Should I fry the chicken first or should I pressure cook it first?
I fried the chicken breast in the oil till its surface was brown and then I pressure cooked it. The result was hard chicken. I found it quite difficult to chew.
What should I do next time to make it utterly soft?
Best Answer
Frying the chicken tends to set the muscle fibers by drawing moisture out. An example of this would be taking a thin (1cm) cutlet and frying it until both sides start to turn golden. It will be pretty dry and hard.
Pressure cooking it on the other hand tends to soften the muscle fibers without drawing moisture in (if anything, its putting moisture in).
So, ideally, you should boil/pressure cook your chicken prior to frying in oil (though do make sure to drain the chicken first to prevent splatters!). Additionally, you should undercook the chicken slightly in the pressure cooker since you'll be finishing it in the fryer.
If you are broasting the chicken, then you are going about the recipe incorrectly by frying then pressure cooking it. When broasting, you should pressure fry - if that makes sense.
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Quick Answer about "Should I fry the chicken first or should I pressure cook it first?"
So, ideally, you should boil/pressure cook your chicken prior to frying in oil (though do make sure to drain the chicken first to prevent splatters!). Additionally, you should undercook the chicken slightly in the pressure cooker since you'll be finishing it in the fryer.Should you brown chicken before pressure cooking?
So, to recap, you don't need to pre-brown vegetables or meats. You just place it all in the pressure cooker and if you don't like the look when it's cooked , you can do a bit of browning afterward.Should you fry chicken before cooking?
Why Should You Precook Your Chicken? By precooking your chicken, you spend a lot less time frying since you only need to get the outside crispy and brown, which is great when you're doing multiple batches or have hungry guests hovering over the fryer.Does boiling chicken before frying make it tender?
Yes, you can boil chicken before frying it, but there is no guarantee that the chicken is going to be flavorful. It's true that boiling or poaching chicken will make it much more tender\u2014when done correctly. The idea behind boiling chicken before frying it is that precooking speeds up the preparation and cook time.Is pressure cooking better than frying?
Faster Cook Times, More FlavorFrying under pressure, around 12 psi, enables faster cooking at lower oil temps than conventional open frying. Pressure frying also seals in the food's natural flavors and nutrients while sealing out excess oil for a better tasting, healthier product.Pressure Cooker Fried Chicken
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Answer 2
Breast is lean muscle. Add a ton of heat to it and it'll seize up into a dense brick that nobody wants to eat. In that vein, I'm not sure I'd put chicken breast anywhere near a pressure cooker because that's a really great way to get something to 120°C.
That's about twice what you want. Ideally we want chicken to hit 63.5°C and stay there for a bit. Here's how I'd suggest cooking the perfect chicken breast.
- Brine them for at least 4 hours. This adds salt and allows you to infuse spice. It's not great for your health but will help the meat retain water during cooking. Seriously though, there's no going back after you get used to brined meat.
- Slow poach (takes practise) or vacuum-pack and sous vide ~63.5°C for 2 hours
- Finish in the fires of Mount Doom (fry, bbq, grill or blow torch).
Yeah, that does mean your turnaround time can be 7 hours... But the brining can be done ahead of time (freeze them vacuum-packed in servings) and it delivers restaurant quality chicken every time. It's worth it, even if you have to build your own sous vide (it's quite easy and cheap — that's my tutorial on my blog).
And while I'd suggest doing all three steps, you can pick and choose as it suits you. Slow over-roast, brined chicken is still delicious, just as sous-viding without the brining or hellfire (for salads, etc).
Answer 3
Pressure cook first until 'almost' done. Let it cool. Pat dry well. Then batter and fry.
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