# Strange chicken texture



## azshane (Feb 7, 2012)

Hey all I made a beer butt chicken as the first smoke on my "new to me" Bar-B-Chef. The bird turned out really tasty but my wife and I noticed the texture of the meat was a little strange. It was almost like it was fake or something, its really hard to describe. The meat in question came from lower on the bird. I'm wondering if anybody else has ran into this and if so can you fix it or is it just part of the deal?

TIA


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## berninga87 (Feb 7, 2012)

Was it cooked to an IT of at least 165 in breast and 175 in thigh? The only strange textured chicken I've had was because of over or under cooking.


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## SmokinAl (Feb 7, 2012)

Do you have any photo's?


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 7, 2012)

When you do a Beer Butt Chicken you are Smoke/Roasting from the Outside and Steaming from the Inside...So you may very well notice a difference in texture from the Bird you usually make...JJ


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## mdboatbum (Feb 7, 2012)

Did you brine the bird? I noticed that when I kinda "over brined" a batch of chicken I got a hammy, almost cured texture. Your "almost like it was fake or something" comment reminded me of what I was thinking when I took the first bite of that chicken.


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## azshane (Feb 7, 2012)

berninga87 said:


> Was it cooked to an IT of at least 165 in breast and 175 in thigh? The only strange textured chicken I've had was because of over or under cooking.


yes it was cooked to 165 in the breast checked with a digital thermometer. I didnt check the thigh.


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## azshane (Feb 7, 2012)

Mdboatbum said:


> Did you brine the bird? I noticed that when I kinda "over brined" a batch of chicken I got a hammy, almost cured texture. Your "almost like it was fake or something" comment reminded me of what I was thinking when I took the first bite of that chicken.


No Brine. I would compare the texture to duck. I've only had duck once but I remember it was kind of oily and had the same type of texture.

Thanks


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## geerock (Feb 7, 2012)

The skin of a chicken has a rubbery texture when it's smoked.  The fat doesn't render out at smoking temps.  Are you sure that's not what the problem is?


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## azshane (Feb 7, 2012)

We didnt eat the skin, not sure what you mean about "The fat doesn't render out at smoking temps"?

Thanks


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## geerock (Feb 7, 2012)

AZ,

It simply means that the fat in the skin doesn't melt down (render) at lower temps so the skin stays a bit rubbery.  If you didn't eat the skin then it can't be the problem.


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## jesse624 (Feb 8, 2012)

I'm not sure if this might be what you are talking about, but on some occasions, the long and slow smoking method of cooking the chicken, the skin thickens a little while cooking, and holds in the internal juices more so.  I think it's kinda like stewing the meat under the skin.  It often gets very soft, losing the muscle tone and at first seems a little strange to our pallet, being so tender.  The meat is fully cooked and very flavorful, just a little too tender.  Just a thought that this is what you were experiencing.


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## berninga87 (Feb 8, 2012)

As long as it was fully cooked, I would shrug it off and try another one. If it happens again, then start investigating further


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## jkc64 (Feb 8, 2012)

I bought some boneless breasts at a kroger a fer months ago and nomatter what we tried (not smoked or grilled) they seemed rubbery. Cooked them twice as long as normal and they still seemed rubbery and the meat would not firm up. The raw meet also seemed greasy. We returned the unused packs for a refund. A friend of mine works quality in a chicken plant and told us they were probably old even though the sale date was current.


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## papercraftlady (Mar 1, 2012)

I would be willing to bet that the texture would have been strange no matter how you cooked it.  Every once in awhile we experience chicken breasts with a horribly fake texture.  We have lived in a few different places over the past few years and we have experienced this in all places (NV, NY, TX).  This has happened at restaurants a few times as well.  I can't find anyone else that knows what I am talking about (except my hubby who agrees with me) and it is so frustrating.  It is such a weird texture like you said, so hard to explain.

I would LOVE to find out why chicken is like that sometimes.  I just can't eat it even though it may taste great; I just cannot get past that horrible texture!  What are "they" doing to us?


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## s2k9k (Mar 1, 2012)

jesse624 said:


> I'm not sure if this might be what you are talking about, but on some occasions, the long and slow smoking method of cooking the chicken, the skin thickens a little while cooking, and holds in the internal juices more so.  I think it's kinda like stewing the meat under the skin.  It often gets very soft, losing the muscle tone and at first seems a little strange to our pallet, being so tender.  The meat is fully cooked and very flavorful, just a little too tender.  Just a thought that this is what you were experiencing.


I think I experienced this with a turkey. I brined and smoked one on Tday and I know it was fully cooked, hit over 165 in the breast but when I was slicing it some of the breast almost looked raw, it was so soft and moist I almost got worried but i tasted a small piece and it was definatly cooked just the texture had changed. Thanks for the info, it makes sense to what I experienced.


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## bama bbq (Mar 1, 2012)

berninga87 said:


> As long as it was fully cooked, I would shrug it off and try another one. If it happens again, then start investigating further


     Quote:


Chef JimmyJ said:


> When you do a Beer Butt Chicken you are Smoke/Roasting from the Outside and Steaming from the Inside...So you may very well notice a difference in texture from the Bird you usually make...JJ


I agree with Chef JJ and berninga87: it might just be the individual bird you cooked, or it could be the new method you've used.  I say tried it again.  If you decide to do it differently I recommend you change only one variable at a time.  I like to finish a beer can bird off by direct grilling for a few minutes on each side.


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## sprky (Mar 2, 2012)

Interesting


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## rjr1 (Jul 1, 2012)

I have noticed the same thing and even read another comment.  The texture is strange almost like a composite or pressed meat. I noticed this once before and thought it was a fluke but the last batch of chicken breasts I bought were the same. The other poster said it reminded her of fake crab meat.  The meat does not get white but stays almost pinkish. All in all it is very rubbery and unappetizing..


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## robin anne (Jul 17, 2012)

I googled 'weird chicken texture' and came up with this forum...had breats on the grill last night and this was the 2nd time we had pieces that had this strange texture...almost like it was airated, and a bit of a crunch (not crispy though) ugh, I can't explain it either...but yea, kinda fake feeling texture to it.


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## chef jimmyj (Jul 17, 2012)

Chicken Breast goes through a variety of textures as the temperature rises. In the low 160*'s it is " Done " but will be slightly pink, very juicy, with a somewhat rubbery, dense texture. In the high 160*'s the meat whitens, get's firmer, is still quite juicy and the muscle fibers barely begin to seperate. In the 170*'s the meat is very white, the fibers can seperate into strips like string cheese and the meat begins to get dry. In the 180*'s the muscle shreads like pulled pork , is white and quite dry. Bottom line is... a few Degrees of Internal Temp, one way or another, gives a very different Texture in the meat.

Yes there are some other factors... If you are going to the Grocery and the Boneless Breasts are in the 12oz range, size of a large man's hand, that is an Old bird or ex-Layer and will be much tougher and more Rubbery than a 6-8oz Breast from a young 3lb Bird. You need to choose Chicken according to cooking method. Big 8Lb Chix, Oven Stuffers, are good for Roasting/ Low and Slow Smoking and moist cooking methods, Soups/Stews/Braised Dishes. For Frying/Broiling, 300*F Smoking and Grilling, small whole birds, 3Lbs, and smaller parts are a better choice and will be more tender and have a better texture with these quicker cooking methods. With all Birds...Brine 4-24 hours for Tender, Flavorful, and virtually guaranteed Juicy Poultry... Hope this adds some insight...JJ


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## skua (Sep 5, 2013)

I also found this forum after trying to investigate odd chicken texture.

On at least three occasions in the past year using boneless chicken breast purchased at either WalMart, Giant or Bottom Dollar grocery stores we've experienced this 'odd chicken.'

The most recent was last night.  We had 4 very large chicken breasts and they were cooked on the stove-top in a cream-of-chicken soup based gravy.  This is normally served over rice and is a dish we are very accustomed to.  It is very difficult to describe what was 'wrong' with the meat.  It looked like chicken... and cooked up like chicken... it pretty much tasted like chicken but not like we're used to.  The texture can only be described as 'fake' or maybe 'plastic-y.'  While the meat appeared to have the normal string-like texture of chicken the experience of eating it was much more like pressed chicken or chicken-roll.  

As mentioned... these were large breasts.  If they were from an old chicken I'd fully expect them to be tougher, stringier, chewier... but the opposite was true.  I could easily slice through the entire thing with the edge of a fork.  Chewing it, it felt unnatural... like something was wrong with it.  The flavor was alright... but a little blah... but then some chicken is tastier than others.  

We ate some and ended up trashing the rest.  Even my cat didn't want to eat the meat (creepy).  

Thanks for listening and sharing.

skua


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## radio (Sep 5, 2013)

I almost guarantee they had some sort of disease before being slaughtered.  It's not uncommon for farms to send birds to market in the early stages of disease before the whole flock gets quarantined and/or dosed very heavily with drugs.

Get a chicken from a good quality meat market or store that is well known for quality and try it again


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## papacurtis (Sep 5, 2013)

If i may add 2 cents. You may want to google " poultry additives". Alot of chicken these days is injected with various " plumping" and weight adding " solutions" nowadays. Read the fine print on any packaging of poultry. This practice is becoming widespread thru out the industry, and the FDA is involved in getting the word out. These "enhancers" as they are called can and will change the taste and texture of your cooked bird(s)..


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