One harsh truth about chicken is it can be rubbery. The cooking method of the chicken plays a very important role in the chicken being rubbery. I can still remember those days when I was not able to cook properly. In those days I wondered several times why my chicken is rubbery. Is rubbery chicken ok to eat? After a lot of practice and knowledge about the reasons behind this, now I know how to make a perfect chicken recipe.
In this article, I will address everything you need to know about rubbery chicken. Stay with me throughout this article for a detailed clarification about rubbery chicken.
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Is Rubbery Chicken Ok to Eat?
Whether rubbery chicken is ok to eat or not depends on some factors. First of all, you need to identify why the chicken is rubbery. Is it from overcooking or undercooking? If the reason is overcooking, yes, you can safely eat it. However, you have to sacrifice its taste. On the other hand, if it’s because of undercooking, you should never eat it. Because it can be a great safety hazard.
If your chicken is not properly cooked yet, you should start cooking it again. As a result, it will be perfectly cooked and in that case, you will be able to eat it. A properly cooked chicken comes with a specific internal temperature which is 165°F. So, continue cooking your chicken until you get the perfect internal temperature from it.
Luckily, there are some other innovative ways to deal with rubbery chicken. You can eat the chicken with a sauce. Reheating it in broth is another great way to deal with rubbery chicken. You can even make a sandwich with it. If you are still confused, don’t worry, I will discuss it in detail about it later in this article.
Causes of Rubbery Chicken
So, what makes chicken rubbery? There are several reasons behind the rubbery chicken including chicken quality, overcooking or undercooking.
I am discussing all of the reasons below so that you can able to cook chicken without rubbery texture.
Poor Quality of the Chicken:
There is no doubt that the quality of the chicken is quite important. A poor quality chicken can lead to a rubbery texture in it. First, I want to mention here that the woody breast syndrome has increased in the broiler chicken industry these days.
If you don’t know anything about woody chicken, let me clarify for you in simple words. Woody breast chickens are pale, bad tasting, and hard. It can happen due to an abnormality in muscle fibers.
Although it is not unsafe to eat woody chicken, it may give you an unpleasant eating experience. Another great problem is if you cook woody chicken, to make the situation worse, you might end up having a rubbery texture from it. To avoid this, you need to buy high-quality chickens.
Overcooked Chicken:
Overcooking a chicken will destroy its flavor and texture. As the fat, protein, along with sugar molecules fused, you will find the overcooked meat tough. In that case, you will not be able to eat or digest the meat easily. Besides, in overcooked chicken, protein fibers will lose elasticity which will make the chicken rubbery.
Though you may find several reasons for overcooking, I want to highlight two major reasons. Many people forget that they were cooking something. As a result, the meat becomes overcooked. Another reason is people try to avoid undercooking meat. So, they continue cooking and in some cases, might end up making the chicken overcooked.
Undercooked Chicken:
Ever wondered what does undercooked chicken taste like? You might get some flavor from an undercooked chicken, but the chance is it will be bland. When your chicken is not cooked properly, it may develop a rubbery texture.
Sometimes, you will find it a bit challenging to determine the state of the chicken. The top portion of the chicken may get cooked, but it might remain undercooked on the inside. You should not eat an undercooked chicken, otherwise, you will end up having food poisoning from the chicken.
How to Prevent Rubbery Chicken
Now that you know what makes the chicken rubbery, you may want to know how to prevent it. Below I am giving you some incredible tips which will help you to avoid cooking rubbery chicken.
Be Careful While Buying Chicken:
It is true that when you want to buy organic chicken, you will need to spend some more money. If you have no problem with money, I would like to recommend you to buy organic chicken always. But, if you are on a tight budget, at least buy organic chickens for occasions or parties. It will make sure that everything will go well.
Another important thing to note is, always consider the farming conditions of the chicken. Free-range chickens will give you more quality meat compared to caged birds.
Besides, try to buy chicken with the skin on. Needless to say, boneless chickens are comparatively easier to prepare. But, in that case, there is a high chance of losing moisture from the chicken.
Properly Prepare the Chicken:
If your chicken is not properly prepared in perfect shape and size, you might experience trouble cooking it. I usually use this meat tenderizer while preparing the chicken. It will make the chicken breasts flat and uniform.
Avoid chewy and rubbery chicken, it is very helpful. Also, try to confirm that all chicken pieces are similar in size. As a result, cooking time will be the same for all meat which will reduce the risk of undercooking the chicken.
Bring Perfect Temperature in the Chicken:
When it comes to preventing rubbery chicken, you should try to avoid undercooking the meat first. A perfectly cooked chicken comes with an internal temperature of 165°F. If you can bring this temperature to your chicken, it is already cooked perfectly and safe to eat. In this way, you can avoid undercooking.
But the question is, how can you know about the internal temperature of the cooked chicken?
It’s quite simple these days. All you have to do is a good quality meat thermometer. It will tell you about the temperature very conveniently. Now, there are different meat thermometers available in the market. Not everyone among them is built with high-end quality.
Check below the details of one of the best meat thermometers available in the market. I use this thermometer and it met all of my expectations.
MEATER Plus With Bluetooth® Repeater
Probe Specs
- Connection: Bluetooth LE 4.0 wireless connection
- Maximum internal temperature: 212°F (meat)
- Maximum ambient temperature: 527°F (cooker)
- Build quality: Stainless steel and ceramic construction
- Water resistance: Yes
- Ease of Cleaning: Yes
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Rechargeable: Over 24 hours of continuous cooking
- Dimensions: 130mm in length and 6mm in diameter
Charger Specs
- Built-in Bluetooth repeater extends range: up to 165ft
- Magnetic backing: Attach anywhere
- Charging Specialty: Charges MEATER up to 100 times with one AAA battery
- LED indicator: Yes
- Dimensions: 157mm L x 37mm W x 28mm H
App Requirement
- iPhone and iPad apps for iOS 10.3 and later
- Android app for versions 5.0 and later
Why Should You Buy It?
It comes with a built-in Bluetooth repeater in the charger which will extend the wireless range up to 165 ft. You will get a 100% wire-free user experience from this meat thermometer. It features dual temperature sensors which will tell you the internal temperature of the meat accurately.
Check the latest price of MEATER Plus With Bluetooth® Repeater.
NO doubt, using a good quality meat thermometer will assure you about the temperature of your chicken. That’s how you will be able to prevent making rubbery chicken.
Cook in Moisture Inducing Methods:
Another important way to prevent rubbery chicken is to try to cook it with moisture-inducing methods. More specifically, if you use boiling, steaming, braising, stewing, etc. for cooking, your chicken will get enough moisture. As a result, the chicken will get water or other liquids automatically. So, it will not be that easy for the chicken to dry out.
If you use a lot of liquid-like broth, sauce, etc. while cooking the chicken, it will be beneficial for preventing the rubbery texture.
What to Do With Rubbery Chicken
Sometimes the bad thing still happens even after your best effort. You may still experience rubbery chicken in some worst-case scenarios. Below are some tricks that you can do with rubbery chicken to rectify the situation.
Serve with Sauce:
The best trick to deal with rubbery chicken is to serve it with sauce. The trickiest part is which sauce to choose. It depends on your dish. If you are a grill lover, go for a BBQ sauce. When your main course is pasta, you should go for Alfredo sauce. For mashed potatoes, you can use gravy.
Reheat in Broth:
Reheating the chicken can be another effective way to remove the rubbery texture from the chicken. Instead, you need to reheat the chicken in broth. The broth can be salted or unsalted based on your seasoning preference. Also, make sure that you have used the right amount of broth. Otherwise, your chicken dish may become soggy.
Make a Sandwich with it:
One of the innovative ways to deal with the rubbery chicken is using it in a sandwich. As lettuce, tomatoes, and onions are used in the sandwich, it will add more moisture to the chicken. You should also try mayo or a sauce of different flavors to make the dish tastier.
Wrapping Up!
The truth is we don’t like the rubbery texture of our chicken. Typically, low-quality chicken, overcooking or undercooking is the main reasons for rubbery chicken. Many people wonder, is rubbery chicken ok to eat? If the reason is overcooking, not undercooking, you may eat rubbery chicken.
There are many ways to prevent the rubbery textures of your chicken. You can even deal with the rubbery chicken by following some tricks. I tried to explain everything in this article. I hope now you can easily deal with the frustrating rubbery chicken. Happy cooking!
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