As you may have read in my response to homework earlier this week, I made chicken cutlets with pineapple chutney for lunch this week. The chutney came out delish, the orzo was great, and the green beans were, well, green beans, but the chicken was disappointing.

The best way I can describe the chicken cutlets is that the texture was a little mealy...though I suppose mealy is an odd word to ascribe to meat! When I buy a pack of cutlets, there always seem to be some that are thinner and some that are thicker. The thinner cutlets were very mealy (I still ate them but they weren't very appetizing) whereas the thicker cutlets weren't so bad. I marinated them in soy sauce and a little pineapple juice and honey, as well as black pepper. I guess they were in the fridge marinating for about 2-3 hours. I don't recall if I have ever used pineapple juice in marinating before, so that is the only new element I can think of. I pan seared the cutlets on each side for very little time since they were so thin, and since I'd be reheating them in the microwave before eating.

So, I wanted to get your opinions on whether the mealiness was caused by my marinating them too long, what I marinated them in, how I cooked them, or maybe just that they were bad cutlets. Any thoughts?

My cook book said that marinating in acids are harder to control- use shorter times. But it also stated that if the cuts were differnt sizes or thickness it can cause uneven cooking. I usually pound the thicker cuts down slightly. Not a lot as it can make them tougher. I have tried Chicken Marsala with the cutletts and they turn out well.

I agree with the pineapple theory. I have never marinated my cutlets. I just dip in eggbeaters, then seasoned bread crumbs with some grated pecorino cheese. Sometimes I fry them in canola oil, sometimes I bake them in the oven, but first drizzle them with a tiny bit of olive oil. My kids love it when I take the leftover bread crumbs and add extra pecorino, pour in the left over egg and make little fritters out of it. They call them bread balls. Of course they are not only not low cal, but they are also not low carb. Just a treat.

Recently I have started to substitute the breadcrumbs with honey flavored wheat germ. Makes a nice sweet, crunchy cutlet.

Just a plug for "Smart Chicken"
The texture is way better than some of the other big brands I have used.

Thanks, all! Looks like we've found the culprit!

:::marking pineapple juice off the list for marinating over 30 minutes:::

I'm voting for the pinapple juice too. I know that acid can do that to fish quickly. It either falls apart or you get ceviche.

Dawn

My first thought is that it was the pineapple juice.

I agree on the acidity of the pineapple juice "cooking" the thin sections of the chicken. I usually try not to marinate in acidic things for more than 30 minutes.

quote:

Originally posted by Janesays:
My guess is that the acid in the pineapple juice "ate" the thinner chicken cutlets, but was fine with the thicker ones.

Yup, that was my guess too, since it was the only new element in the mix.

quote:

Originally posted by Jillybean:
Did you buy a different brand of chix or the same as usual?

Nope, I nearly always buy Perdue chicken and that's what this was. That's why I figured it was probably the marinating process or what I put in the marinade (namely, the pinepple juice, since I've used soy and honey MANY times as a marinade with no problem).

My guess is that the acid in the pineapple juice "ate" the thinner chicken cutlets, but was fine with the thicker ones.

I usually buy chicken breasts, not cutlets, and I buy them in a big bag. It has been my experience that the taste of the chicken really varies from brand name to brand name. If I buy the bag of Purdue chix it is always good. Occasionally I would buy the less expensive bag(not sure of the name, I am thinking maybe Tyson but I'm not sure) and the chicken just never tasted right. Did you buy a different brand of chix or the same as usual?
Jill