Hope they sort it out soon and if not I think Ill consider going vegetarian. Well after that I invested in a meat thermometer off Amazon that had great reviews, and just now cooked some chicken and immediately checked the temp and it was reading 190 degrees fahrenheit in MULTIPLE spots. When I buy smaller ckn breast I haven't had the issue. Really, why does chicken taste like this now? While researchers and geneticists attempt to find the exact cause and cure here's what you need to know. I don't know why, but the wsj article seems in the right direction. I found this piece from 2016: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woody-breast-could-bite-the-chicken-business/. What does our FDA do with our tax dollars? My husband and I noticed this same thing last year when we were eating grilled chicken salads from our local haunt. CBS news story from 2016 link at the end of my post, but this is clearly still happening. "In other words, it's Fido's lucky day!". Marinading chicken (or any protein) in an acid for too long can make it mushy. This usually accompanies a nasty taste like how stagnant dish pan water smells. When you bite into it its crunchy. So this happened to me with frozen chicken breast that were cooked on the grill. First noticed the stringiness when buying chicken sandwiches from fast food restaurants. I spit all of that out and called for the waitress. so unappetizing. I thought that was a better brand and I was buying good chicken. NAHHHHH So now Im sitting here hangry af looking at a juicy hard woody with Extreme disappointment. This has happened to my more than once- I thought at first I had overcooked, or even cut it the wrong way (with the grain vs. against). Why Is My Chicken Breast Always So Dry? - Stellina Marfa Everyone needs to call the USDA and voice your concern. I now only buy chicken tenders and have had no problem. [not directed at this post] should start at the beginning of the thread, or at least skim it. I thought it had to do with not thoroughly thawing, but as everyone else said, it seemed done in every respect except the consistency. I have been completely avoiding chicken for the last 6 months, then ended up at mcdonald's last week and ordered a chicken legend on auto-pilot. I guess it doesnt bother him but we get ours from Aldi and they are HUGE so I am thinking we will pay a little more for them from somewhere else because I cant do it anymore!!! Many people also like to coat the chicken in lemon juice and/or vinegar. See also Can You Teach Chickens To Talk? Interesting, I posted a few years back but still keep an eye on this conversation. I referred to the #1 in another post below. The texture definitely gives off biting into raw chicken vibes! I genuinely thought I hadnt cooked it properly. The owner came cover and I told her what the waitress said, fearing it was not cooked thoroughly. My friend reassured me it all looked done as far as what she saw. I'm so glad I found this site. My description has been feels raw- some how under cooked but also rubbery the way it gets when it has been over cooked. In summary, in the chicken manufacturers desire to meeting the growing demand of "white" breast meat, the chickens have been getting larger and larger through feeding techniques. Roasters can be more tender than stewing hens. As I began to eat I could feel this Gross rubbery texture. I am so glad I found this thread as I had been noticing this is chicken breasts. Pay attention to what is really going on! I havent had that problem anymore. If you're aware of what to look for, it's pretty easy to avoid purchasing chicken like this. You know what we have to do.complain, because the squeaky wheel gets the oil and corporations wouldn't want to lose a dime. The only thing is, that it seems to be occurring around 25% of the time. That would be the ones being discussed here. Ive had this issue with Popeyes and more recently, storebought chicken. The owner said they were having problems with their suppliers and quality of chicken trouble and assured me that all chicken had temperature gauges in them and were done. Could this have something to do with how I'm cooking the meat? Mainstream media doesnt even know why they all cover the exact same 6 stories everyday, like they are clones. Many people feel they need to wash their poultry to remove fat, feathers, and yellow surfaces of the bird. We had this happy many times with chicken, turkey breast, and pork chops/loin. something is wrong with most of the chicken breast now a days. They also tend to be more prevalent in chickens raised for commercial production. He also suggested spatchcocking and and cooking at 325 for an hour (I have been cooking at 425-450). I even got a letter from the owner of Springer Farms who was very honest, but also a bit graphic in the details of why this is happening. Thanks for making me laugh, though you are right.it isn't funny anymore. It isn't a woody texture at all, but it is dubbed just that; woody breast. The chicken felt the same as the last chicken I bought which was probably 2 weeks ago. If you cook chicken in a skillet, oven, or grill for an excessive amount of time, the moisture will be sucked out of the meat, leaving you with a dry, rubbery bird. I guess I will have to start buying organic chicken breast. The chicken is fully cooked through (I can tell based on internal temp, time in the oven, color of the chicken and juices), but the texture of the chicken is funny, almost like it hasn't been thoroughly cooked. It's interesting to me that it's so hard to find any information on it. Thanks CV. I was happy to come across this thread. I did some experimenting and was pleased. Hope they do better with a COVID vaccine (Ill just wait to see on that one, like everything else in the last 35 years.) Tonight we cooked chicken breasts on the grill, I had marinated them in soy sauce and thought they would be good. Most often, fresh chicken has limited to no smell at all. Im surprised that this is happening in higher welfare chicken also.. just had a skim through the article written about it and its very concerning. I have been having this issue. Americans have no idea, that everything American on the stock market is now majority owned by all the same Global institutional finance entities, all bought up & controlled by finance. We have seen this happen from time to time (including at dinner tonight). Consider trying to tenderize them by using a marinade or brine with yogurt or buttermilk which has enzymes that make the meat less tough. On a pathological level it results in vein inflammation, muscle degradation, muscle death (necrosis), and lesions in the muscle. Why does some chicken have a rubbery texture? Why does my chicken breast have a "crunchy" texture? How can I We buy our chicken from an Amish Market in the area, so I figured we'd be safe, nope. "It was unavoidable." I recently bought chicken breasts from Perdue. The taste of chicken gizzard is often described as "gamey," and some people find it to be an acquired taste. I know this is an older thread but it's still happening and now I can't find any stores that don't have chicken with the same problem. Mostly, the breasts that I purchase are large weighing one pound plus that I often cut in half and pound, but still get the texture problem. I figured if an hour was good, all day would be better. SO glad I looked this up. Thank God I'm not crazy! its so strange because in a package of two breasts, one can be fine and the other inedible! It's all about profits. . I took the other, smaller breast, cut into a chunks and quickly sauteed it for our dog. The moment of panic was real biting into the sandwich I purchased, but upon further inspection it was fully cooked. I actually googled this and your same query came up on this site. :( dark meat (thighs, drumsticks, wings) always seem to be okits the breasts that are the problem. On my last cook I brined my chicken and tried a combo of a little salt and some soy sauce which may have caused it to over brine/strange texture. We have been eating at the same restaurant for many years and noticed around the end of 2017 the grilled chicken was 'grisly' textured. I buy amish farms brand only now never have a problem. I try to avoid red meat (especially fast food burgers) and chicken breast is about the only thing on the menu i would order.not any more. Its like Americans have no idea what is patented and distributed for profit in deregulated America. Has anyone else had this problem? The first was in a batch of frozen chicken fillets from a supermarket, but the others have been from my local butcher who are otherwise very good. I do like your idea of buying fresh, locally. I don't have any explanation, but I've had this unpleasant problem lately too - any cooking method, can kind of tell from looking at it and handling it raw that it's likely to happen. After cooking the strips in the oven they were cut up over a salad. I said it felt like it should burst like a rubber balloon in the center. Then you realize something different is happening and it's not something you can finish eating. No thanks. The plus of that also is they are forgiving and rarely get overcooked or dry unless you let them go too long. (yes, the ones that are pictured in this article. Its filthy. Just registered here to say it, was googling why the * my chicken is crunchy on the inside once out of every 3 times I buy them. Like Janet Jessica I have also experienced this very same problem. I continued to "try" the pieces but the entire right half was like a chewy rubber, almost raw chewy texture, like a rubber cube. We get our chicken from Gelson's, an upscale market here in the Los Angeles area. My husband even e perform ex this with a McDonalds grilled chicken sandwich. It started happening with Ohio Amish chicken now too. The cheep variety is nice and smooth but then you do not know what they feed them. This is bad, i am going to talk to two local butchers about this issue. I would think that, given the number of complaints here alone, this situation would find its way to chicken raisersbut then as long as their sales aren't affected, they won't lift a finger. I just wonder if these chicken related issues have anything to do with "live agriculture slaughter" which is boiling chickens ALIVE! It's got me thinking and feeling, it's seriously not natural meat. And is there any way to counteract the rubberiness? We really eat a lot of chicken but this crunchy chicken breast issue ( which happens about 25% of the time) is turning me off to even buying breasts anymore. Inedible. IM SICK OF STRINGY WATERED CHICKEN!!!! "In inspecting fresh chicken breasts in the package, it would be harder to the touch if the breast had the condition," Tom Super, Senior VP of Communications at the National Chicken Council, told TODAY. This chewy texture is gross. I recently bought a regular ABF rotisserie chicken from a local health food grocery and it was stringy and had that raw texture. I can't blame her, it's disgusting. The texture really is disgusting. Why do they say not to wash chicken? - wedo.dynu.net I know my household has dropped chicken consumption dramatically. I too have just taken to google to try and make sense of this weird phenomenon of eating perfectly cooked chicken in which the texture makes its seem raw. What Are Woody Chicken Breasts and What Can You Do With Them? - Today It's almost crunchy like, I can't eat it. Cooked what I thought would be a lovely pan-fried honey garlic chicken breast dinner - but to my disappointment the chicken bounces back when you bite into it. Aside from Perdue and Trader Joe's, has anyone been able to identify other bad sources? When chicken is cooked for too long, the protein in the meat breaks down and forms a network that makes the meat tough and rubbery. Omg yes! The processing of preparing chicken for the market place is being injected with water!! I have been having an issue on and off with the texture of my chicken. This apparently (according to the article) is not dangerous to humans, but because of the now excessive muscle fiber in the breast meat, the taste and texture has changed. This is a very old discussion but I had to comment. Same exact thing happening here. Thank you!!! It doesn't solve ruining your meal and possibly not eating chicken again but I hope if enough people complain they can take it seriously at the production end. I'm guessing that, like cv said, your product has been pre-brined. Just a small correction, amysarah, and not intended personally, since in the past I've noticed some general misperceptions here about kosher chickens: kosher birds are never actually injected with salt water. . What a world we our creating for ourselves! We buy all our meat at Fresh Market, a local speciality grocer. I have only run into this issue with breast meat. See also Why Is My Chicken Sitting On Eggs All Day? So, maybe if a parent chicken had antibiotics/chemicals/etc but a baby chicken did not and was raised differently, it would still be affected by this disease. Somehow we need to get this issue out there and address this issue. It very could be the "woody breast".or could be the frozen breaded piece of chicken was cooked ALMOST throughleaving behind a water center? this must be rooster or rat meat. Tough dark meat usually is indicative of old bird or a tad under cooked. Lately, even before the pandemic but not to the same extent, I have had issues with chicken. We are no longer laughing about Frankenchicken, because that's what it is. High environmental temperatures are the most common cause of thin-shelled eggs. While they make for less-than-stellar filets, woody chicken breasts aren't completely worthless. The food has always been great but me, trying it get on track with my diet ordered grilled chicken. Yes! I'm in Australia. My kids had a awful look on their faces and my daughter finally says this chicken is horrible! Your mention f perfume speaks to what I experienced eating Perdue chicken strips today. this Is not chicken. My husband insisted the chicken was done. I don't think it was dry. Ugh - this is happening to me right now (which is what brought me to this thread). chicken breasts - normally Tyson brand. The process is detailed and performed with great care. And those farmers who continue to breed these fast growing breeds so that they can get the meat to market faster will just go out of business because no one wants to be eating this crap. Im living in Japan and came to food52 searching for some answers as well. So stir fry in a very hot wok or griddle and roast in a pretty hot oven (425 or so). Filthy, diseased animals just piled on top of each other in a filthy environment. For those who keep kosher (and eat meat), it is an obligatory process (and of course, is not intended as a brine, marinade or flavor enhancer). My husband said nothing was wrong but I know what a completely cooked chicken breast tastes like and what if feels like when I chew. Guys! Look up "Woody Brest". It'll look cooked and be most, but has a slight variant look to it where you can actually see that it's a funky texture. Ill leep reading all the responses on this thread to see what everyone else thinks . If anyone has seen the documentary "What the Health" you'll find out lots of stuff companies do to meat that they don't want you to know about. We used to eat chicken 2 or 3 times a week. :(. This is due to chicken farms trying to increase yield on the chickens, causing them to grow larger than they naturally should. The only option I see is to grind them/ chop them in food processor and try them as patties or chicken meatballs with other ingredients. Maybe we all need to go back to our local farmers if there are still any independent and still in business. at least then i was finally convinced it has nothing to do with me or how im preparing the meat. While I was trimming the little bit of fat I quickly noticed that the entire top of the breast started to pull away from the breast. If you notice any texture changes, such as increased softness, sliminess, stickiness, or residue, it's likely no longer safe to eat. Maybe that's the issue. I had this exact issue today while cooking drumsticks. Your reply is very informative, but with a little research I have learned that both dark and whit chicken has changed, and not for the best. Sorry not Bell & Howell (lol) its Bell & Evans chickens. This woodiness is not found in thighs, wings or other cuts. so disappointing; has really turned me off US chicken altogether and so sad as i used to really love white meat and would cook it at least once or twice a week! This issue really needs to get addressed. Until it wasn't. What started out as sporadic, is now quite pervasive. You are correct the chicken is crunchy inside like you biting into a tendons it's crazy . Glad Im not the only one! Im now part of this club, unfortunately. Stephanie , you are exactly right. Its gross. . Chicken that doesn't brown?? Wonder if restaurants are seeing this as well? That's it for me! My guess is all the saline/ other solutions that are pumped into the chicken while raw, so that it can be sold for more profit. Fast-growing chickens presents texture issue for the industry I made that mistake with a dish in which the chicken was supposed to marinade for an hour in a mixture based on fresh lemon juice. I am so glad that my boyfriend and I will not be getting food poisoning! We couldn't eat it; those fibers are too weird and crunch in the most unappetizing way. As for the way you're cooking your meat, that's difficult to comment on since you don't actually mention how you are cooking it. I've noticed an issue as well and it's always been difficult to describe it. Both meals had this texture problem and were very unenjoyable to eat. She aid she'd get another piece of fried chicken instead and would make sure it was cooked "completely" which terrified me as I am already ill and did not want to aquire any samonella. I just had some at Applebees last night. To add to my previous comment, all 3 times before cutting into the raw breast they did feel different. Scientists are still working on finding the root cause of woody chicken breasts. What Is The Texture Of Chicken? - Sweetish Hill Same thing just happened here with two skin on breasts from publix. 10K views, 144 likes, 65 loves, 404 comments, 91 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Recteq: With Chef John on vacation, we had Jody step in for a special edition of Back Yard & Beyond, & boy did he. Never a problem. Start here and then look at all the peer reviewed journal articles and patents. Same! And its disgusting. Most of the shampoo and perfumes and petroleum jelly prefix petroleum yes that goes in your skin it's systemic. I spit it out very quickly and started to check the chicken more. Wow! I checked the internal temperature and they were all between 175-185, well over the safe temperature for chicken. Texture is an emerging challenge within the poultry industry. I read someone say they have no problems when they sous vide. They said theirs was fine but I don't know if they were just being polite :(. It had such a horrible texture, like almost crunchy but was cooked all the way through! Ive been slowly going off chicken and this might be the final straw. I only ate a few pieces before throwing it away. Very unnerving and it has happened one other time to me and I Had the same reaction. Assuming you are doing so, your commentary would indicate that your problem is with the ingredient itself. I will read all 1. It is also keeping me away from chicken right now! They definitely are. We had to cut chicken completely out of our diet. It is more noticeable in the really large breasts. Not a fan myself. In addition to looking for smaller breasts (which organic breasts tend to be), it's helpful to feel the meat. Its called lobbying folks, line the pockets of the politicians as they look the other way. . ALL the meat WAS good. In a rush for poultry producers to get more money per pound they started growing bigger chickens up to 6lb plus. Very odd. Sugar Hill, GA home of A chicken wood. And eventually they will have to go back to raising their chickens (and pigs) the way they used to . Tyson is the worst "factory chicken" as it's volume of recalls should be enough to scare consumers. :), I don't believe that for a second I have grilled a lot of chicken over the years and never had this issue until the last couple years they're doing something to the meat, I just had a cgrilled chicken sandwich from Dairy Queen and it felt just as you subscribed it was awful could not eat it!!! It was so odd: as the pieces cooked, they shrank up, and then exuded a viscous liquid that bubbled. In a small bowl combine the mustard, molasses, bourbon, hot sauce and grated orange rind. I've been having difficulty lately eating chicken and I this may have been the end for me. I was thinking it's got to be something either in what the chickens are being fed or what companies are doing to them. It appeared to have a very large grain in the meat. There is a "crunchy" texture when you put your fork into the cooked breast, that is also evident when trying to cut the meat. It totally makes you never want to eat chicken again. I thought it might be because I froze and thawed them. It is stringy, wet, and the texture of raw meat. Im sticking to tenderloins for the time being. This weird chicken texture is very sad to me as chicken is my favorite go-to meal. It is definitely not the way the chicken is prepared and cooked because I prepare multiple pieces at the same time and only some of them have the odd texture. They also contend they will simply bleach and clean the surfaces when finished. I am totally organic and purchase chicken from farms and also Whole Foods. And yes, it tends to be the larger ones sold at the butcher counter as singles (by the piece, boned, skinless). That wont help you, as anyone who does research of the reality of slipping GMO birds into our food chain can discover. I do better with Bell and Evans. It's almost as if it's a tire rubber texture in my mouth. Makes me wonder if this new weirdly always raw chicken is a result of however they tampered with the chickens to fix the woody breast issue. But sometimes, the meat becomes almost crunchy. Pulled these out to find the underside like this. What is happening is it's all about the breasts. Ive had experience in China where fruits and vegetables are injected to increase their weight / price per gram. It happens probably 1 out of every 10 breast I cook, no matter how I cook it. But I would say, dark meat just a bit under is pretty close to that rubbery "crunch-like" unpleasant texture. "Weve only been dealing with woody breasts for about eight years," says Dr. Casey Owens, Professor of Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas. I didn't trust it was cooked all the way but I am pretty sure it was. I switched to organic and don't have this issue anymore. Thanks for relieving me of guilt for not finishing the half eaten plate in front of me! Cooked chicken that has gone bad will usually be slimy, sticky, and overly soft. This chicken THING may have started a couple of years ago even with them. It's as described above, you cook the chicken thoroughly, but the texture is almost rubbery as if it is raw and it turns my stomach every time. Im not too sure what this means as Im new to Canada from New Zealand but assumed it was a variation of ethically raised. My friends and I ate at an exclusive place in Florida. In 20 years of breeding free range heritage breeds, she's seldom encountered the issue. This may make that woody texture. I have noticed it in both the individual wrapped pieces that come in the zip bags and the plastic trays. I think it is Woody Chicken breast as the other poster pointed out. I use it along with an OXO instant read thermometer to make sure the chicken is done. Has anyone found sources for good chicken? I've been saying this for the last 18 months but nobody has noticed it except for me. Thank you for sharing this information. Practice looking at the chicken you eat out so that you can identify perfectly-cooked chicken every time. Enough of this multinational corporation nonsense. Why does my chicken breast have a weird texture? - YouTube Its not you, its genetic altering gone wild. Most supermarket chicken today contains a high percentage of water.
why does my chicken have a weird texture