# How much water gets added to chicken? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-gets-added-to-chicken/745730 "2016-02-10T17:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-gets-added-to-chicken/745730/1 "2016-02-10T17:55:39Z")
Not long ago I unwrapped 1.5 pounds of raw chicken (breasts), diced it up, and then pan-fried it. Per usual, a lot of water came out during the cooking process, and I ended up cooking it until that excess water boiled away (but not so much that I dried out the individual pieces of chicken). When I weighed again, I was quite surprised to find that my 1.5 pounds of raw chicken had become just 1 pound of cooked chicken. Which leads me to wonder: -how much water is added to chicken that is processed in a slaughterhouse for sale in grocery stores? -Are there laws that limit the amount they can add ? -If I slaughter a couple of chickens myself, gather 1.5 pounds of breast meat and fry it up, how much will it weigh after cooking? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-gets-added-to-chicken/745730/2 "2016-02-10T18:11:52Z")
They’ve [cracked down a bit on this](http://www.agri-pulse.com/USDA-cracks-down-on-chicken-labels-12302014.asp). Anyhow, it usually says on the packaging somewhere as to how much water is added, usually something like “up to 15% added chicken broth” or words of that nature.