Dinner fail, so very fail.

[thistlechaser]

While I now have two ways I can make my chicken breast dinner, I know I need more, so I tried a new way out tonight. I had a recipe using greek yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest to marinade it in. (Boy did the yogurt and lemon smell good! I could have eaten it with a spoon instead of using it for the chicken.)

I never know if I'm supposed to cover chicken when I bake it, but when in doubt I generally do since I figure that would keep it moister. But tonight it did something odd. The chicken shrunk to maybe a quarter of the original size and was nearly covered in what looked like water.

They were a really icky color (white) and the texture was odd. The first bite had okay flavor (lemon, nothing else), but that got old really quick. I didn't even come close to finishing it. (TV dinner to the rescue!)

Google tells me I probably poached my chicken. I really can't recommend doing that. I didn't use much lemon juice (a tablespoon or so), though maybe that was enough acid to partially cook it on its own? Whatever the cause, it didn't work at all.

Comments

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

A whole boneless skinless chicken breast only needs to cook for 30-35 minutes at 350F. For me that has always produced consistent results -- tender, just juicy enough, not over-cooked, not under-cooked. Don't cover it since that will reduce the heat at it which it cooks and will prevent the surface from browning.

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

This is baked, without liquid, in a pyrex dish.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Mine is metal (usually sitting on a larger flat metal pan so I can get it out of the oven easier), so that probably matters somewhat.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, huh. Thanks!