Hi all, I’m seeking advice on how to make chicken breasts edible. I followed this recipe, which told me to cook for 6 hours:
The chicken turned out not just bland but horrible. It almost tastes sour. I don’t know if it’s the quality of the cut (these were cheap ones), but I thought they would end up bland at worst. These are HORRIBLE and dry, and the sauce only masks the taste. I had a lot of liquid too, followed the recipe to a T. I also sliced them to be around one half inch thick.
I’ve heard that 2 hours is better, but I guess I needed more to cook the sauce? Any tips?
Thanks for any help!
by CottagecoreAspirant
12 Comments
Did you cook it on high or low? Chicken breast will dry out if cooked too long, it’s not an ideal cut for slow cooking. You can swap chicken breast for chicken thigh in most slow cooker recipes and get much better results
Switch to boneless skinless thighs and never look back
I don’t slow cooker chicken for that very reason, it’s so dry and mushy. Chicken just doesn’t suit being slow cooked IMO.
Are you familiar with your slow cooker? It takes practice. I feel like mine runs hot no matter what temp I have it set on. So I shorten the cook time on most of my eco pies.
Chicken breasts shouldn’t go in the slow cooker, there’s very little fat so nothing to render out slowly. Use thighs if you want chicken and they’ll shred with a fork after 3-4 hours on low.
Pork tenderloins. Almost same macros and tastes better
Do thighs.
Chicken breasts in the air fryer. 375 for about 15-20 minutes. Juicy and perfecto.
I’ve found that breasts in a slow cooker never work well. Id just use for keeping things warm once cooked elsewhere.
Every Post asking for a recipe for good chicken breast is always at least 10 answers to just use thighs.
Maybe a person has to watch their fat intake, maybe a person just doesn’t like fatty foods, maybe they have to cook not only for themselves but somebody else, there’s people with gout who have to watch their Urica acid which is directly influenced by fatty meats. Hell I can’t cook thighs because my girlfriend won’t eat them.
OP try this:
If possible salt your chicken ahead of cooking, overnight or at least a couple hours. Take the chicken out of the fridge prior to cooking for about an hour and let it come a bit closer to room temp. Grab your favorite bbq sauce (check your local Asian store for Korean bbq sauces, they r banging with this recipe) put some in your slow cooker, add some broth or water – not much, some pepper and salt and whatever you feel like. Put the chicken breasts in and give them a go in your slow cooker. I will poke them after 1 1/2 hours and see if they still need time. Just check them regularly.
When they are done I personally shred them up. Mix in some of that goodness sauce you have and you are left with a glorious pulled chicken.
Give it a couple try’s and you will cook juicy succulent breasts in that slow cooker!
I have made this recipe twice, never enjoyed it. I e just decided it’s not a good recipe
Chicken breasts are only good cooked in a slow cooker if you intend to shred them and even then they require a lot of sauce to “moisten” them.
This recipe is really a bake in the oven recipe, higher heat for shorter time. I’d end up grilling the chicken and making the sauce separate to pour over the chicken after grilling.
I know that defeats the simplicity of slow cooking but sometimes you have to go through the steps to get a quality end product.
Also I’d add some sherry to the sauce.