Topic: How to precook meat

[George]

I shall stick my neck out here and say I reckon your problem is tough chicken of poorer quality and also due to the fact it was frozen and dare I say it.......cheap!!

Ray

I can honestly say the ?1.49 frozen chickens I buy from Lidl are not the slightest bit tough, whether for a Sunday roast, poached or whatever. They also have plenty of flavour. I bought a ?12 free-range chicken once, for a special occasion. I didn't notice a jot of difference. It was a waste of money. My philosophy is that you don't normally get what you pay for. If you spend less, you can often get more.

Regards
George

[DARTHPHALL]

I use the LIdl frozen breasts also mate .

[traveller]

That is a really practical idea but I get grossed out by bones and the such....even raw chicken grosses me out so much i wear rubber gloves while handling it
I am trying a different recipe with the frozen breasts tomorrow....then i hope to find out if the chicken is the problem.

[DARTHPHALL]

Had another Curry for work today Chicken was extremely tender ( Thanks Lidl ). ;D

[DARTHPHALL]

To add ... In the last 20 Curries i have made the chicken is better & more tender than any Take-away Ive ever had .   



  Yours DARTHPHALL... ...

[traveller]

This is how i cook my Chicken.
Chop 7-8 chicken breasts into as even pieces as you can ( i cut to the size of a ?2 pound coin = width height). I hope this helps. ;D
Boil a kettle.
Put chicken in pan.
Pour boiled water over chicken to just cover it.
Bring water to boil turn down immediately & slowly cook on simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
Look for one of the biggest pieces take out & cut in half to make sure its cooked through.
Take out immediately & put into your pot of Curry.
This may sound simple but like all of our recipes there is a knack.
I keep checking to see if cooked after about 5 minutes .
My Chicken is tender beyond words due to the lower heat & the small size.
DARTHPHALL..........

Hey, I followed this method today and cant believe how the chicken can be so moist!!!? I actually did an experiment - had my base sauce made and the way I made the chicken last time was to cook it in the sauce for 15 minutes and then followed the rest of the recipe.? The chicken was ok but I did this again today in a pan while in another pan, I followed Darthphall's method.? The chicken didnt look very pretty since it was white and I was very skeptical.? it took 7 minutes to cook as I cut the chicken in thin strips today.? Then I took the chicken and added it to the sauce for a a little bit.? So here I am with 2 bowls of this chicken in coconut gravy and Darthphall's one is far better ? It even took in the masalas while I assumed it would taste like boiled chicken.? I am very impressed and surprised at the simplicity this involves!!? Thanks Darthphall!!!!!

Payal

[raygraham]

Hi Payal,

Well done mate, it's nice to see someone get a good result from this site. I was a bit skeptical myself? thinking it was too simple to be a real option but how wrong I was. I tried it myself and it really does work. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best ( I keep trying to convince the wife of this! ).
It also goes to show anyone's postings on the site are worth a read as sometimes they come up with an answer to surprise you.
I also use and like the pre-cooked chicken method of Bruce Edwards as another good and tasty option. The Balti Kitchen method also gives a good and moist result.

Ray

[DARTHPHALL]

Thanks Payal & Ray for going for one of my experiments.
Took 3 of my 100% Madras clones ( see my 99.9% post for full info). & all were totally impressed which made me very proud of my little achievement & all worthwhile,the chicken was very tender l( cooked as method i posted here) .
I will now aim to finalize my Vindalloo in the next 2 months( less busy down here now , were`s chef ??).
 Then to make a start on Jalfreize, Tikka Masala, Bhunna, Garlic chicken & Korma.( All using Chicken as the meat ).

    Yours............DARTH " My quest is nearly over " !!!! PHALL..... .....

[traveller]

I was most surprised that after mixing it with the gravy for few minutes, it didnt taste like boiled chicken.  perhaps soft, moist chicken absorbs spices easier!!  I have to admit, i never made chicken so moist before in my life.  I was so tempted to add onions or spices to flavor it but didnt......I do need to post the madras sauce recipe that I have been using this week....it is very simple and makes a great base when used in a coconut based "curry".  Hopefully will post that tonite.  I am having company tomorrow and wasnt sure if I wanted to attempt a chicken dish in case the shoe leather version showed up!!  Now I can make the chicken dish and not be afraid of that - thats why I did the experiment a day in advance.  Again, thank you Darthphall.

Payal

[DARTHPHALL]

You are very welcome Payal I'm glad to help you in our combined quest, i will hopefully posting more in the near future why not try my version of Dabari Rice.
Here`s the link...http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=498.0