Leaking breasts

WessB

Knew that would get your attention..now get your mind outta the gutter..LOL...anyway..I did some chicken breasts stuffed with ham and cheddar cheese..coated with some kicked up bread crumbs, and they came out wonderful..what I would like to throw out for discussion is the different ways others use to prevent the filing (cheese) from oozing out of the cut..I personally used the toothpicks in a X pattern over the cut, which I made as small as possible and still able to stuff..and as expexted I had cheese oozing out...what tricks do you have to seal up a cut such as this ( maybe a little eggwash ? )...Thanks[p]Wess

Unknown

WessB, use the fillet off the breast and flatten out . after the breast has been stuffed , insert the fillet inside the cut then toothpick . now apply eggwash and coating . reg

WessB

reg,
I used boneless skinless breasts..sorry I didnt make that clear....and from what you said...I could use some eggwash on the inside edges of the cut I made to stuff it or would you still recommend flattening and folding ( if I understood ) and then eggwash the all the edges ????[p]Wess

Pug

WessB,
Personally I use Hercules high heat cement to seal up my chicken. Wait. . .sorry, I was reading an earlier post. Actually, that baker's twine or whatever it is called works pretty well but there is still some oozing as evidence by my recent Mr. Toad's pork loin attempt. Still tasted good but it was a mess. I tend to get carried away with stuffing and filling.[p]Steve

WessB

Pug,
LOL..I haer ya..I tend to overstuff myself..was not the case with these..but..I have also done Mr. Toads loin with a few twists of my own and was very impressed...I think Reg. is saying I can eggwash the cut shut and then X it with toothpicks..I have bakers twine either way so we can try that also( might have to give em..oh..say..4 or 5 stitches LOL )..Thanks[p]Wess

Unknown

WessB, OK I'll bite...what's eggwash?

Pug

WessB,
Keep in mind that although we take our egg cooking very serious, there is a difference between closing a bird cavity and real surgery. :-)[p]Have a great weekend!
2 Boston Butts going on this afternoon.[p]Steve

WessB

kat,
just a whipped up egg..like you would coat a piece of chicken prior to battering..some add water or milk to the egg...at least in my experiences thats what I know it to be...[p]Wess

Unknown

WessB, boneless skinless is ok , just cut a small piece of the tip ( the thin end ) put it between two pieces of plastic wrap and flatten with the smooth end of a tenderizer . what your making is a patch for the hole . make your small slit and fill . i use a medium freezer bag and nip off one end and use a large pastry nozzle for filling . then take your patch and insert inside the slit making sure it cover the entire slit . it will seal but if you like use tooth picks . now you are ready to eggwash and coat . reg

WessB

reg,
gotcha....much clearer picture now and the bag trick is something to remember..however in this case I was using good sized pieces of ham so the pastry nozzle idea wouldn`t have worked but I will use it in the future for other fillings...and just for the record, I didn`t use an eggwash on these and the bread cumbs stuck fine, was kinda surprised myself...Thanks[p]Wess

Unknown

WessB,
other fillings , soften goat cheese and add grilled mushroom
pieces . now we are talkin serious good eating . reg[p]

WessB

reg,
I`m not a shroom fan myself..momma loves em tho..but hey..I didn`t eat fish before this past week either..there may be hope for me yet..LMAO[p]Wess

Citizen Q

WessB,
The way I combat this problem is with my thumb and forefinger. Ya see, what I do is this, when the filling starts to leak out, I scoop it up and have myself a little snack. I've been known to push on the middle with my other forefinger in anticipation off future chessy run-off also.

Gretl

WessB,
Butterfly and then flatten the breasts before stuffing. Ummm, don't know if I can describe this well, but here goes...with the pointed end of the boneless, skinless breast toward you, hold a sharp knife parallel to the cutting board and slice the thicker portion of the breast to about 1/2 inch from the lefthand edge but don't cut it all the way through. Then open it up like a book. If you do a halfway decent job, the result should be fairly symmetrical and not too ratty. Put waxed paper or plastic wrap on it and pound it gently until it's about 1/4-inch thick; this won't take much pounding, as you've done most of the work with the knife. Take your filling and put about a tablespoon in the middle and fold up the edges like an envelope. The outer two "flaps" can be secured by a toothpick; the edges can be sealed with egg but maybe you won't need it. It's tempting to overstuff because you want a lot of "goodies", but remember that when the meat cooks it shrinks up. So don't use too much stuffing. Anyway, I hope this makes some sense to you! Good luck.
Cheers,
Gretl