[Mo2k]

Looking for advice here.....

I am a rubbish cook so this may be obvious but I have been buying chicken from a meat shop outside a big brand supermarket. They're large to start with but however I cook them, but the time they are cooked they are teeny tiny. Does this mean that the shop has been filling them with water or something? Or is it just my rubbish cooking 'skills'?

I understand that chicken may dry up and be a bit smaller after cooking, but this is ridiculous! I start off going yum! Dinner! And end up eith an Aww! Canape!

Also is there a particular price you would expect to pay per kilo to know that you have a reputable shop?

Thanks in advance.

[TheGreenSheep]

What size chook are you starting out with?

What cut?

How are you cooking it?

How long and what temp?

[caroldiem]

sounds like something dodgy is being done to the chicken.

I buy organic chicken and have no issues with any chicken shrinking when i cook

[Mo2k]

What size chook are you starting out with?

What cut?

How are you cooking it?

How long and what temp?

Hmmm, this is where I embarrass myself with my woeful cooking skills.....

It's always the breast

Have tried a few different ways - pan, oven, nuking it in the microwave!

Temperature varies - basically it's just checking and rechecking untl I think it looks done. (Which also means that sometimes it ends up all cut up and looking like something even a dog wouldn't touch.

I know, woeful

[Schnitzelvonkrum...]

Lots of places pump chicken breasts in particular full of water to plump them up and increase the sale weight. Try buying from a reputable butcher and see if there is a difference? I certainly notice we need far less meat when I buy organic chicken breasts (not from the supermarket, from a butcher) because the meat is heaps more filling.

Another thing to try would be to poach the breast, because you shouldn't have any loss of fluid and shrinkage doing that.

[Mo2k]

Another thing to try would be to poach the breast, because you shouldn't have any loss of fluid and shrinkage doing that.

That's interesting as when I nuke it in the microwave I put some cling wrap over (which is poaching?) and it also shrinks a lot that way. I think I need to try another butcher. There is another one near me but nowhere near as convenient. Still, I suppose I had better suck it up and make the effort. (To both buy from a different place and perhaps learn how to cook!)

Thanks all - will give the organic chicken a go.

[Schnitzelvonkrum...]

Poaching is cooking on the stove, at a very gentle heat, under liquid - usually chicken stock and some herbs. There are loads of different methods, but the best results usually come from the ones where the chicken cools in the poaching liquid.

[credence]

That's weird. If you really think it's excessive, beyond normal shrinkage from cooking, try another brand/shop for sure.

The only other thing that I can think of is that you're possibly cooking the chicken to death - the longer you cook something the more moisture it loses. I know that a lot of people overcook chicken because they want to 'make sure' it's cooked all the way through, so they give it a few extra minutes. "Can't hurt", but the result can be rather dry.

Are your breasts still moist or are they dried out?

[Alacritous~Andy]

Are your breasts still moist or are they dried out?

Best out of context EB quote of the day.

[credence]

AA - I was quite aware of what I was saying when I said it.

Chicken breast, chicken breasts, not your breasts OP. I'm sure they're all kinds of lovely and certainly not dry