Why are chicken breasts sometimes tough?

Answer 1

There are several reasons your chicken could be tough. If you accidentally purchase a stewing chicken, which are older tougher birds meant for slow cooking, and you don't stew them, they could be tough. Chicken will also turn rubbery and tough if you overcook it.

There are a couple of things you can do to try to avoid tough chicken. First, unless you will be stewing or braising the chicken, make sure you buy a younger chicken intended for frying or roasting. Second, the day before you cook the chicken, either salt it down, or soak it in a salt water solution in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking. Salt not only flavors the meet, it breaks down some of the protein to make it more tender, and it helps the meat to retain some of its moisture when it cooks. Third, get an insta read digital thermometer. That way you can quickly test to see if the chicken parts are cooked to the right temperture, without overcooking them.

Answer 2

I bought a chicken at one of our Giant Food stores in Hanover, Pa. The date was 5 days before expiring and we made it last night. Well it was tough and it had a strong smell to it, so what if the reason for one of your chickens to be so tough?

jeffwildasin@hotmail.com

Answer 3

The free range chickens are tough because they get more exercise then supermarket caged chickens.So, after butchering place chicken in fridge for 3-4 days so the muscles relax then put them in the freezer.When you thaw them out to cook soak chicken in buttermilk for a hour to offset any toughness left.

Answer 4

The older the bird the tougher the meat. Most birds raised for broiler/fryer use are less than 6 months old and are vigorously fed highly nutritious feed. Some birds do not reach the desired market weight within that time frame and are actively developing muscle tissue by then. The meat from these birds is usually tougher than the normal broiler chicken and are often sold off as pickmeat birds.

Answer 5

Chicken usually gets tough if it's overcooked.

Answer 6

For meat, because they are sick, or injured, for breeding, i.e. culling numbers and keeping the best stock

Answer 7

shut up, you nerds, anyone who searches this can shut up, cus yo momma so fat she makes tom terza look skinny. hahahahaha lol :)

Answer 8

Yes. The tenderness of the meat depends on the state of the bird at the time of slaughter -old birds will be tough and stringy, whether fresh or not.