Pre cooked Cicken fillets: Where to buy?

Boston

I was recently in a fancy deli and notice they where using full pre cooked chicken fillets, and I'm wondering where I could purchase them? I'm not taking bout the usual pre cooked and diced chicked pieces you see everywhere nor the breaded chicken. These where full chicken fillets like you'd by in a butchers, expect they had been pre-cooked and packed.

brettmirl

The stock them in Marks & Spencers.

rubadub

Its proabably an expensive way to go. You could wrap them in tinfoil and bake in bulk, then take out and leave outside to chill without opening, this way no contaminants are getting in, then stick in the fridge. You could possibly get little heat proof bags and steam them in a similar way.

Boston

Tried M&S they have sliced chicken breast which wasn't what i was looking for.

Nice idea about the baking, hadn't thought of that. At the moment i grill on an 'as needed' basis.

Khannie

Ah yeah....baking's the way to go. You can get some nice sprinkle on spices in the supermarket these days. I'd do 5-10 at a time and keep them in the fridge.

The ones you're looking for probably come from catering suppliers. I've seen them in our cafeteria.

mollflickers

hi ya, i buy those fillets your talking about, but im in gorey, co wexford, you anywhere near

g'em

Khannie wrote: »

Ah yeah....baking's the way to go. You can get some nice sprinkle on spices in the supermarket these days. I'd do 5-10 at a time and keep them in the fridge.

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you bake chicken? I like the sound of it, tin foil = no cleaning = yay!!

ali.c

g'em wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you bake chicken? I like the sound of it, tin foil = no cleaning = yay!!

Dunno the exact details that anyone else uses but I just wrap it in tinfoil parcel and throw it in a baking tray and feck it in the oven for 30-45mins or so. the tin foil also helps keep the meat somewhat moist. I do the same for the frozen salmon fillets* that donegal catch do. Less cleaning up than a take-away also way less effort to cook as all you have to do is set the timer and come back when its done.

r3nu4l

Khannie wrote: »

Ah yeah....baking's the way to go. You can get some nice sprinkle on spices in the supermarket these days. I'd do 5-10 at a time and keep them in the fridge.

Khannie, how long do these last, how many days?

ali.c wrote: »

Dunno the exact details that anyone else uses but I just wrap it in tinfoil parcel and throw it in a baking tray and feck it in the oven for 30-45mins or so. the tin foil also helps keep the meat somewhat moist. I do the same for the frozen salmon fillets* that donegal catch do. Less cleaning up than a take-away also way less effort to cook as all you have to do is set the timer and come back when its done.

When you cook the chicken, is this done at 200C? Also, I microwave my salmon fillets, very, very quick and no mess

ali.c

r3nu4l wrote: »

When you cook the chicken, is this done at 200C?

Gasmark 5/6 I find that if you wrap it in a tin foil parcel it takes that bit longer to do

Also, I microwave my salmon fillets, very, very quick and no mess

Good to know can you micro from frozen?? Anyhow only new to this salmon business i have only stopped filleting and de-skinning them myself about a week ago! I usually cook them in advance and eat cold.

g'em

ali.c wrote: »

Good to know can you micro from frozen?? Anyhow only new to this salmon business i have only stopped filleting and de-skinning them myself about a week ago! I usually cook them in advance and eat cold.

I've never been able to microwave from frozen - the inside stays uncooked while the outside seems disintegrate. Thanks for the baking tip btw

r3nu4l

Nah, you need to use the microwave 'defrost' setting first, then cook them as you would a fresh fillet. They do tend to cook a little bit on the outer edges when defrosting but it's usually not a big deal for me.

If you don't want to defrost in the microwave, then it's simply a case of taking them out of the freezer and letting them defrost in the fridge overnight. Then cook as normal.

OR

Take them out of the freezer before you go to work and let them defrost on the kitchen counter while you are at work, then cook as normal.

Khannie

g'em wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you bake chicken? I like the sound of it, tin foil = no cleaning = yay!!

One of two ways: If I'm putting the schwartz chicken spice on it, I just line them up on a sheet of tin foil (on a baking tray), sprinkle both sides with delicious spicy stuff (I do half chicken seasoning, half "spicey season all"), in the oven. Discard tin foil at the end. Job done.

If we're just baking plainly, I'd probably wrap in tin foil parcels alright, but I just always do the spices on top. Good for just snacking on, sticking in a salad, slicing and sticking in a toasted sandwich with some laughing cow, etc. etc. etc.

r3nu4l wrote: »

Khannie, how long do these last, how many days?

I'd say 4-5 days. If I'm in any doubt I'll stick it in the microwave and nuke the crap out of it to kill any bacteria.

r3nu4l wrote: »

When you cook the chicken, is this done at 200C? Also, I microwave my salmon fillets, very, very quick and no mess

We tend to cook everything at 180 in our house. Not quite sure why. Works fine though. I think anything > 150 is good for poultry. I'll check our thermometer indicator later.

r3nu4l

Thanks for those responses Khannie and ali.c and thanks to Boston for asking the original question too

I look forward to mass-cooking my chicken in future

ali.c

g'em wrote: »

I've never been able to microwave from frozen - the inside stays uncooked while the outside seems disintegrate. Thanks for the baking tip btw

Does it steam okay from frozen?

g'em

ali.c wrote: »

Does it steam okay from frozen?

nope, again it overcooks ont heoutside and stays raw on the inside.

Just like r3nu4l says, I take mine out the night before and let it defrost. It's a pain in the arse to remember though

brettmirl

Boston wrote: »

Tried M&S they have sliced chicken breast which wasn't what i was looking for.

I reckon you found the chicken slices in the section where they have the sliced ham, turkey, etc.

they do full chicken breast portions too that are pre-cooked. Can't remember exactly what section they are usually in, but I've gotten them before in M&S Liffey Valley and Blanch.

ali.c

g'em wrote: »

nope, again it overcooks ont heoutside and stays raw on the inside.

Just like r3nu4l says, I take mine out the night before and let it defrost. It's a pain in the arse to remember though

Ah well since i cook a weeks worth at time i think i will stick to my baking, sure it only takes what 30mins or so. Thanks for the info it may come in handy in the future (thanks to r3nu41 too )

Boston

I went to a very small M&S. tbh this baking idea sounds good. So, if I follow correctly, I should

• Place chicken fillets on a sheet of tinfoil.
• place another sheet over the chicken.
• Place sheet of tinfoil with fillets on tray.
• Bang in over for 30 minutes are so.

rubadub

g'em wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you bake chicken? I like the sound of it, tin foil = no cleaning = yay!!

It is a good way, you can bring them straight to work with no need to rewrap or anything

ali.c wrote: »

Dunno the exact details that anyone else uses but I just wrap it in tinfoil parcel and throw it in a baking tray and feck it in the oven for 30-45mins or so. the tin foil also helps keep the meat somewhat moist.

Same here, keeps them moist, you can add stuff like soy sauce or lemons to keep even more moist.

g'em wrote: »

I've never been able to microwave from frozen - the inside stays uncooked while the outside seems disintegrate. Thanks for the baking tip btw

I actually studied microwave heating in college. Different substances have different "dielectric constants" which basically means different things will absorb the microwaves better than others. So a plate will not absorb microwaves well, it is best to put a little water on it, then the water heats, which heats the plate by conduction rather than microwaves. Ice is not a good microwave "absorber", but water is great. So what happens is your frozen chicken goes in and doesn't absorb the microwaves well. But then 1 little spot will defrost (maybe a fingerprint or centre of a burger)- turning into water, then all the microwaves channel into this single small point, roasting it almost like a laser since it is such a small amount of water and a lot of power in the microwave (in a microwave twice the volume of water takes around twice as long to boil, so small volume boil quickly). So the water heats and cooks the chicken in the immediate area around it, more ice defrosts and the microwaves go for it, leaving the rest alone as ice.

You will notice this even more with raw frozen food, like chicken or burgers, they get hot spots. An easy way to stop this is to rinse them under a warm tap, or leave the frozen item (raw or cooked) in a bowl of luke warm water. This will cause it to defrost all around the outside. Now the microwaves will evenly heat the entire outside, in turn this will defrost the inside far more evenly, the heated water outside defrosting the ice. Having it cut up will help even more.

Khannie wrote: »

I'd say 4-5 days. If I'm in any doubt I'll stick it in the microwave and nuke the crap out of it to kill any bacteria.

Yes, just think of cooked chicken pieces in supermarkets, they will be good for 4-5days from purchase, and probably cooked a few days before. The main thing to remember is to KEEP THEM WRAPPED. Ever see the labelling with something like "packaged in a controlled environment". If you cook in tinfoil then any airborne contaminants will probably be killed during the cooking process. As long as they are wrapped no new contaminants are getting in. You should also chill as quick as possible after cooking. I leave them out the back on a baking rack (wrapped!), then stick in the fridge. If they are open for a split second then they are contaminated, this is no joke, I have also studied microbiology and mushroom cultivation which requires completely sterile stuff to grow in. The proper way to sterilize would be to put them in jars and pressure cook them. This is why your jars and tins of food last for years at room temp, the ingredients are heat treated and sterilized, and since no contaminants survive, and none can get in, then none can grow. Chilling food keeps delays the growth of contamination, this is why you should chill as quick as possible. So those tins of campbells chicken stew would be contaminant free in 100 years time.

A great way to defrost chicken is to totally submerge it in liquids or sauce, like curry sauce, this also means it wont dry out if you are heating for a long time and are worried about contams. The moment stuff is boiling in a microwave you can turn it down lower, it then just keeps simmering, without exploding or overboiling.

g'em wrote: »

Just like r3nu4l says, I take mine out the night before and let it defrost. It's a pain in the arse to remember though

Yes, and best to let things defrost in the fridge, the outside will defrost first, and could heat up and contaminate at room temp, this is more a concern for big hams or turkeys though. Chop up the chicken before it freezes and it thaws quick. PUtting in a bowl of water defrosts quicker, since water conducts the cold (or heat) better than air will, so it is like sticking a big icecube in a bowl of water, you can tip it out and put new room temp water in after a few mins to speed it up again.

I put my palm ontop of fillets and slice down the middle, now you have 2 really thin fillets. Layer these with sheets of plastic bags or greaseproof paper and then freeze them flattened out. Now you can put a frozen thin fillet direct on a pan and it defrosts quick and cooks quickly all the way through.

There will be a test tomorrow class

ali.c

rubadub wrote: »

I put my palm ontop of fillets and slice down the middle, now you have 2 really thin fillets. Layer these with sheets of plastic bags or greaseproof paper and then freeze them flattened out. Now you can put a frozen thin fillet direct on a pan and it defrosts quick and cooks quickly all the way through.

I buy them frozen though so i dont think i could slice them and defrost and refreezing==bad

There will be a test tomorrow class

Thanks for the info

This is the is the image i have of you from all your crazy posts!

Khannie

Khannie wrote: »

I think anything > 150 is good for poultry. I'll check our thermometer indicator later.

I was wrong. It's 185C. Probably best to cook at 190 then.

rubadub

ali.c wrote: »

I buy them frozen though so i dont think i could slice them and defrost and refreezing==bad

Yeah not worth the bother, refreezing ruptures the cells and makes them taste funny. Where do you get them ready frozen? Is it dunnes? I used to get diced chicken breast there, it was ready cooked, but wasnt great, cheap and easy though.

I saw raw frozen ones in dunnes but never tried them.

Another trick is to fry on one side, then the other, then take them out and they should be thawed enough that you can slice them down the middle so the inside frozen bit is exposed, then fry the 2 raw sides.

ali.c wrote: »

This is the is the image i have of you from all your crazy posts!

You're not too far off:D

mildews

[/QUOTE]Yes, just think of cooked chicken pieces in supermarkets, they will be good for 4-5days from purchase, and probably cooked a few days before. The main thing to remember is to KEEP THEM WRAPPED. [/QUOTE]

Unless the product is factory produced (in a controlled environment) Once you cook chicken, the in-house labelling guidelines in supermarkets and in catering establishments is very strict (I have worked in both sectors and currently in catering for a large contract caterer) The law states that cooked products must be labelled with a use by date, (we all know this) The date of use-by is the day you cook + 2 days. i.e. cook today 14th and discard on 16th. All sliced cooked meats that you buy from the deli counter should be labelled using this guidline. All canteens have to abide by this too.
If you are storing home cooked chicken in your fridge for more than three days and intend to use it, you are potentially running the risk of giving yourself, or family food poisoning.

As one of the previous posters said, KEEP IT COVERED.

rubadub

mildews wrote: »

Unless the product is factory produced (in a controlled environment) Once you cook chicken, the in-house labelling guidelines in supermarkets and in catering establishments is very strict (I have worked in both sectors and currently in catering for a large contract caterer).

Yes, I had previously said

rubadub wrote: »

The main thing to remember is to KEEP THEM WRAPPED. Ever see the labelling with something like "packaged in a controlled environment". If you cook in tinfoil then any airborne contaminants will probably be killed during the cooking process. As long as they are wrapped no new contaminants are getting in.

So just to clarify, when I said "cooked chicken in supermarkets", I meant the prepackaged and fully sealed stuff like O'Kane chicken pieces, that is the stuff packaged in the controlled environment. The chicken from the deli counter has been exposed to contaminants in the air. By cooking in tinfoil and not opening it is in effect cooked and stored in a "controlled environment".

You will also see on some sauce jars a very distant best before date, yet it will also say "once opened use within X days". This is since the sauce in the jar is sterile, the moment it is opened it is contaminated, (unless in a sterile lab!) no matter how clean you think you kitchen is, it is briming with contaminants. If you do plan on only using a half jar of sauce, then a good idea is to chill it overnight in the fridge before you open it. This way when you open it the contaminants still get in, but it is cold sauce they land on and they do not grow so fast. Then cap it ASAP and put in the fridge, this way the contaminants never really get a start at all. Manufacturers have to use worst case scenarios, e.g. the jar is opened on a scorching day and left open for a while, capped and put in a press. Bacteria thrives in warm environments, each degree higher results in exponential growth.

Many will read certain jars and ignore others, I find this especially with ketchup, many leave it in a normal press yet will always chill other sauces, and ketchup bottles do recommend refrigeration. Squeezy bottles are good since the hole ontop is tiny, allowing little room for contaminants to drift in.

And some people also do not pay as much attention to turkey, leaving it for days after christmas, while they would not dream of doing that with chicken for some reason.