Why pound chicken breast

Why do those paillard and cutlets always taste so much more tender than a full chicken breast? Well, even cooking has something to do with it, but pounding also tenderizes meat through the brute force of mechanical action.

Muscle fibers are long, thin sheaths of protein that run parallel to each other and are stuck together sort of like a bunch of telephone lines wrapped together in one large bundle. Pounding the meat can break this bundle apart, or at the very least, weaken its hold, allowing those muscle fibers to separate.

Essentially, pounding meat is like pre-chewing it for you so that your mouth has less work to do when the chicken finally gets there. How's that for an appetizing thought? Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content.

Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Pin Share Email. Pounding a chicken breast is quite easy, and it has a many advantages. A piece of meat with a uniform thickness is going to cook much more evenly, and a thinner piece of meat is going to cook much more quickly.

Also, flatter chicken makes for better chicken sandwiches, and chicken sandwiches are very important. Stop counting sheep today. Fall asleep to the sounds of nature or comforting ambient noise. To pound out a chicken breast, all you need to do is wrap it up and whack it.

Wax paper is also another option. Compared to plastic wrap, the plastic bag method also offers you another pair of important advantages. Still, in the absence of plastic bags, you can use plastic wrap, and it works just fine. These are generally more diverse than bag vs wrap, and ultimately it comes down to preference more than anything.

Your tool of choice should have some weight to it. You could use a standard hammer, for instance, or a spoon. Whatever the case, start pounding at the thickest part of the breast and move outward from there. Think of it as a distance run, rather than a sprint. Too much force or too many blows can tear up the meat.

All in all, pounding your chicken breast before you cook it is a great way to take this healthy source of protein and make it even more efficient.