Stuffing chicken breasts?

[Aerows]

I wanted to try making some stuffed chicken breasts. I know how to debone them, but I'm wondering what is the most effective way to stuff them with, say, mushrooms and cheese. Do you slit them along the sides, or pierce them in the bottom, wider part to do it?

Thanks for the advice .

Oh, and I figured I'd probably use a filet knife (for fish) for this exercise, but let me know if that isn't the best way.

[Kali]

1. pound them flat between two pieces of plastic wrap or in a gallon size bag

then roll them around your stuffing. you can use tooth picks to secure.

[Aerows]

2. I wanted to split them in the middle

and fill them. I could do that, but I wanted a "prettier" way of doing it. Not that you didn't have a great idea, I just want to do it a bit differently. I'll definitely do that for fish, and I hadn't thought about that!

[Kali]

3. then I would split them the flat way, along the sides

the nice thing about pounding them is it makes them nice and tender - you can cut with a fork. doing them "unflattened" risks them shrinking up and getting "thicker" which squishes the stuffing out and also takes longer to cook.

[Aerows]

4. Oh

I hadn't thought about that. Thanks Kali, that's great advice!

This is why I ask, because most of you know a lot more than I do, and have experience I don't have. Thank you so much!

[Kali]

5. and besides when you are cooking with cheese?

you can cover up any "ugly" with MORE cheese!

[Aerows]

6. LMAO!

Too True! I was going to drape them with balsamic dashed tomato halfway through, too.

[Warpy]

7. Put each one between sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board

and take your best heavy skillet and start smacking them flat.

Once they're about the size you want (and it doesn't take much if you have a cast iron pan), just fill, roll, and secure with a toothpick and set into a pan. Then on to the next one.

My favorite filling was broccoli, mushrooms and water chestnuts.

[Aerows]

8. Okay, that seems to be the consensus

Will they stay together when you cook them, and not be oozing the stuffing out of the sides? And yes, I have a heavy as hell cast-iron pan that I use to make cornbread.

[Warpy]

9. There will always be a little stray stuffing

but that's why you cook them in a pan with sides.

[Aerows]

10. It's funny

I've inherited different cookware pieces from relatives. The cast iron frying pan is from my great aunt. I have a bunch of other things from my grandmother that could can anything up to and including sunshine. There was nobody else except me and my sister (who could burn boiling water and had dusty pots when we went to cook Thanksgiving dinner) unless they wanted to give them to the boys.

I'm not complaining, I love that I've been entrusted with fine cookware, but it's a shade intimidating, too. Everyone seems to think I can be the one to make the most use of them, and I do try, because I like it, and it makes me feel closer to my grandmother and my aunt. It's just... I don't like to fail their memories by making bad dishes IN them.

Does that make sense?

[Warpy]

11. Perfect sense.

My mother hated cooking and it showed, so I didn't inherit anything from her kitchen. I've gotten my cookware here and there, mostly open stock and on sale so it's a motley collection that doesn't go together.

There is nothing finer than a cast iron frypan for smacking chicken breasts into stuffable flatness. I'm reduced to Calphalon these days because my wrists couldn't take the cast iron any more. I gave them to a next door neighbor who loves to cook.

[Aerows]

13. My mother hates to cook, too!

She's at least better than my sister. My sister, she's older than me, thinks food is cooked through a drive through window. God love her, she's a good person, but she and my brother-in-law are the reason McDonald's exists. Their kids think fried chicken is McNuggets, and nearly fainted in joy when I fried actual chicken.

[cbayer]

12. I am going to support the alternative.

I like to slit them along the longest end, then stuff them and secure with toothpicks. Pounding them can lead to leaky holes and also means a longer edge to try and secure.

Whatever you do, that cheese is probably going to seep out, but that's ok if you are baking them.

Best of luck!

[Aerows]

14. Too late now, it's in the oven

But I'm going to try it that way the next time I'm trying to make healthy things for my father since he is having a gout attack. Keeping the man away from pork is like keeping a bee away from honey, but I do try on Saturdays and Sundays (thus the turkey sandwiches yesterday). I can't control what he eats during the week since I have to work, but when I can, I do my damnedest.

[cbayer]

15. It's wonderful what you are doing for your father and I have a suggestion.

Have you experimented with pork tenderloins at all?

If he loves pork, the tenderloin is a very lean cut that can be cooked many different ways.

It looks expensive, but every single bit of it is edible and there is very little fat. There are usually two in a package and you can freeze one. Leftover meat also can be used in a lot of ways.

The trick is not to overcook, but to get it right to the point of doneness.

Anyway, if I am telling you something you already know, excuse me.

Enjoy!

[Aerows]

16. That's interesting information

and thank you. I will keep that in mind, and I appreciate it, cbayer! I'll give it a shot. Anything to keep him away from bacon and ham full of nitrates (which he absolutely cannot have).

[Aerows]

17. Hey, do you have any good

recipes for pork tenderloins? I would like to try them and see if it can get him away from bacon, sausage and ham for half a minute, which seems to be the big problem.

[cbayer]

18. Here are a whole bunch you can peruse.

http://www.finecooking.com/search?cx=009096020989677304441%3Akkzh0x3f3yc&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=pork+tenderloin

This is a great site, btw, with clear instructions, tested recipes and they often include instructions in techniques you may not be familiar with.

Tenderloins can be super easy and grilling is great. You can change them up just by using different marinades, rubs and sauces. They go great with cooked fruits as well. Leftovers make killer sandwiches, or you can use it for stir fries.

You will see them in the market pre-marinated. I don't recommend those as the meat tends to degrade and it's so easy to do yourself.

And, other than overcooking, you can't really hurt them. If you don't have one, this would be a good time to get an inexpensive instant read thermometer, which you can use for other meats as well.

I think it's great that you are enthusiastic and adventurous about cooking. It soothes my soul.

[Aerows]

19. Thank you so much

for the references! Good people willing to help on the journey soothe my soul

[grasswire]

20. and besides, the pre-marinated pork has loads of sodium

I like to cook a small pork loin on top of the stove with some fresh rosemary and lemon slices. Brown it on all sides with a little bit of olive oil or butter, add the rosemary, lemon, and salt and pepper, and gently cook it until no longer pink inside. Great served with some buttered pasta or brown rice and a vegetable.

[cbayer]

21. Maybe it's the sodium that turns me off.

I have a general dislike of pre-marinated meats, except for things like corned beef.

Your recipe sounds so good and so simple.

[grasswire]

22. another thing I don't like about pre-marinated meats is the fakey garlic flavor.

It's probably powder. I just don't like that stuff and it seems to be everywhere.

[cbayer]

23. That, too. I have always felt that it degraded the meat too much.

I have read many times that marinades should be relatively short for that reason. Pre-marinated meats seem to have a gumminess or something that just turns me off.

I never use garlic powder, but I am thinking of starting to keep some of that garlic paste in a tube. I am now using basil, wasabi, tomato paste and anchovy paste in tubes and they are great. But I've never tried the garlic.

[grasswire]

24. hmmm, maybe that gumminess is MSG? nt