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wtf chicken

ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
Last night I made some chicken. It was a store-bought pack of pre-marinated chicken breasts, I made them in a pan per the instructions on the label, and I cook everything in a pan anyway which is why I bought them. :P I have cooked so much chicken that way.

The chicken came out really good, juicy and all that. It was cut a little thinner so it cooked through really easily.

All good, except for one piece. It was maybe a little thinner than others? Basically if the others were cooked through, there was no way that wouldn't have cooked through, and as far as I could tell it was completely cooked, maybe to the point of being a little dry. Made sense. It maybe felt a little strange to cut through? I dunno, by the time they were off the pan I just wanted to cut them up and get them out. I ended up with that piece and another. The other piece was great. When I cut into this piece, it was thin, maybe felt a little dry? Maybe a little tough? It tasted fine?

But the texture. I'm having trouble putting the texture into words. It's not that it was dry, I am familiar with dry chicken. It didn't tear when I bit into it.. it was almost like my teeth were just pushing the fibers around instead of cutting through them. I know it was cooked. It looked cooked, there was no possible way it wasn't, it wasn't pink at all, or slimy. But it felt so bad to eat I didn't make it through more than about a third of a piece that was pretty small to begin with. People talk about not being able to get a bad taste out of their mouth, I couldn't get the texture out. It was awful.

My question is, wtf was wrong with this chicken? It looked fine, it tasted fine, the rest of the chicken in the pack was fine, it looked the same as the rest before and after cooking, it was well ahead of its sell by date, but I don't remember the last time I was that miserable trying to get through a piece of chicken that tasted pretty decent.

And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn

Posts

  • dispatch.odispatch.o Registered User regular
    It could have been partially thawed and exposed to air and then re-frozen, either before it got to your grocery store or when it was repackaged.

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Was the texture rubbery. Like chewing a rubber band?

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Freezer burn is real detrimental to meat texture, but usually also makes things a bit flavorless and dry from what I've witnessed.

    Chicken that gets over cooked, but is in a sauce, will come out joyless and rubbery, though not necessarily dry, this is my experience with crock pot chicken.

    If the marinade was covering the chicken you may have experienced that. That is like, banquet hall chicken.

    Baking breasts with a dry rub in the oven, after first searing them on the stove, is a really good way to cook chicken. With a thermometer to monitor the texture, you can accurately assure they are cooked through without loosing precious moisture.

  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    Yeah, sounds like bad freezer burn to me.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    From your description, I want to support the 'banquet hall chicken' hypothesis, but I'm going to be a little jealous if you've gone your whole life without experiencing chicken at its most disappointing.

    Was it like gnawing on a thin leather pouch full of embalmed muscle fibers?

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    zepherin wrote: »
    Was the texture rubbery. Like chewing a rubber band?
    Was it like gnawing on a thin leather pouch full of embalmed muscle fibers?

    Both of these things are decent descriptions of it, yeah. This chicken was not merely disappointing. It was like eating tears.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited November 2019
    ceres wrote: »
    zepherin wrote: »
    Was the texture rubbery. Like chewing a rubber band?
    Was it like gnawing on a thin leather pouch full of embalmed muscle fibers?

    Both of these things are decent descriptions of it, yeah. This chicken was not merely disappointing. It was like eating tears.

    Then yeah Iruka is right its either freezer burn or overcooking.

    It could also be that the oven was on to high. Either way the thinnest piece got killed and turned into sadness.

    zepherin on
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    maybe over marinated also

    camo_sig.png
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited November 2019
    There's a ligament in chicken breast that some companies don't remove. That's probably what it was. It joins the tenderloin to the chicken breast.

    Here's what it looks like:
    DSC_8696_crop.jpg

    Edit: was this a whole piece or part of the larger tender/breast portion?

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    I'm not sure I realized you could over-marinate something. It wasn't a single tendon, it was a the whole piece. Whenever I overcook chicken, which is not a rare occurrence, it usually comes out dry and kind of.. almost chalky. But the muscle fibers break down.

    Poking around the internet, it looks like it might be a woody breast? Surprisingly, when I went to look this up the GIS wasn't as full of porn as I'd expected.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    tends to happen more if you are using an acidic marinade more since it denatures proteins

    camo_sig.png
  • SimpsoniaSimpsonia Registered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    I'm not sure I realized you could over-marinate something. It wasn't a single tendon, it was a the whole piece. Whenever I overcook chicken, which is not a rare occurrence, it usually comes out dry and kind of.. almost chalky. But the muscle fibers break down.

    Poking around the internet, it looks like it might be a woody breast? Surprisingly, when I went to look this up the GIS wasn't as full of porn as I'd expected.

    Yep, it's almost certainly woody chicken breast. Unfortunately, there's no saving a piece like that, so usually just toss it. You can kind of inspect the chicken for it ahead of time, avoid any chicken with obvious white striations and/or stick to better brands with smaller individual pieces of chicken. Woody chicken is mostly a result of the chickens bred to be massive too quickly for fast and cheap consumer sale.

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    tends to happen more if you are using an acidic marinade more since it denatures proteins

    Yeah, like you can marinate your chicken with pineapples, but only very, very briefly. It turns into ... ugh ... if you let it go too long.

  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    Pineapples and papyas in particular have enzymes that breakdown proteins.

    https://www.thespruceeats.com/flesh-eating-enzymes-of-pineapple-and-papaya-4047013

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  • ThroThro pgroome@penny-arcade.com Registered User regular
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    ceres wrote: »
    I'm not sure I realized you could over-marinate something. It wasn't a single tendon, it was a the whole piece. Whenever I overcook chicken, which is not a rare occurrence, it usually comes out dry and kind of.. almost chalky. But the muscle fibers break down.

    Poking around the internet, it looks like it might be a woody breast? Surprisingly, when I went to look this up the GIS wasn't as full of porn as I'd expected.

    Yep, it's almost certainly woody chicken breast. Unfortunately, there's no saving a piece like that, so usually just toss it. You can kind of inspect the chicken for it ahead of time, avoid any chicken with obvious white striations and/or stick to better brands with smaller individual pieces of chicken. Woody chicken is mostly a result of the chickens bred to be massive too quickly for fast and cheap consumer sale.

    It was a pre-marinated pack, so probably harder to inspect the pieces. I've known stores to take the pieces that aren't selling raw and uncoated and re-package them as pre-seasoned, which both means they've been sitting longer and aren't always the prettiest cuts to begin with. Depends how nice the butcher/store is if they chuck the bad ones instead of hiding flaws with sauce.

  • OrogogusOrogogus San DiegoRegistered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    mts wrote: »
    tends to happen more if you are using an acidic marinade more since it denatures proteins

    Yeah, like you can marinate your chicken with pineapples, but only very, very briefly. It turns into ... ugh ... if you let it go too long.

    My cousin was preparing a Thanksgiving turkey, and the recipe called for pineapple juice in the marinade. He didn't have any, but he had a pineapple and I guess got some juice out of it. It turned the turkey to goo, which I think they ended up scooping into jars and feeding to their cats.

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Simpsonia wrote: »
    ceres wrote: »
    I'm not sure I realized you could over-marinate something. It wasn't a single tendon, it was a the whole piece. Whenever I overcook chicken, which is not a rare occurrence, it usually comes out dry and kind of.. almost chalky. But the muscle fibers break down.

    Poking around the internet, it looks like it might be a woody breast? Surprisingly, when I went to look this up the GIS wasn't as full of porn as I'd expected.

    Yep, it's almost certainly woody chicken breast. Unfortunately, there's no saving a piece like that, so usually just toss it. You can kind of inspect the chicken for it ahead of time, avoid any chicken with obvious white striations and/or stick to better brands with smaller individual pieces of chicken. Woody chicken is mostly a result of the chickens bred to be massive too quickly for fast and cheap consumer sale.

    From the sound of it it's not something you can easily see, you need to feel for it. I'm not sure even now I would know the difference. It retrospect I can say that it did seem like it was cooking up a bit funny to begin with, maybe seemed less flexible than it should. It's obviously not something that set off any alarm bells, but you can bet I'm going to pay better attention in the future, I never want to eat something like that again. I know it's harmless and all but it was truly terrible to eat.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    The premarinated stuff at the grocery is definitely prone to strange textures. I try it periodically and am reminded of that.

    Also oversalting, but that a different issue.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited November 2019
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    mts wrote: »
    tends to happen more if you are using an acidic marinade more since it denatures proteins

    Yeah, like you can marinate your chicken with pineapples, but only very, very briefly. It turns into ... ugh ... if you let it go too long.

    Interesting. Does soy sauce or cooking neutralize the enzyme? I used to use a soy and pineapple juice marinade overnight, but you brought it to a simmer first.

    Edit: Oh, or is it maybe not present in the canned juice?

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • OrogogusOrogogus San DiegoRegistered User regular
    Store-bought juice is almost certainly pasteurized, which would denature the enzymes and prevent this kind of debacle.

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    It's the same reason that if you want to make jello with it you can't use fresh pineapple.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    Sounds like woody chicken to me

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  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    Yeah pineapples can straight up destroy protein:
    https://youtu.be/5X8KBX-LtAs

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    People have spent the last year on youtube wrecking meat with pineapple.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    People have spent the last year on youtube wrecking meat with pineapple.

    /thinking

    /looks at Mod status

    /thinking some more

    Yeah...definitely a trap.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    People have spent the last year on youtube wrecking meat with pineapple.

    /thinking

    /looks at Mod status

    /thinking some more

    Yeah...definitely a trap.

    0skfpcocuh31.png

    what pineapple makes a great addition to your meat

    camo_sig.png
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    I am pretty sure it's well established by this point in the thread that that thing should be nowhere near your meat

    At least not for much more than an hour.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    pineapple Works good with baking a ham, and that’s about it. It’s one of the few “old” baking recipes I really like.

  • MaguanoMaguano Registered User regular
    woody chicken "syndrome" can make it fairly unappealing texture and taste wise

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  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    I am pretty sure it's well established by this point in the thread that that thing should be nowhere near your meat

    At least not for much more than an hour.

    And now everytime I eat pineapple I get to think about how it's trying to digest me before I digest it.

  • CalicaCalica Registered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    I am pretty sure it's well established by this point in the thread that that thing should be nowhere near your meat

    At least not for much more than an hour.

    And now everytime I eat pineapple I get to think about how it's trying to digest me before I digest it.

    That's how you know you're at the top of the food chain.

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