It took me a long time to learn to love chicken. I would always gag whenever I ate grilled chicken breast – it always was so dry to me. You should never truly dread a meal, and I was getting to that point with chicken. Then one day my wife made a chicken breast for me that did not suck! As I peppered her with questions about how she did, she just had this sly smile. Turns out she had read that if you soak the chicken breast in buttermilk that the breast would be tender and juicy…and it was! I am no scientist, but apparently there are some enzymes present in buttermilk that act as a meat tenderizer. She typically soaks the breasts for 2 hours or so, but has also soaked them overnight and they have turned out great!
Staying with the chicken theme, search your supermarket for ground chicken breast to use in any recipes where you may have used ground turkey. The ground chicken breast is much more moist than turkey and has a better taste (to me, at least). I know it depends on where we shop, as not every supermarket has it, but I know that Perdue is one of the brands. Alternatively, if you live near a quality butcher, they can easily grind fresh chicken breasts for you, and they may actually be a bit fresher.
Finally, my last chicken-related tip is to utilize rotisserie chickens. They are available at most supermarkets and even at the warehouse clubs. They are extremely versatile and most often generate multiple meals. One quick tip – DO NOT FEAR THE DARK MEAT!
Dark meat poultry catches a bad rap, but in fact, contains a tremendous amount of nutrients. The dark color comes from a chemical compound in the muscle called myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport. Dark meats must use myoglobins as they transfer oxygen more efficiently to the muscles than glycogen. Muscles used more frequently, get to be dark. This is why non-flying poultry drumsticks are dark meat, while breast meat is white. When dark meat is cooked it turns the myoglobins to metmyoglobins, which is brown/gray. Metmyoglobins are very high in iron.
Dark meats tend to contain more zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, iron than white meat. Chicken dark meat contain vitamins A, K, B6, B12, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, minerals as selenium, phosphorus and zinc. Even the fats in most of the dark meats have healthy parts. They contain Omega-3, and Omega-6 fatty acids, and other “healthy‟ fats. To reduce the saturated fat content of dark chicken meat, simply remove the skin!
