3 Ways to Make Bland Chicken Taste Great!

You know that feeling you get when you’re hungry, but nothing is appealing?
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If you have ended up with a bland chicken dish, don’t worry!
Here are some tips for fixing bland chicken once it’s cooked and preventing it from happening again before it gets into the oven.
Why does my chicken taste bland?
There are several reasons that can explain why your chicken tastes bland out of the oven or the pot.
- Overcooking your chicken can make the meat dry and tough, which can also make the meat bland and less tasty.
- Not cooking your chicken in a flavorful liquid also results in blandness (since you’re missing out on some of the most delicious flavors).
- Not enough seasoning: The chicken cannot be flavorful, and it needs spices and herbs to produce the best dish.
If you haven’t marinaded or seasoned the chicken properly, it will definitely come out bland and boring.
3 ways to fix bland chicken after it is cooked
If your chicken needs some extra zing, you can do some tricks to save a bland dish.
So even if your chicken has been done cooking, here are some effective ways to help add more flavor to your chicken dish:
Top it with a tasty sauce or gravy
You can use a sauce or gravy to cover up the chicken’s bland taste after it’s cooked.
Some sauces and gravies that match the chicken flavor are tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing.
If you don’t have any of these sauces at home, you can make them yourself with ingredients from your pantry.
Using sauce or gravy can also add moisture to the dish, making the chicken (especially chicken breast) less dry.
Add pepper, lemon, and garlic
You can also add pepper, lemon, and garlic to save your tasteless chicken dish.
Add some to the dish if you have a jar of pickled peppers in your cabinet (or buy one).
Freshly ground black pepper is also delicious with chicken.
Some people like to use lemon juice or zest in their dishes as well; this ingredient pairs well with most types of meat and seafood.
Finally, if you want to add some extra spice and flavor to the dish without adding too much heat, try rubbing some minced garlic on top of your chicken before serving it up!
Quickly cook the chicken with some herbs
Once the chicken is cooked but ends up bland, add fresh or dried herbs to the pan and cook for a short time to prevent the meat from being overcooked.
Herbs can be used alone or in combination:
- Rosemary is great for cooking chicken that’s been braised or roasted.
- Oregano is best with grilled meats, like steak or pork chops.
It’s also an excellent addition to tomato sauces and soups.
- Sage pairs well with potatoes and other root vegetables such as carrots and turnips; it also works well when you’re making stuffing for poultry dishes like turkey breast or Cornish hens (small chickens).
How to get rid of bland chicken before it is cooked?
To not make the same mistake on the next batch of frying or roasting chicken, here are some things that you should keep in mind to get rid of bland chicken over time:
Use fresh, organic chicken
The most important thing you can do is use fresh, organic chicken.
If you’re lucky enough to live where there are local farmers who sell their goods directly to the public, this might be an option for you.
But if not, try asking at the grocery store or butcher shop if they have any fresh chickens in stock.
You’ll need to ask them how long it’s been since they were slaughtered so that you know how long to cook your meat; there should be a date on the package telling when it was packaged at the farm (which should be fairly recent).
Of course, if all else fails and using fresh chicken isn’t an option for some reason (perhaps because it was too expensive), try other tricks below.
Brine the chicken
One of the most common and effective ways to ensure a flavorful chicken dish is to use a brine to inject more flavor into it.
All you need is a big pot of water and salt with optional herbs.
Submerging chicken in this solution before cooking will ensure that your chicken stays moist and flavorful.
It should be done at least one hour before cooking.
Once you’ve done that, pat it dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel before cooking it however you normally would (i.e., grilling on an outdoor grill or roasting in an oven).
Marinade the chicken
If you want to keep the flavor of your chicken, marinating it is a great way to bring out its full potential.
You can marinate many different kinds of meat in a mixture of spices, herbs, and citrus, depending on how you want it to taste.
For example, if you’re unsure what type of chicken will work best for your taste buds, try mixing lemon juice with garlic powder, onion powder, and some salt and pepper (or even cayenne pepper).
The lemon juice will give the meat a nice tanginess while still keeping it juicy while giving the other ingredients some time to soak into the flesh.
Conclusion
So, now that you know how to fix bland chicken, it’s time to get cooking and never worry about the result.
You know, there are numerous ways to save a failed dish.