Rubbery Chicken- Why does woody breast still have the industry stumped?

[Never1AShow]

Being about 70% chicken breasts and rice, the Bodybuilding world should take note of the emergence of this phenomenon over the last few years.

Super frustrating, regardless of how you cook it.  Only solution seems to be to fork over an extra few dollars a pound for farm raised.

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/why-does-woody-breast-still-have-the-industry-stumped

[IroNat]

I'm a leg man, myself.

[Al Doggity]

Haha I didn't know this had an actual name. I asked reddit about this a few years back and the responses were that marinating it after it was commercially brined was the cause, but I knew that couldn't be right.

Good way to minimize it or prevent it, also good way to keep chicken moist: parboil first for about a minute or less- don't cook through. THEN marinate it and let sit for at least 15 minutes, then airfry it or grill it.

[IroNat]

It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.

[nerdoldnerdith]

The stuff makes me gag just thinking about it. I don't know why, but the texture is the most revolting shit in the world. I would rather eat insects.

Maybe you can slow cook it and pull it apart.

[pamith]

I almost never eat chicken, am I missing out?

[robcguns]

I almost never eat chicken, am I missing out?

Chicken sucks when compared to steak or pork. Although chicken thighs are amazing when cooked and marinated correctly.

[Van_Bilderass]

Do you guys find inner fillet different from breast?

[Grape Ape]

Boneless chicken breast is the bottom of the meat food chain.

Prefer steak, lamb, buffalo, elk, chicken thighs, fish to that.

[TheGrinch]

hope solo roast beef is better imo

[Never1AShow]

Haha I didn't know this had an actual name. I asked reddit about this a few years back and the responses were that marinating it after it was commercially brined was the cause, but I knew that couldn't be right.

Good way to minimize it or prevent it, also good way to keep chicken moist: parboil first for about a minute or less- don't cook through. THEN marinate it and let sit for at least 15 minutes, then airfry it or grill it.

After experiencing several bad batches recently, i did a lot of digging and discovered this is an industry-wide problem.  All my research indicates that there is no way to cook around it or prepare the chicken to avoid this.  Once you've got a bad batch, you're screwed.  You can't tell before you cook it either, it seems like the others but is rubbery and awful once cooked. 

Apparently, it is the muscle fibers in the breasts that are growing too quickly without proper capillaries or something directly tied to the industry practice of breeding them to grow huge breasts very quickly.  Anyone in the bodybuilding game will notice how much bigger each individual breast is now compared to a few years ago.       

Only solution is to buy the much more expensive free range chickens that have smaller breasts.  Maybe you can get a bargain somewhere on these, but buying regular stuff at the supermarket is now a crapshoot where 1 in 5 is inedible.

[Grape Ape]

After experiencing several bad batches recently, i did a lot of digging and discovered this is an industry-wide problem.  All my research indicates that there is no way to cook around it or prepare the chicken to avoid this.  Once you've got a bad batch, you're screwed.  You can't tell before you cook it either, it seems like the others but is rubbery and awful once cooked. 

Apparently, it is the muscle fibers in the breasts that are growing too quickly without proper capillaries or something directly tied to the industry practice of breeding them to grow huge breasts very quickly.  Anyone in the bodybuilding game will notice how much bigger each individual breast is now compared to a few years ago.       

Only solution is to buy the much more expensive free range chickens that have smaller breasts.  Maybe you can get a bargain somewhere on these, but buying regular stuff at the supermarket is now a crapshoot where 1 in 5 is inedible.

Plenty of online resources like butcher box where the prices are decent for all organic, naturally feed products.

[Al Doggity]

All my research indicates that there is no way to cook around it or prepare the chicken to avoid this.

Super annoying, I commend your research abilities in this matter. I had no idea this was an industry wide problem.

As for cooking around it,  the tip I posted upthread has worked for me. I won't bore you with the novelization, but  this was an *issue* in our household for a brief period of time, so my thing was focusing on technique. It combines variations on  two asian cooking techniques, the first is introducing a little heat  before you marinate your protein to allow it to absorb faster and causes the proteins to denature, the second is something called velveting, where you marinate your protein with generous salt, starch, etc. (It is the technique that makes those cheap cuts at chinese places so tender.) I haven't had an issue with this in a  while, it's definitely had to be more than 2 years and I have chicken breast several times a week.  I went through a big period of experimentation where I would  divide breasts and cook them differently to see how they turned out, and this technique definitely helped minimize  that texture when it was more prominent on other parts of the same breast. 

Obviously, you or your girl decides what goes in your stomach, just letting you know what ended up being a solution for me.  Appreciate the thread, though,  I'm actually glad to know what that shit  really is.

eta: I should probably clarify that I'm using boneless skinless breast.

[Never1AShow]

Plenty of online resources like butcher box where the prices are decent for all organic, naturally feed products.

NO, Butcher's Box is over $10 a pound for meat, much more expensive!  They trick people by claiming it is $5 "per meal".  Organic chicken is much cheaper per pound at a grocery store (but still much higher than normal chicken)

https://eatthegains.com/butcherbox-review-is-butcherbox-worth-it/

[Never1AShow]

Super annoying, I commend your research abilities in this matter. I had no idea this was an industry wide problem.

As for cooking around it,  the tip I posted upthread has worked for me. I won't bore you with the novelization, but  this was an *issue* in our household for a brief period of time, so my thing was focusing on technique. It combines variations on  two asian cooking techniques, the first is introducing a little heat  before you marinate your protein to allow it to absorb faster and causes the proteins to denature, the second is something called velveting, where you marinate your protein with generous salt, starch, etc. (It is the technique that makes those cheap cuts at chinese places so tender.) I haven't had an issue with this in a  while, it's definitely had to be more than 2 years and I have chicken breast several times a week.  I went through a big period of experimentation where I would  divide breasts and cook them differently to see how they turned out, and this technique definitely helped minimize  that texture when it was more prominent on other parts of the same breast. 

Obviously, you or your girl decides what goes in your stomach, just letting you know what ended up being a solution for me.  Appreciate the thread, though,  I'm actually glad to know what that shit  really is.

eta: I should probably clarify that I'm using boneless skinless breast.

Thanks Dude

[GymnJuice]

Thighs taste better and don't have that much more fat in them.  Takes more time to trim them though.

[wes]

Chicken I buy up here in northern NY is fine......when I lived in Massachusettes it sucked balls.

[Grape Ape]

NO, Butcher's Box is over $10 a pound for meat, much more expensive!  They trick people by claiming it is $5 "per meal".  Organic chicken is much cheaper per pound at a grocery store (but still much higher than normal chicken)

https://eatthegains.com/butcherbox-review-is-butcherbox-worth-it/

Yes, but as you go, you add specials, which drives avg cost down.  For example, I get 2lbs of ground beef and 1lb of bacon free every order now.

Plus, it's convenient as shit.  And I don't add chicken breast anyway because it sucks, and there's always costco or something for that at $5 lb.

[El Diablo Blanco]

its mass production of chicken for all of these fucking chicken sandwiches.  A few years ago the cost of a chicken got so high that Costco had to go into farming.  They pledged to members that their rotisserie chicken will never go above $4.99 but to make that work they had to grow their own.  It was a total disaster for them.  The chicken was so rubbery and inedible.  they had to enlist help of many big farms to get it right but even now their once moist rotisserie is rubbery and gross.

[TheGrinch]

last few years all "organic" chicken has been destroying my stomach for some reason