I know it seems counter-intuitive that meat in water would dry out but of course it does.
I was making a recipe recently and the chicken breast (boneless skinless) was to be cooked by sitting in the sauce for a bit.
I kept a close eye on it and (upon checking) saw the chicken was still a tad pink so I cooked it a few minutes longer and served it (which is to say I was not over cooking in). The chicken was very dry.
I know meat shrinks when cooking and squeezes water out but clearly it is possible to make these dishes without drying the meat out.
I’m a big believer in brining chicken and pork before cooking. I usually brine chicken parts or pork chops 30-120 minutes in a simple brine of 1 cup kosher salt, 3/4 cup turbinado sugar per 2 quarts of sugar. You don’t have to heat the water, just mix it into tap or filtered water at room temp and shake it up a few times until everything is dissolved. Keep it in the fridge afterwards.
You’re exactly right that meats contract when cooked and squeeze liquid out. The salt in brine dissolves proteins that give the muscle fibers the ability to contract, so less liquid is squeezed out during the cooking process. You can get creative with prepared brines that include additional seasoning, but I prefer to keep a half gallon of basic brine in the fridge and season meats after brining, depending on how I want to cook them. I even brine before marinading, unless the marinade itself is fairly high in salt content.
I cook a lot of meat on the grill which is fast, dry cooking and brining is really useful in grilling. I won’t say I never skip it, but most of the time I figure if I don’t have time for at least a 30 minute brine, I don’t have time to grill. It really makes a noticeable no matter how you’re cooking the meat, though.
For breast and pork loin, brining truly is quite helpful. It does change the texture of the chicken a bit, so you’ll have to see if you like it that way, but I tend to enjoy those particular cuts brined. Any other chicken or pork cut, not so much.
But it’s not absolutely necessary. For something poached in a sauce, I wouldn’t think it’s necessary at all–just don’t overcook it or cook it too quickly. I do plenty of chicken of breast that I don’t bother brining, and it turns out fine unless you overcook it. For something poached completely in liquid, I might bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to low, add chicken, cover, cook for about 10 minutes, and then let it sit for 15 minutes or so more with the heat off.
But do try brining if you want pretty much a foolproof method of keeping moisture in lean cuts of poultry and pork.
Those are valid points. I did say chicken parts, but I don’t brine leg quarters. I do brine chops in any cut though. Loin, rib, sirloin and especially boneless. I also agree that it changes texture. I prefer the texture of brined chicken breast and pork chops, obviously.
The first step in a lot of my cooking is to brown the meat and to put it aside on a plate before continuing with the rest of the recipe, which usually starts with sautéing onions and/or garlic in the same pan. I’m almost always working with frozen chicken fillets (thaw in mircowave), which means the meat isn’t too thick, there are no bones and browning it cooks it all the way through, so this might not be useful advice for you. Still, the fillets I use are usually breast meat and they don’t come out dry. I don’t put any salt on the meat until just before it goes back into the pan/pot, and I think this helps to keep it juicy.
Since the OP mentions “boiling chicken,” I’ll add that I remember making something that called for boiling a whole chicken in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes. I thought it would come out raw or dry, but it was perfect.
Cooking at too high a temp - There is a difference between simmer and rolling/roiling hard boil. I find that many recipes benefit from turning the heat down.
Brining - Be aware that some chicken is brined by the manufacturer(?). Particularly the bags of frozen breasts. Take a look at the label.
My method of poaching chicken, learned from America’s Test Kitchen, is to let the chicken come to a simmer in its liquid, then turn the heat off, cover the pan, and let the pan sit off heat for awhile. For bone-in chicken breasts, it would be about 25 minutes, and for thighs, about 45 minutes. The poached chicken always comes out fully cooked and juicy due to the gentle heat.
Applying this principle to sauced chicken might be tricky. But one could do a chicken saute, then add liquid, let the liquid come to a simmer, and then turn off the heat off. Let the chicken sit covered in the liquid as above, maybe subtracting a bit of time because you sauteed the meat first. If you want to thicken the sauce further, remove the chicken to finish the sauce, then add it back in at the end.
