave = shit.

Ah, ok. Buy an airfryer, it's worth it. Reheated food is so much better than a microwave and it's much quicker than the oven.

 

[dullard]

Wow, what an ignorant, pretentious asshole.

I think you two are arguing about different things.

You said to grill the shit out of them. I (and probably GagHalfrunt) took that as overcooking them. Overcooked meat is never that great. Sure, it is hard to overcook a thigh. But there is no reason to do it on purpose.

Also, why get rid of the thigh skin? It is damn tasty, especially if you are going to grill the shit out of them. Plus, study after study shows that the skin isn't the unhealthy devil that people think it is.

 

[MrSquished]

Nope, Sam's Club - but I haven't ever seen boneless thighs. Neat!

Can you eat the whole thing, like a BSCB?

Yah there is no need to trim or remove anything. Just remove and cook. There are light remnants of the skin on them so some may want to trim a little more but to me that little bit of skin just adds some nice tasty fat. I have never trimmed mine

 

[Ns1]

//edit n/m my grammar is off today; I don't even want to re-attempt that post.

 

[preslove]

I think you two are arguing about different things.

You said to grill the shit out of them. I (and probably GagHalfrunt) took that as overcooking them. Overcooked meat is never that great. Sure, it is hard to overcook a thigh. But there is no reason to do it on purpose.

Also, why get rid of the thigh skin? It is damn tasty, especially if you are going to grill the shit out of them. Plus, study after study shows that the skin isn't the unhealthy devil that people think it is.

You're right, it's damn hard to overcook a thigh. I was just talking relative to a breast. I can get a great crisp and still have juicy meat.

Re: the skin, I usually chop up the thigh and put it on a salad, or use it for tacos.

 

[agent00f]

zin.. if he cant cook chicken now, and cooks a steak and ground turkey by "Literally just put in pan, set to medium high, flip every so often" I really don't think he is going to master the art of baking or pan searing a chicken breast perfectly and consistently and i don't think some magic marinade or anything else is going to help, using sous vide is nearly idiot proof and will never dry out his chicken.

we are pretty casual cross fit'ers. We do the Olympic lifting and cardio but you won't see any tractor tire and sledge hammer workouts at our gym.

Chicken breast in its farm raised form doesn't required a complex machine to cook correctly. A low temp oven with an oven thermometer set to ~63c will produce perfect meat (as much as farm raised can be considered) every time. That applies to the texture/done. Flavor is best imparted by injection, a simple syringe you buy and fill with whatever.

Don't overcook them. Most meat and poultry temperature guides for doneness seemed designed to keep 90 year-olds from contracting some illness or other.

I also prefer to bake them at a higher temperature (450 degrees) for a shorter period and they end up drying out less.

A higher temp will only introduce undesirable gradient. If you desire a crispy skin in chicken, cook low for the inside, then blast at full 10-15min for perfect results. Otherwise you're at the very least looking at trick trussing (the traditional method is subpar) for anywhere near comparable results.

There's nothing a sous vide does that simpler and quicker cooking methods can't do as well or better. Sous Vide just takes out the guess work and makes finicky lean proteins like chicken breast, pork loin or fish almost idiot-proof. Probably a good bet for OP since he seems fairly clueless about even the basics of cooking. But if you're getting good results through baking, roasting, braising or frying then there's no real benefit to using a sous vide.

Perfect temp control produces magnificent results simply impossible with traditional methods. Temp gradients simply ruin delicate (ie. expensive) foods.

As a simple example, sous vide "smoked" brisket is relative trivial yet superior to everything that came before.

 

[agent00f]

if you want true flavor in chicken there is only one way: go to a live poultry specialist.

The cheap & easy solution is asian market free range chicken.

But a heads up it's akin to drinking trippel after coors your whole life.

 

[agent00f]

I agree. Here in North Jersey I discovered a small local poultry farm in the middle of suburbia. They raise some chickens and the rest are sourced live from local farms all within approx 200 miles of their headquarters. They slaughtered right there on site.

Man so glad to discover that place. My food truck used them for the 2 years we were in business and we credited them with such great moist chicken. Chicken breast is my least favorite cut of chicken but we needed it for chicken souvlaki. And that stuff was heads and tails above the super mass-produced crap we would be getting at Restaurant Depot.

If I can find a place like that in densely populated Northern NJ, I think 80% of Americans might be lucky enough to do the same.

The chickens just mentioned are a different breed(s) than whatever the hell they farm raise, even in most smaller farms. A decent facsimile of what you're talking about is usually available at whole foods type places. They're better, but they ain't asian (I mean literally yellow not off-white, some varietals possessing some of the most delicious flavors in the skin I've ever tasted).

 

[MrSquished]

This cookbook looks interesting:

https://smile.amazon.com/Adventures...encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&ie=UTF8

 

[Scarpozzi]

What I like about the chicken breast is the size of the cut. I use thighs typically when I prepare indian and mexican dishes....but I've grilled a lot of chicken breasts.

I don't pound them flat, but I typically do plan on slicing them/butterflying them. What I'll do is load the grill with boneless skinless chicken breasts and cook them for 8-10 minutes on each side until they are cooked through. I'll take my grill tongs and a knife and butterfly the breast on a thick cut and make sure it's cooked through. If it isn't, I'll put it back on the grill, cut side down to finish up...then I repeat. As breasts are cooked to my liking, I'll take them off the grill and let them rest before I slice them into strips or cube them. Chicken thighs are cheaper, but take a little more work because of the way they're deboned.

 

[Svnla]

I just had a large chicken breast that I grilled last night with some jasmine rice plus fresh veggies and a cold drink for lunch. <happy>

 

[slag]

I regularly walk the supermarket meat aisle on Monday evenings and find that they mark down chicken breasts/thighs to 1.48/lb or 99 cents, depending on soon it "expires". At any rate, I take them home, vac seal it, and toss it in the freezer for when I want some chicken sous vide.

My question is, what seasoning do you guys use that is your "go to" seasoning for chicken, sous vide? I'm looking for something out of a shaker perhaps. BBQ, Italian, creole, whatever, what is your favorite flavoring you put in the vac bag with the chicken and please provide a link. I like this seasoning we got in memphis for BBQ flavor, but am about out and am looking for something else.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I think you two are arguing about different things.

You said to grill the shit out of them. I (and probably GagHalfrunt) took that as overcooking them. Overcooked meat is never that great. Sure, it is hard to overcook a thigh. But there is no reason to do it on purpose.

Also, why get rid of the thigh skin? It is damn tasty, especially if you are going to grill the shit out of them. Plus, study after study shows that the skin isn't the unhealthy devil that people think it is.

Not really arguing about different things. It's not an argument at all, it's one person making a fool of himself and one laughing his ass off.

There are 4 fundamental truths germane to this thread that will be indisputable to anyone that has even a tiny degree of skill in the kitchen or knowledge of food.

1) Yes, a chicken thigh has potential to make a better dish than a boneless breast. Key word there is *potential*

2) While not an ideal cut of meat, a boneless breast can EASILY be used as the foundation of a drop dead delicious dish. It's not garbage and anyone that can't make something good out of it needs to look in the mirror because it's 100% the fault of the cook.

3) Anyone that charges into a food thread and suggests using skinless boneless thighs is a monumentally ignorant fuckwad. Seriously, it's almost impossible to say or do anything dumber in a food context with the possible exception of grinding up Waygu beef to make a hamburger. If you advocate using skinless boneless chicken thighs you are admitting that you don't know jack shit about anything food related and are only on this planet to serve as comic relief and as an object lesson of what NOT to say or do.

4) And even more idiotic than suggesting using skinless boneless thighs in the first place is suggesting you "grill the shit out of them".

 

[slag]

blah blah blah.

Just when I thought I'd seen it all, you guys are swearing over which cut of chicken is best or how to "properly" prepare it. Laughable.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Not going to read the entire thread - and is OP even around still? But, I too had the issue with always getting dry chicken breasts. I started soaking them overnight in a bit of saltwater and they tend to stay juicy and have a bit more flavor on their own. Some people add sugar.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Not going to read the entire thread

Smart man.

and is OP even around still? But, I too had the issue with always getting dry chicken breasts. I started soaking them overnight in a bit of saltwater and they tend to stay juicy and have a bit more flavor on their own. Some people add sugar.

All depends on how you cook them. I'd guess that with the way people today are deathly afraid of their food, most people overcook the hell out of chicken breasts. Don't, and they'll be fine.

 

[Svnla]

All I know is breasts are more expensive than legs and thighs or even wings at any of the fried chicken places. No exception.

To me, spicy chicken breasts at Popeyes plus cajun fries and dirty rice plus a cold Coke with free refill = happiness.