Why Is My Crock Pot Chicken Dry & Tough?
I cooked it in the crock pot on high for 3 hours. The original plan was 4 hours or so but I checked the internal temp @ 3 hours and it was 190 so I stopped it. I did have it about 1/3 full of water & various spices. What went wrong?
Incoming Searches:
- can you overcook chicken in a crock pot
- slow cooker overcooked chicken
- tough chicken recipes
- why is my crock pot meat dry
- overcooking chicken in slow cooker
- overcook chicken in slow cooker
- why does chicken get tough
- recipe for tough chicken
- when i ciok chicken in crock pot it is tough what do i do wrong
- does chicken breast get dried out in a slow cooker
Posted on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am by Crock Pot Chef · Permalink
In: Chicken Slow Cooker Recipes · Tagged with: amp, crock pot, spices
In: Chicken Slow Cooker Recipes · Tagged with: amp, crock pot, spices
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
For moist, tender chicken it seems that you need to cook either really fast, or really slow. At three hours, you’re in between fast and slow.
When you fast cook (like frying) you can get dry chicken if you overcook it. However, when you slow cook it, it will get up to a higher temperature, because it needs to stay there for a while to break down the connective tissues that make it tough.
Although it seems weird, if you had just kept cooking the chicken (even on high) it would eventually seem to take on some more moisture. I’m not sure why this happens, it just does!!!
One more thing, chicken likes to rest before eating. It may seem dryer if you didn’t give it say 10 – 15 minutes to rest prior to carving.
Hope this helps!
Good Luck.
,
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
I have never been really happy with crock pot chicken. Unless I’m cooking cutlets, I use my pressure cooker for chicken. It’s done really fast and always moist and full of flavor.
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
It cooked too long. Next time, put some butter or oil on or under the skin in addition to putting it in the water. Reduce the cooking time as well.
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
It may have been an old chicken or you overcooked it. Probably overcooked it, so it lost too much moisture.
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
If you lifted the lid more than once, you lost 20 minutes of cooking time each time you did.
190 degrees is waaaaay to high. You cooked that chicken to death! The internal temp should be around 165 degrees. I don’t use a thermometer but rather poke a thigh or breast to make sure the juices run clear.
Chicken breasts – if that’s what you are cooking – have very little fat and tend to dry out very quickly.
If you have a cheap crock pot, they cook very unevenly and are unpredictable. Buy a better model – it doesn’t have to be top of the line, but not a $14 model.
I have an All-Clad that will hopefully be the last one I will every buy. It cost about $160 but I use it a lot and was sick of buying cheap crock pot after cheap crock pot.
You can find nice ones around $40 that do a very nice job.
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
my mom usually has it cook all day (7am-4-pm) and usually has it in some sort of soup or broth. During 7-4 she has it on high and at four she turns it to low. It always turns out really good and not dry.
Hope this helped. :]
-Rachel.
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
Nowhere near long enough for a slow cooker. Put it on and go out for the day. You want at least 8hours
Best of luck
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
Chicken can be tricky to cook in a slow cooker, especially the hotter slow cookers being manufactured these days. That’s *especially* true of the white meat parts of the chicken. They’ll overcook and dry out much more quickly than any other meat/poultry/fish that naturally has more fat and connective tissue, etc.
You can read much more about that, and how to deal with chicken in slow cookers in my answer to this previous question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AonFqpn7Fl0DYOB._ZNYdzYAAAAA;_ylv=3?qid=20091017124004AASe3jT
And you may be interested in this one too:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090614115430AAzxP84
HTH!
on May 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
· Permalink
Were you cooking the whole chicken, bones and all? Boneless chicken tends to be dry. I always add chicken broth instead of water (for flavor) and a little bit of butter (flavor, and extra creaminess).