# What does soaking chicken in milk do?



## ps8

So, why do we soak chix in milk proir to frying?  I'm not talking about the coat of it, I mean like soaking it overnight.  What does it do?


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## CharlieD

I'm not sure about milk, but soaking in butter milk tenderizes the chicken. I suppose milk does the same thing.


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## Toots

Charlie is right, soaking the chicken in milk, buttermilk and even yogurt tenderizes the chicken and makes it very moist.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

I am not going to say that the answers are wrong.  Soaking chicken in dairy products is supposed to help tenderize meat.  According to several internet sources, there is an enzyme in milk that helps denature meat protiens.  But I am confused.

Let me explain.  I am one who has to test cooking techniques and find out for myself if what is presented as fact is actually true.  So I soaked both cut chicken pieces, and pork chops in milk for at least 15 hours.  I fired up the grill and cooked them over charcoal as I normally would (covered with vents turned down, and over a solid bed of coals).  The chicken and pork came out fine; moist, juicy, and tender.  But what confuses me is that they were identicle to the same foods cooked with no brining, soaking, or marinating.  

I have found that meats come out tender when they are cooked to the proper temperature, and that as they are taken above the point of being "just done", they tend to toughen and dry out.  So I'm not convinced that brining or soaking meats in anything will help tenderize them.  I will use soaking, brining, and marinating to add other flavors to the meat, especially brining with a solution of water, salt, and herbs/spices.

But again, there are supposedly scientific reasons why soaking in milk or buttermilk is supposed to tenderize meat.  I would be interested in hearing other comparisons of meats cooked in identicle fasion, some soaked and some not.  I did not do extensive testing.  My hypothesis is based on quick evaluation provided by personal experience.  

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## marmalady

I soak chicken in B-milk when making fried chicken, not to tenderize so much as to add that tangy flavor along with any spices I've added to B-milk.

I wonder if this came from the custom of soaking fish in milk to get rid of the 'fishy' smell?  Maybe when there wasn't as much refrigeration and folks weren't as skeevy about chicken gone bad?


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## CharlieD

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> ... I soaked both cut chicken pieces, and pork chops in milk  I fired up the grill and cooked them over charcoal ...


 
 Not sure,maybe I am wrong, but I don't think saoking meat in milk applies for grilling. I think it really is ment for further frying of meat. 

And as far as pork goes i would ot bother soaking pork in anything, and definetely cook till it is medium rear and not even a bit more than that.
I would consider seasoning the pork and let it seat for few hours before grilling or marinading to achive sertain flavor, but not soaking, definitely not in milk.


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## skilletlicker

*Question part 2 added*

Most traditional southern fried chicken recipes have you soak the pieces in buttermilk for 2 or 3 hours before dredging in flour. Maybe in addition to adding tang to the end result, the acid breaks down the outside of the pieces enough to help the flour adhere. I don't claim to know this as scientific fact, but it's a good enough rationalization to keep me doing it the old fashion way.

I'd like to add a part two to the question.

A lot of the chicken, including the whole ones that go on sale around here, have been injected with a brine to increase the weight and maybe to make them juicier and more flavorful. How much I believe the second part varies day to day. It seems to me these chickens lose a lot of excess liquid shortly after they are cut up. Do any of you think it is worth the extra step of letting the pieces weep in the ice box for a few hours before soaking in buttermilk, or any thing else for that matter?


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## marmalady

I haven't noticed any real problems with putting them to soak right away, as opposed to letting them sit a while.  But - I have started in the past year, buying 'natural' brands of chicken as they become more available in the supermarkets, and they're not injected with anything (that I know of!).


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## ironchef

One thing milk/buttermilk can do partly is to help take away the briney flavor that some chicken and pork has (depending on where you buy it from). 

Like marmalady said, the better the quality of the product you buy, the less chance that it's been exposed/induced/injected with any foreign substances like a brine or other solution.


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## buckytom

BUMP!

c'mon, someone's gotta have a scientific explanation.

all i've found so far is that the lactic acid in milk is a mild meat tenderizer, and the sourness of buttermilk adds flavor, like marm said, as well as acting as the moisture for the breading to stick.


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## GB

buckytom said:
			
		

> c'mon, someone's gotta have a scientific explanation.


Where is Michael when you need him


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## Andy M.

I know, I know, I'm not Michael.  Just read the attached link.  Maybe that will help.


http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00157.asp


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## VegasDramaQueen

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> I am not going to say that the answers are wrong. Soaking chicken in dairy products is supposed to help tenderize meat. According to several internet sources, there is an enzyme in milk that helps denature meat protiens. But I am confused.
> 
> Let me explain. I am one who has to test cooking techniques and find out for myself if what is presented as fact is actually true. So I soaked both cut chicken pieces, and pork chops in milk for at least 15 hours. I fired up the grill and cooked them over charcoal as I normally would (covered with vents turned down, and over a solid bed of coals). The chicken and pork came out fine; moist, juicy, and tender. But what confuses me is that they were identicle to the same foods cooked with no brining, soaking, or marinating.
> 
> I have found that meats come out tender when they are cooked to the proper temperature, and that as they are taken above the point of being "just done", they tend to toughen and dry out. So I'm not convinced that brining or soaking meats in anything will help tenderize them. I will use soaking, brining, and marinating to add other flavors to the meat, especially brining with a solution of water, salt, and herbs/spices.
> 
> But again, there are supposedly scientific reasons why soaking in milk or buttermilk is supposed to tenderize meat. I would be interested in hearing other comparisons of meats cooked in identicle fasion, some soaked and some not. I did not do extensive testing. My hypothesis is based on quick evaluation provided by personal experience.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


 
Nice to see your posts again Goodweed.  I am back in Traverse City, Michigan for the summer.  I agree that chicken and pork benefit from brining or marinating and buttermilk has an effect on chicken.  I like the taste better when it's soaked in buttermilk, but my favorite marinade for chicken is lemon juice, lots of it and Franks Hot Sauce.  This combination gives chicken on the grill a fantastic flavor and tenderizes the chicken.   Roasting chicken pieces with this marinade is also a great way to serve it.  I save the marinade and baste the chicken every 15 minutes.  Don't baste the last 10 minutes whether grilling or roasting to give the last dose of marinade a chance to cook.  Awesome. And by the way Goodweed,  your pancake recipe still remains a favorite at my house.  If you haven't shared with these posters, please do so.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

Drama Queen said:
			
		

> Nice to see your posts again Goodweed. I am back in Traverse City, Michigan for the summer. I agree that chicken and pork benefit from brining or marinating and buttermilk has an effect on chicken. I like the taste better when it's soaked in buttermilk, but my favorite marinade for chicken is lemon juice, lots of it and Franks Hot Sauce. This combination gives chicken on the grill a fantastic flavor and tenderizes the chicken. Roasting chicken pieces with this marinade is also a great way to serve it. I save the marinade and baste the chicken every 15 minutes. Don't baste the last 10 minutes whether grilling or roasting to give the last dose of marinade a chance to cook. Awesome. And by the way Goodweed, your pancake recipe still remains a favorite at my house. If you haven't shared with these posters, please do so.


 
DQ;  I've improved on the pancake recipe.  Look under breads, cakes, etc. topic.  I'll post the recipe there.  I didn't know they could get any better, but they do.  I'll explain in the post.


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## Yakuta

Check out this link:

http://experts.about.com/q/Cooking-Meat-750/Milk-Marinated-Steaks.htm


This explanation makes sense and is in line with what Goodweed indicated.  Indian food makes excessive use of yogurt in meat marination.  Does it help tenderize the meat - No it does not but we normally add ginger along with yogurt and ginger has an enzyme that helps tenderize meat.  The old wives tales will keep saying it's yogurt that causes the meat to tenderize even though it's ginger. 

Yogurt and milk based products (I use sour cream, heavy cream, buttermilk etc.) does impart moisture to the meat.  Indian chicken for example will never be cooked with the skin.  We don't believe in eating the skin or crisping it up yet we love moist chicken like everyone else.  The yogurt allows you to keep the chicken moist and actually you can reduce the marinade and make a thick gravy that can be poured over the chicken so it's super moist. 

I am sure a food scientist will be along to impart their wisdom


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## Gretchen

And overnight is too long to soak in buttermilk.


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## marmalady

Gretchen, I don't think overnight is too long; I do it all the time.  Chicken's great.


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## KellyM

I've never really worried about tenderizing chicken. The only times I've had tough chicken is when it is overcooked, or once when someone mistakenly cooked a stewing chicken, thinking it was a broiler-fryer.

The only time I will soak chicken in buttermilk is when southern-frying it. After a several hour soak, the buttermilk imparts some of its tangy flavor to the meat, and also it leaves the pieces encased in a viscous buttermilk coating, which helps the spices adhere to it. (I season the chicken instead of the flour.) 

I can't think of any good reason to soak chicken in plain-old milk. It wouldn't impart any flavor, and doesn't have the necessary viscosity to help much with the spices sticking.

Kelly


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## buckytom

grrrrrr, no experts yet.


this has been on my mind all day. 

from reading up on enzymes, i've summized that buttermilk, which is essentially milk who's lactose sugars have been turned into lactic acid by the work of a type of streptococcus lactis, is actually a marinade of a calcium rich mild acid which mostly imparts a tangy flavor, but doesn't toughen the flesh as a stronger acid might. in fact, it is theorized that the calcium in buttermilk activates enzymes that are present in the meat, thus breaking down it's own proteins or in other words, tenderizing it.

yoghurt is also considered a calcium rich - mildly acidic marinade.


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## KellyM

buckytom said:
			
		

> grrrrrr, no experts yet.
> 
> 
> this has been on my mind all day.
> 
> from reading up on enzymes, i've summized that buttermilk, which is essentially milk who's lactose sugars have been turned into lactic acid by the work of a type of streptococcus lactis, is actually a marinade of a calcium rich mild acid which mostly imparts a tangy flavor, but doesn't toughen the flesh as a stronger acid might. in fact, it is theorized that the calcium in buttermilk activates enzymes that are present in the meat, thus breaking down it's own proteins or in other words, tenderizing it.
> 
> yoghurt is also considered a calcium rich - mildly acidic marinade.


 
Bucky,

How do you, and apparently most others around here define the term "expert"? Please understand, I am not attacking you. I am merely curious. It is just that so far, I have attempted to avoid the "NERD!" battlecry (just as I did in school) by not mentioning chemistry or physics, at least not often. 

If the science of cooking is accepted, and in fact actually respected here, I am in heaven!

If this is so, I promise I won't be overbearing about it, but will just interject a snippet here or there. 

Kelly


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## buckytom

lol, kelly, i'd guess an expert is anyone who really believes what they're posting.

it's all about perceptive reality, really.

other than that, scientific explanations are greatly appreciated. 

all kidding and philosophy aside, the more you back up your posts with credible facts and figures, and maybe a link or two, will get you labelled an "expert". after a while, we'll get to rely on your responses as such. 

NERDS UNITE!

ooh, i think i pulled something. i gotta sit down.


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## mish

buckytom said:
			
		

> grrrrrr, no experts yet.


 
Here ya go!


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## KellyM

buckytom said:
			
		

> lol, kelly, i'd guess an expert is anyone who really believes what they're posting.
> 
> it's all about perceptive reality, really.
> 
> other than that, scientific explanations are greatly appreciated.
> 
> all kidding and philosophy aside, the more you back up your posts with credible facts and figures, and maybe a link or two, will get you labelled an "expert". after a while, we'll get to rely on your responses as such.
> 
> NERDS UNITE!
> 
> ooh, i think i pulled something. i gotta sit down.


 

Bucky,

Okay, I have the believing what I post thing down because I've studied and worked at it for many years. You may have noticed that I believe what I post by now. Even the (qualified) TV experts often disagree regarding certain things. (I only mention them because they're often the only ones people like us see.)

As to the next thing, you actually _want_ scientific explanations?!?!?! WOW! I'm in nerd heaven! Does everyone here feel this way, or at least the majority of them?

Kelly


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## buckytom

kelly, i think a well written, humorous, anecdotal, informative response loaded with both lay and scientific explanations is a pre-requisite here.



now don't dissapoint us...


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## KellyM

buckytom said:
			
		

> kelly, i think a well written, humorous, anecdotal, informative response loaded with both lay and scientific explanations is a pre-requisite here.
> 
> 
> 
> now don't dissapoint us...


 
So basically, you want Alton Brown. I'll try.  

Kelly


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## GB

Kelly, we have all types here. Some (like me) love the science behind the cooking. Others could care less about it. That, among many other things, is what makes this such a great site. We are very open to almost anything having to do with learning about and experiencing food and cooking.

As far as what defines an expert, for me it would be someone who has proven themselves in the past by providing information that I have seen as accurate. Each person here has members who they may consider experts and for each person those experts might be different members. using FoodTV as an example, Some people might consider Alton Brown an expert at food science while other people might think he is full of it and gives inaccurate info a lot. Each person is going to be different.


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## CharlieD

Kelly, I am on the other end of the spectrum than GB, I could barely finish reading what he just said up above. I happened to agree with you on chicken and milk thing, mostly because of my cooking experience absolutely with out any scientific backing


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## KellyM

GB said:
			
		

> Kelly, we have all types here. Some (like me) love the science behind the cooking. Others could care less about it. That, among many other things, is what makes this such a great site. We are very open to almost anything having to do with learning about and experiencing food and cooking.
> 
> As far as what defines an expert, for me it would be someone who has proven themselves in the past by providing information that I have seen as accurate. Each person here has members who they may consider experts and for each person those experts might be different members. using FoodTV as an example, Some people might consider Alton Brown an expert at food science while other people might think he is full of it and gives inaccurate info a lot. Each person is going to be different.


 
GB,

Thanks for the response. Of course I was being facetious; I wouldn't think of trying to "be" Alton Brown, but at the same time I have a hard time imagining that some people "think he is full of it and gives inaccurate info a lot." though I suppose it takes all types to make the world go 'round.

For me, at least, everything he says works, and I really appreciate the fact that he backs it up with science. Speaking as the musician that I am, it is the same thing to me as the difference between learning one blues tune by rote, and realizing all blues tunes are related. Learn one by rote, and you can play that one tune. Learn that they are all related, and how, and you can play 'em all.

If one is able to learn to ignore the old wives tales that have been hammered into them from the beginning, and has a modicum of intelligence, one can take Alton's advice and apply it to a lot more things than the recipe he happens to be touting at the time. However, if one persists in thinking they need to cook an X-pound roast for X-amount of hours, or cook a turkey to 185 degrees, (like their mama told them) and can still rail against Alton Brown, they deserve what they get.

And no, this is not a case of blind hero-worship. The only reason I revere him as much as I do is that I've tried his methods, and found them accurate and instructional, and have through him learned to cook everything from a turkey to a succulent pork roast, all in one episode, even though the turkey episode didn't mention pork roast.

To me, the whole thing about cooking, just like music, is to learn how it all is related. I recently got involved in a thread where someone was asking about how to make soup. I started out trying to teach them how to make soup, but my posts were soon buried in other people's posts of soup recipes. You can learn to follow a recipe to make a certain kind of soup, but if you learn to make _soup_, you don't need the recipes, and you can make great soup with whatever is on hand, as long as you have already made a good chicken, beef, seafood, or vegetable stock, or even have some cream. You can't, on the other hand, just throw a lot of stuff into a pot of boiling water, and expect the result to be good soup. You need to first understand what makes good soup.

So yes, I'm a pretty much unabashed fan of Alton Brown. I _don't,_ however, agree with him as to his assessment of deep fat turkey fryers, and I think his obsession with cleanliness is a bit paranoid. To be fair, however, he has a TV show, and there are plenty of people out there who would not hesitate to try to sue him, were they to burn their houses down or contract food poisoning.

Kelly


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## bubblygal

i tried soaking the chicken in milk before deep frying it
it was so tender n nice


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

KellyM said:
			
		

> GB,
> 
> ... If one is able to learn to ignore the old wives tales that have been hammered into them from the beginning, and has a modicum of intelligence...  the whole thing about cooking, just like music, is to learn how it all is related. I recently got involved in a thread where someone was asking about how to make soup. I started out trying to teach them how to make soup, but my posts were soon buried in other people's posts of soup recipes. You can learn to follow a recipe to make a certain kind of soup, but if you learn to make _soup_, you don't need the recipes, and you can make great soup with whatever is on hand, as long as you have already made a good chicken, beef, seafood, or vegetable stock, or even have some cream. You can't, on the other hand, just throw a lot of stuff into a pot of boiling water, and expect the result to be good soup. You need to first understand what makes good soup...
> 
> Kelly



By my thought process, you have hit the nail on hte head.  Once you understand the techniques and relationships, recipes are only used to develop a knew skill, or to give you new ideas.

I write cookbooks and stress that the recipes in them are only there to teach the techniques that make the food come out great.  I love cooking, and have taken great pains and time to hone my skills and seperate the wive's tales, and foolish traditions from techniques that really work.  

I have seen techniques put forth by clebrity chefs on FN that were just plain wrong.  And I proved it to my older sister that followed one of the techniques she saw for cooking a turkey.  She cooked one by the method proposed by the celebrity chef (breast side down for X amount of time per pound), and mine, breast side up until a meat thermometer gave me the temperature I wanted, where I wanted it.  The quality of the two turkeys after cooking was dramatically different, with the breast side down turkey coming out barely passable, and mine coming out extraordinary.

Now I didn't create the technique I use, but through testing, I was able to determine with method really worked, and why it worked.

Your post says that you have that same desire to find the truth about cooking and I congratulate you for it.  You are my comrade in arms, so to speak.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Rose Tinted

Until recently I'd never heard of soaking chicken (or pheasant) in milk - liver, yes! but not poultry. I have always understood the purpose of soaking liver in milk is to reduce the strength of the flavour, which makes sense as some livers can be very 'flavourful'. Recently I was asked about soaking pheasant in milk, so I decided to investigate. It appears to serve exactly the same purpose for pheasant! 

For those who do not desire the very strong, gamey flavour that defines hung pheasant, soaking the bird in milk overnight will reduce the 'gamey-ness', producing a much milder, more palatable flavour. Of course, you could just eat the pheasant while fresh and avoid the issue...


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## buckytom

bump.

i caught a lurker reading this.

my newest answer to "what does soaking a chicken in milk do" is: 

it really pisses the chicken off!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

buckytom said:


> bump.
> 
> i caught a lurker reading this.
> 
> my newest answer to "what does soaking a chicken in milk do" is:
> 
> it really pisses the chicken off!



Unless the milk is a perfectly comfortable chicken bath temperature.  I mean, a milk bath, how extravagant.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## buckytom

cookies should be dipped in milk. not chiefs.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef

It gives the chicken stronger bones and teeth.


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## PrincessFiona60

Chickens have teeth?


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## GB

What if the chicken is named cookie?


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## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Chickens have teeth?


Yes. They are right behind its lips.....


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## Zagut

If you give your chicken a bath in chocolate milk do you get brown eggs?

Do Rhode Island Reds get bathed in strawberry milk?

Oh the questions just never stop.


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## Addie

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> It gives the chicken stronger bones and teeth.



Who knew? We must ask CWS. Hurry, the sky is falling, the sky is falling!


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## buckytom

lol. this is like a bad dream for cws.


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## Stock Pot

*chicken and milk- just a guess*

Just a guess but it may have something to do with how crispy the skin gets when baked or fried.


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## GotGarlic

It's an old habit that isn't relevant anymore. Many years ago, most of the chickens people ate were older, tougher birds. Soaking them in buttermilk tenderized them because of the acidity in the buttermilk. Today's chickens are butchered and sold at a much younger age, so they are inherently more tender.


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## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> It's an old habit that isn't relevant anymore. Many years ago, most of the chickens people ate were older, tougher birds. Soaking them in buttermilk tenderized them because of the acidity in the buttermilk. Today's chickens are butchered and sold at a much younger age, so they are inherently more tender.



So true. One didn't just run out to the coop and grab a chicken for supper. Maybe a rooster, but not a chicken. They weren't slaughtered until they stopped laying. And you only need one rooster to a flock of chickens.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Chickens have teeth?


 
Yes, but they are very scarce.


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## Addie

When you soak chickens in milk, doesn't it make the chickens mad? Does the milk make the chickens moo instead of cluck? Inquiring minds want to know.


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## Zagut

Addie said:


> When you soak chickens in milk, doesn't it make the chickens mad? Does the milk make the chickens moo instead of cluck? Inquiring minds want to know.


 
If you hear a chicken Moo then it's time to review your medications with your doctor. 


But I understand your logic. 

No one wants a mad chicken.... But no matter what you soak them in I think they might be perturbed. 

We really need Myrtles prospective on this issue.


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## Dawgluver

Zagut said:


> If you hear a chicken Moo then it's time to review your medications with your doctor.
> 
> 
> But I understand your logic.
> 
> No one wants a mad chicken.... But no matter what you soak them in I think they might be perturbed.
> 
> We really need Myrtles prospective on this issue.




I think chickens prefer to bathe in dust, which might make them a bit gritty when cooked.  Might extend the breading, though.


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## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I think chickens prefer to bathe in dust, which might make them a bit gritty when cooked.  Might extend the breading, though.



Where is CWS and Mrytle when you need them.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

buckytom said:


> cookies should be dipped in milk. not chiefs.



Chiefs are best dipped in milk when the milk is in a large, sterile container, and is ice cold.  Three of four dips for about 20 seconds each will do.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## buckytom

damn, i took it too long and it broke off. all i got is his legs.


chief, oh chief. ya in there?


lol. i hate animal crackers.


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## PrincessFiona60

Now you have a huge vat of Flowered Milk...


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## buckytom

lol. is latter day milk considered spoiled?


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## CWS4322

buckytom said:


> bump.
> 
> i caught a lurker reading this.
> 
> my newest answer to "what does soaking a chicken in milk do" is:
> 
> it really pisses the chicken off!


It makes their feathers stick together and does nothing for their complexions. Just ask Myrtle.


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## Mad Cook

marmalady said:


> I soak chicken in B-milk when making fried chicken, not to tenderize so much as to add that tangy flavor along with any spices I've added to B-milk.
> 
> I wonder if this came from the custom of soaking fish in milk to get rid of the 'fishy' smell?  Maybe when there wasn't as much refrigeration and folks weren't as skeevy about chicken gone bad?


Some people soak strongly flavoured meat such as liver or kidneys in milk to neutralise the flavour a bit but I can't see that this might be the reason as chicken often doesn't have much flavour.

EDIT: It might help the flour or breadcrumbs to stick to the chicken if you aren't using egg.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

buckytom said:


> damn, i took it too long and it broke off. all i got is his legs.
> 
> 
> Chief, oh chief. ya in there?
> 
> 
> lol. i hate animal crackers.




BT, all is well.  You were using a counterfit chief.  The real one would have swallowed the milk before ever getting close to frozen.  Besides, with all the hot peppers in me, the milk would heat up pretty quick, thus the twenty second rule, so that the milk stays cold.


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## krazeeburnt2

*Soaking chicken in milk*

If you want to bread your chicken in flour or even double coating in flour you will want to soak the chicken in milk rather than use egg... Soaking the chicken in milk will help coat the chicken and it actually stick than running off... Use a deep dish and coat all the chicken in milk .. you can leave it like that anywhere from 5 mins to 15 hrs in the refrigerator you don't want to coat your chicken until you're close to cooking because you don't want it to get soggy. Leaving for a few mins or while you are cooking other hatches are acceptable. The coating will look a bit soggy but it will cook up nice just don't coat and leave for hours to overnight.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

Milk contains ezymes that help tenderize the meat.  It also helps plump-up the meat as milk contains mostly water.  I haven't paid attention as to whether it helps any coating adhere to the chicken better.  I would suspect that it would, as the milk sugars would act as a mild glue.  But then again, an egg wash that is made up of milk and egg would do the same thing.  

In my experience, seasoned flour adheres to semi-dry meat.  I always pat dry my chicken pieces with a paper towel, then dredge in my seasoned flour.  I let it sit there for a few minutes to let the starches act as mild glue so the coating will stay on.  I then place the chicken into the egg wash until the initial coating is hydrated.  Then, the chicken goes back into the seasoned flour and sits for five minutes more, then into the hot oil.  The breading adheres to the chicken nicely, giving me a crispy, yet tender coating on the chicken pieces.

Alternately, simply dredge the chicken is seasoned flour, knock off excess flour, and pan fry in a couple inches of hot oil until the chicken just begins to brown.  Then place onto a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a 365' F. oven for 40 minutes for exceptionally juicy chicken.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## di reston

So why is it necessary to marinade chicken in milk to tenderise it when these days they're raised to be tender anyway? I must be missing something! over here we very rarely do that, we use wine, beer,  cider, yogurt according to where you live.

Confused!

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast   Oscar Wilde

"People of ze wurl, relax!"  the parrot in Tom Robbins' book 'Fierce Invalids Home from abroad Hot Climates


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## GotGarlic

di reston said:


> So why is it necessary to marinade chicken in milk to tenderise it when these days they're raised to be tender anyway? I must be missing something! over here we very rarely do that, we use wine, beer,  cider, yogurt according to where you live.
> 
> Confused!



It's not necessary. People do it because they always have, or because their mother or grandmother did. It's just one of those things that many people have not really thought about. I never use milk or buttermilk in a chicken marinade and it's always tender, as long as it's not overcooked.


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## GotGarlic

Ha! Look, I even said that two years ago when this thread was started! 



GotGarlic said:


> It's an old habit that isn't relevant anymore. Many years ago, most of the chickens people ate were older, tougher birds. Soaking them in buttermilk tenderized them because of the acidity in the buttermilk. Today's chickens are butchered and sold at a much younger age, so they are inherently more tender.



http://www.discusscooking.com/forum...g-chicken-in-milk-do-23463-5.html#post1388678


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## Roll_Bones

I have no idea what it does and have no real reason to find out.  Chicken pieces, liberal dose of salt and pepper dredged in flour is how chicken has been done here at our house.
Its always great!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

My absolutely most tender chicken is achieved either through a process called velveting, or by cutting into nuggets, or strips, and coating with flour as I explained previously, and cooking until lightly browned.

Both work because there are indicators that when watched carefully, tell you when the chicken is cooked through, but just barely.  With velveting, the cornstach slurry/marinade coats the chicken with a light coating of hydrated cornstarch.  The meat is placed in hot, but not boiling water, or 340' oil.  When the cornstarch coating turns opaque, the chicken is done to perfection, and is exceptionally tender and moist.  The chicken has to be cut into the right sized cubes, or strips for this to work.

With the flour coating, again the indicator is a light brown coating after frying in hot oil (360').  When the coating reaches that golden color the chicken is at the perfect temperature and is very tender and juicy.  

Sous vide chicken benefits from the same process of cooking the chicken to just the right meat temperature so that it is the best it can be.

All of the processes that claim to give you the best chicken work by this same principle, cooking the meat to its perfect temperature.

The process I use for fried chicken does the same thing.  By first browning the coated pieces of chicken in hot oil, then finishing them in the oven, I avoid overcooking the outer surface, while bringing the innermost meat up to the proper temperature.  The timing was developed by my MIL, at least that's as far back as I know the technique was used.  It has never failed me.

It doesn't matter whether you are cooking chicken strips, nuggets, tenders, pieces, or the whole bird, or even a turkey.  If the meat is cooked to a just-barely cooked state (about 160'F.) the meat will be great.  If brought much higher, it will toughen and dry out.

Now learning to get that poultry to the exact right temperature, through whatever means you use to cook it, that's the trick.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Zagut

Roll_Bones said:


> I have no idea what it does and have no real reason to find out. Chicken pieces, liberal dose of salt and pepper dredged in flour is how chicken has been done here at our house.
> Its always great!


 
Roll-Bones I agree with you 100% for fried chicken. 

It's how I do it too. 

That's the way Ethel Wiggins my grandmothers housekeeper/cook made it and it's the best fried chicken I ever had. 
She always ate hers with ketchup  and I'll always wonder why but to each there own.

I can understand attempting different methods for different styles/recipe's and I can see using the practice for attaining different results. I also understand that the chicken's we buy today differ from those that are available today. 
But if you're looking for great Fried Chicken go with KISS.


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## rodentraiser

I just found this today that promises juicy chicken breasts. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to soon.

Three-Ingredient Baked Chicken Breasts Recipe - Allrecipes.com

I have noticed that salt on chicken does tend to make it very juicy and flavorful. I've made Chef John's version of salt roasted chicken and I love it.


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