The article discusses the importance of choosing air-chilled chicken over water-chilled chicken for optimal cooking results. It explains that water-chilled chicken retains excess liquid, which hinders the browning process and affects taste and texture. The Maillard effect, responsible for the delicious caramelization of chicken, thrives when the meat is drier, enabling better searing and flavor development. The piece highlights that identifying air-chilled chicken is simple by checking labels, a crucial step for achieving the best culinary results with chicken recipes.
Some of the best chicken recipes have one thing in common: the chicken is allowed to brown and take on caramelization through the Maillard effect.
The water-bathed chicken you buy has retained a majority of the liquid, weighs more by volume, and simply won't brown or crisp up the way you'd like.
Finding grocery store chicken that is air-chilled is less of a challenge than it used to be, and the process for choosing air-chilled chicken is as simple as looking at the label.
Air-chilled chicken is drier meat, and the drier the meat, the easier it is to achieve a sear, allowing the Maillard reaction to take place.
Collection
[
|
...
]