Steamed chicken?



F

Frank J Warner

Guest
I want to make this recipe for steamed chicken breasts:

http://tinyurl.com/54cqs

I have a bamboo steamer and a wok (although I'll probably set the
steamer in a stock pot), so that's not a problem. This will, however,
be the first time I've used the steamer.

The recipe says to steam the chicken "until it is cooked through, about
10 to 15 minutes."

Ignoring for a moment the "until it is cooked through" part, 10-15
minutes seems like an awfully short time to cook a boneless, skinless
chicken breast. Is this just a wild guess on the part of Tyler
Florence? I like my chicken well-done, with no hint of pinkness on the
inside.

Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates cooking
of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
it's cooked thoroughly?

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com
 
Frank J Warner wrote:
> I want to make this recipe for steamed chicken breasts:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/54cqs
>
> I have a bamboo steamer and a wok (although I'll probably set the
> steamer in a stock pot), so that's not a problem. This will, however,
> be the first time I've used the steamer.
>
> The recipe says to steam the chicken "until it is cooked through,
> about 10 to 15 minutes."
>
> Ignoring for a moment the "until it is cooked through" part, 10-15
> minutes seems like an awfully short time to cook a boneless, skinless
> chicken breast. Is this just a wild guess on the part of Tyler
> Florence? I like my chicken well-done, with no hint of pinkness on the
> inside.
>
> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates cooking
> of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
> it's cooked thoroughly?
>
> -Frank

Skinless, boneless chicken breasts take no time at all to cook through. If
you steam them more than 15 minutes over rapidly boiling water you're gonna
have some tough, rubbery chicken.

Jill
 
"Frank J Warner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:060320050531583154%[email protected]...
>I want to make this recipe for steamed chicken breasts:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/54cqs
>
> I have a bamboo steamer and a wok (although I'll probably set the
> steamer in a stock pot), so that's not a problem. This will, however,
> be the first time I've used the steamer.
>
> The recipe says to steam the chicken "until it is cooked through, about
> 10 to 15 minutes."
>
> Ignoring for a moment the "until it is cooked through" part, 10-15
> minutes seems like an awfully short time to cook a boneless, skinless
> chicken breast. Is this just a wild guess on the part of Tyler
> Florence? I like my chicken well-done, with no hint of pinkness on the
> inside.
>
> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates cooking
> of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
> it's cooked thoroughly?
>
> -Frank
>


At the end of 15 min, cut a small slit in the thickest part to check if it's
done.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the **** from my email address before using.
 
The OP posted:

>> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates cooking
>> of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
>> it's cooked thoroughly?


Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's steam).

--
Siobhan Perricone
"I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what ya do in the name of your god"
- Holly Near
 
"Siobhan Perricone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The OP posted:
>
>>> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates cooking
>>> of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
>>> it's cooked thoroughly?
>
>
> Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's steam).
>

Not actually. Steam and water will be at the same temperature.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the **** from my email address before using.
 
Peter Aitken wrote:
>
> At the end of 15 min, cut a small slit in the thickest part to check
if it's
> done.
> --
> Peter Aitken
>
Unless it's an unusually thick piece it will be thoroughly done well
before that. Give yourself a better chance of a good result and check
it after 10 minutes.

-aem
 
In article <[email protected]>, aem
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Peter Aitken wrote:
> >
> > At the end of 15 min, cut a small slit in the thickest part to check
> if it's
> > done.
> > --
> > Peter Aitken
> >
> Unless it's an unusually thick piece it will be thoroughly done well
> before that. Give yourself a better chance of a good result and check
> it after 10 minutes.
>
> -aem

Okay.

Thanks all. I apopreciate the input.

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com
 
In article <060320051051082262%[email protected]>, Frank J
Warner <[email protected]> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, aem
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Peter Aitken wrote:
> > >
> > > At the end of 15 min, cut a small slit in the thickest part to check
> > if it's
> > > done.
> > > --
> > > Peter Aitken
> > >
> > Unless it's an unusually thick piece it will be thoroughly done well
> > before that. Give yourself a better chance of a good result and check
> > it after 10 minutes.
> >
> > -aem
>
> Okay.
>
> Thanks all. I apopreciate the input.


Just a note for those still following this thread:

Six boneless, skinless chicken breasts (three on each of two levels of
a bamboo steamer) took 25 minutes to cook through. They were still very
slightly pink on the inside, but ten minutes in a 200 degree oven while
I steamed the vegies took care of that.

Tender and flaky, and mighty, mighty tasty, too.

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com
 
In article <060320052001421606%[email protected]>,
Frank J Warner <[email protected]> wrote:

> Just a note for those still following this thread:
>
> Six boneless, skinless chicken breasts (three on each of two levels of
> a bamboo steamer) took 25 minutes to cook through. They were still very
> slightly pink on the inside, but ten minutes in a 200 degree oven while
> I steamed the vegies took care of that.

Did you start them frozen and is this counting the time it took for the
water to boil? :)

>
> Tender and flaky, and mighty, mighty tasty, too.
>
> -Frank
>
> --
> Here's some of my work:
> http://www.franksknives.com

Nice Knives!

I love the patterns in Damascus steel.....

Do you ever do kitchen cutlery?

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra
 
Peter Aitken wrote:
> "Siobhan Perricone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> The OP posted:
>>
>>>> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates
>>>> cooking of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just
>>>> to make sure it's cooked thoroughly?
>>
>>
>> Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's
>> steam).
>
> Not actually. Steam and water will be at the same temperature.


Wrong. Go recheck your physics regarding phase transitions and the heat
content of water.
 
>Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
>it's cooked thoroughly?

The recipe says ""until it is cooked through, about
10 to 15 minutes." Why would you double the cooking time? Unless
you're cooking ostrich breasts. Recipes are only guidelines. Unless
the recipe tells you exactly what size, weight or thickness your
chicken breasts are for THIS dish, 10-15 min.. is simply an
approximation. Buy uniformly sized pieces of chicken, and cut into one
of them them after 10-15 minutes. It's it still pink, cook it a few
minutes more. It ain't rocket science. ;-)
 
"Curt Nelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Peter Aitken wrote:
>> "Siobhan Perricone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> The OP posted:
>>>
>>>>> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates
>>>>> cooking of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just
>>>>> to make sure it's cooked thoroughly?
>>>
>>>
>>> Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's
>>> steam).
>>
>> Not actually. Steam and water will be at the same temperature.
>
>
> Wrong. Go recheck your physics regarding phase transitions and the heat
> content of water.
>

It's you who need to review. At 100 degrees C and 1 atmosphere, water makes
a phase transition between liquid and vapor. There is no temperature change.
You can look at any steam table (for example
http://www.broadleyjames.com/FAQ-text/102-faq.html) to see that the temp of
steam at 1 atm is 100 C. Since the temp of boiling water at 1 atm is also
100C ... case closed.

The fact that you even mention heat content is a giveaway that you do not
understand this.

Peter Aitken
 
On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 07:36:27 -0800, "Curt Nelson" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Peter Aitken wrote:
>> "Siobhan Perricone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> The OP posted:
>>>
>>>>> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates
>>>>> cooking of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just
>>>>> to make sure it's cooked thoroughly?
>>>
>>>
>>> Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's
>>> steam).
>>
>> Not actually. Steam and water will be at the same temperature.
>
>
>Wrong. Go recheck your physics regarding phase transitions and the heat
>content of water.

Ok, I asked my resident Science Man(tm) and this is the reply I got.

Me: ok, I'm right about this aren't I? Steam is hotter than boiling water,
isn't it? I mean, that's why it's STEAM right?

Him:
Well, technically it's the same temperature, but technically boiling water
isn't what you're thinking of when you say "boiling water". Steam *can* be
hotter of course.

What happens is... you heat up water, which means you keep adding heat to
it. Imagine dropping chunks of heat into water. Each chunk converts into a
temperature increase until the water reaches the boiling point. Then you
have to add a few more chunks of heat during which the water does NOT
change temperature. The amount of chunks of heat you have to add is called
the energy of evaporation. Once enough has been added, the water turns into
steam.

Now in a cookpot it immediately leaves the pot, so you can't keep heating
it. If you keep it in a sealed chamber though you can keep heating it and
it *will* end up hotter. In fact, again you add chunks until you reach the
plasma point, then a few more chunks to get through the transition to
plasma. And the same happens when you heat ice, only that's called the
energy of fusion.

So essentially a bunch of H20 at temperature 100C could be boiling water or
steam, depending on whether the energy of evaporation has been added or
not. But water sitting in a pot on the stove at a rolling boil is probably
not quite at 100C. *Some* of it is but most of it isn't, and each bit that
is convects, and when it hits the energy of evaporation, it turns to
steam, which becomes a bubble, which bubbles up to the top and escapes and
that's what makes it a rolling boil, but the water around the bubble is
probably still 99C or so.
[end Science Man's explanation]

So, that's what makes pressure cookers work. You hold the steam in and that
increases the heat. :) Anyway, I stand mostly corrected. :)

--
Siobhan Perricone
"I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what ya do in the name of your god"
- Holly Near
 
Peter Aitken wrote:
> "Curt Nelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Peter Aitken wrote:
>>> "Siobhan Perricone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>> The OP posted:
>>>>
>>>>>> Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates
>>>>>> cooking of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just
>>>>>> to make sure it's cooked thoroughly?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's
>>>> steam).
>>>
>>> Not actually. Steam and water will be at the same temperature.
>>
>>
>> Wrong. Go recheck your physics regarding phase transitions and the
>> heat content of water.
>>
>
> It's you who need to review. At 100 degrees C and 1 atmosphere, water
> makes a phase transition between liquid and vapor. There is no
> temperature change. You can look at any steam table (for example
> http://www.broadleyjames.com/FAQ-text/102-faq.html) to see that the
> temp of steam at 1 atm is 100 C. Since the temp of boiling water at 1
> atm is also 100C ... case closed.
>
> The fact that you even mention heat content is a giveaway that you do
> not understand this.

Actually the fellow who posted the other reply to my response had it right.
We both know that in a semi-closed system where there is no provision for
the energy to escape freely to the atmosphere (i.e. the lid is on the pot),
the temperature of the steam will be considerably higher than 100C.

Truce? Or shall we get in to a pissing contest?
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Katra <[email protected]> wrote:

> In article <060320052001421606%[email protected]>,
> Frank J Warner <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Just a note for those still following this thread:
> >
> > Six boneless, skinless chicken breasts (three on each of two levels of
> > a bamboo steamer) took 25 minutes to cook through. They were still very
> > slightly pink on the inside, but ten minutes in a 200 degree oven while
> > I steamed the vegies took care of that.
>
> Did you start them frozen and is this counting the time it took for the
> water to boil? :)

These were fresh breasts. They were just out of the fridge after
marinating four hours in a soy-ginger sauce. So, cold but not frozen.

Twenty-five minutes from the start of a hard boil in the wok.


> >
> > Tender and flaky, and mighty, mighty tasty, too.
> >
> > -Frank
> >
> > --
> > Here's some of my work:
> > http://www.franksknives.com
>
> Nice Knives!
>
> I love the patterns in Damascus steel.....
>
> Do you ever do kitchen cutlery?

Thanks! I've made a couple of Japanese kitchen knives, but only for
the experience. They didn't turn out that great :( Kitchen knives are
difficult for me. I DO want to make a nice carving set (matching fork &
knife) someday, though.

-Frank
 
In article <[email protected]>, Bea
Esser <[email protected]> wrote:

> >Should I go an extra ten minutes just to make sure
> >it's cooked thoroughly?
>
> The recipe says ""until it is cooked through, about
> 10 to 15 minutes." Why would you double the cooking time? Unless
> you're cooking ostrich breasts. Recipes are only guidelines. Unless
> the recipe tells you exactly what size, weight or thickness your
> chicken breasts are for THIS dish, 10-15 min.. is simply an
> approximation. Buy uniformly sized pieces of chicken, and cut into one
> of them them after 10-15 minutes. It's it still pink, cook it a few
> minutes more. It ain't rocket science. ;-)

That's what I tell other people about cooking. But ten minutes one way
or another can make a difference when you're juggling an entree and 3
or 4 sides and you want them all to be done at about the same time.

-Frank
 
Curt Nelson wrote:

> Peter Aitken wrote:
>
>>"Curt Nelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>
>>>Peter Aitken wrote:
>>>
>>>>"Siobhan Perricone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>>news:[email protected]...
>>>>
>>>>>The OP posted:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>Is there something about the steaming process that accelerates
>>>>>>>cooking of meats like this? Should I go an extra ten minutes just
>>>>>>>to make sure it's cooked thoroughly?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Just a note, steam is hotter than boiling water (that's why it's
>>>>>steam).
>>>>
>>>>Not actually. Steam and water will be at the same temperature.
>>>
>>>
>>>Wrong. Go recheck your physics regarding phase transitions and the
>>>heat content of water.
>>>
>>
>>It's you who need to review. At 100 degrees C and 1 atmosphere, water
>>makes a phase transition between liquid and vapor. There is no
>>temperature change. You can look at any steam table (for example
>>http://www.broadleyjames.com/FAQ-text/102-faq.html) to see that the
>>temp of steam at 1 atm is 100 C. Since the temp of boiling water at 1
>>atm is also 100C ... case closed.
>>
>>The fact that you even mention heat content is a giveaway that you do
>>not understand this.
>
>
> Actually the fellow who posted the other reply to my response had it right.
> We both know that in a semi-closed system where there is no provision for
> the energy to escape freely to the atmosphere (i.e. the lid is on the pot),
> the temperature of the steam will be considerably higher than 100C.

<http://www.broadleyjames.com/FAQ-text/102-faq.html>
Chart showing pressure/temperature relationships. Definitions given on
the page.

Pastorio
 
In article <070320051609064378%[email protected]>,
chibiabos <[email protected]> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> Katra <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > In article <060320052001421606%[email protected]>,
> > Frank J Warner <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > Just a note for those still following this thread:
> > >
> > > Six boneless, skinless chicken breasts (three on each of two levels of
> > > a bamboo steamer) took 25 minutes to cook through. They were still very
> > > slightly pink on the inside, but ten minutes in a 200 degree oven while
> > > I steamed the vegies took care of that.
> >
> > Did you start them frozen and is this counting the time it took for the
> > water to boil? :)
>
> These were fresh breasts. They were just out of the fridge after
> marinating four hours in a soy-ginger sauce. So, cold but not frozen.
>
> Twenty-five minutes from the start of a hard boil in the wok.

Ah! Bamboo steamer over the wok instead of a pan... :)
Probably did not contain heat as well then as a pan the size of the
steamer would have.

Your marinade sounds yummy!!!

I am drooling over one of those big 3 tierd metal steamers I see at the
oriental market down on North Lamar! They are about 30 bucks, but would
probably be worth the investment. I do like to steam some stuff,
especially fresh veggies!

I've steamed whole chicken drumsticks in the past and they do come out
pretty good.

>
>
> > >
> > > Tender and flaky, and mighty, mighty tasty, too.
> > >
> > > -Frank
> > >
> > > --
> > > Here's some of my work:
> > > http://www.franksknives.com
> >
> > Nice Knives!
> >
> > I love the patterns in Damascus steel.....
> >
> > Do you ever do kitchen cutlery?
>
> Thanks! I've made a couple of Japanese kitchen knives, but only for
> the experience. They didn't turn out that great :( Kitchen knives are
> difficult for me. I DO want to make a nice carving set (matching fork &
> knife) someday, though.

Practice makes perfect!!! :)

Kat

>
> -Frank

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=katra
 
On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 15:51:39 -0800, "Curt Nelson" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Actually the fellow who posted the other reply to my response had it right.

I'm a female. :)

--
Siobhan Perricone
"I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what ya do in the name of your god"
- Holly Near
 
Siobhan Perricone wrote:
> On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 15:51:39 -0800, "Curt Nelson"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Actually the fellow who posted the other reply to my response had it
>> right.
>
> I'm a female. :)

Sorry, my bad.


--
Hasta,
Curt Nelson
 
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