The microwave is quick and convenient, but in our personal experience, it is decidedly not the best method for reheating a bird, since it's most likely to yield a rubbery or chalk-dry piece of chicken. Still, if you're in a pinch and decide to microwave your leftover chicken, follow these steps for better results.
Yes — really! Many people think microwaved chicken is dry and chewy. In reality, microwaving chicken breast in an Anyday dish yields juicy, tender chicken. Compared to cooking chicken on the stovetop or in the oven, the microwave does the job much faster.
Spoon a little water or chicken broth over the slices and cover with a microwave-safe food cover. Heat in 1 minute increments until the pieces are warmed through (once again, 165˚F is the magic number).
Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and a teaspoon or two of water over the chicken. This will help keep the meat moist. (You can also use water and salsa or chicken broth for extra flavor.)
As you go higher in temperature, the proteins shrink, moisture is pushed out, and the meat turns stiff and dry. All those things are especially unpleasant, and easy to do, with chicken breasts.
Chicken breasts are susceptible to drying out when overcooked, so they're best cooked quickly using high heat. That means skillet-cooking, stir-frying, roasting/baking, or grilling chicken breasts are the best routes.
So, the short answer to this reader's question is that your chicken is dry because you're overcooking it. The only way to make sure chicken breast stays moist is to walk a line of cooking it properly, which is unfortunately quite narrow. The issue primarily boils down food safety.
It was found that microwave cooking resulted in harder texture, but better WHC to its counterpart which also caused more degradation in myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins.
marinating in a cornstarch/cornflour sludge then deep frying or blanching in water before proceeding to cook in the stir fry. egg whites – sometimes the above method is also done using egg whites. chemical tenderiser.
While reheating in the microwave, keep monitoring the time and temperature as overcooking can dry out the chicken and make it chewy.
Microwaves heat up food by bombarding the water molecules with energy. This makes them move around faster and heat up. As the water becomes steam, it can remove moisture from our food, rendering it tough and rubbery. Prevent this from happening by either wrapping or covering your food with a damp towel.
Because the microwave oven energizes the food's moisture first, there is a general drying effect: it causes moisture to evaporate out of the food. So it's usually best to cook in a container that will retain most of the vapor around the food surface.
Studies show that microwave cooking results in more moisture loss from foods (and explains why heating cold pizza in a microwave for 30 seconds results in a rubbery crust), but that doesn't result in significant differences in terms of nutrient retention in foods, Rankin explained.
The chicken is amazingly moist — thanks to a special device.
Colonel Sanders' secret here is the use of a pressure fryer, something that can be dangerous without the right equipment and methods. The pressure fryer not only lets KFC cook chicken faster and with less oil, but it also locks in moisture.
To start, brine your chicken in a mixture of water and a few tablespoons of salt for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will boost the natural flavor and moisture of the chicken breasts and will leave you with a super tender piece of meat. This is the one step that will really ensure your chicken won't be dry or tough.
Applying salt to muscle proteins changes their structure, allowing them to hold on to more moisture. Method: Sprinkle kosher salt on a breast and let it sit. Doing this early is best, as it takes time for salt to move. You want at least 45 minutes, but 4 hours to overnight is ideal.
The oven is your best bet when it comes to warming up larger pieces of chicken or a bird that's still on the bone. Here's how it's done: Step 1: Preheat the oven. Set the oven to 350°F and remove the chicken from the fridge.
Reheating chicken in the microwave is usually a disaster, rubbery and awful or underheated. In the toaster oven, the meat will frequently dry out.
The microwave won't do anything to rob your chicken (or any other protein) of nutritional value, however. Whether it's chicken, a steak or an egg, “all it will do is denature them and make them more available to be broken down by our bodies.”
Mistake #2: Not marinating or brining the meat
Chicken breasts can be dry. After all, they're not as fatty as other parts of the bird. But a marinade, brine or rub goes a long way in adding flavor to the meat and keeping it moist. If you're going for simple, that's OK–a basic salt and pepper rub is just fine.
Marinate your chicken.
Marinating your chicken in something overnight can help make it all the more juicier and tender. You can use a gluten-free, acidic marinade (like olive oil and lemon juice) or something breadier (like baking soda, egg whites, and buttermilk).