Steam & Seal bags????

[GONNABE165]

I use these bags alot for fish, chicken & veggies they are very good for lunch use as I am limited on time at work.

[zeffryn]

They are great! I use them for veggies and then wash them out to use them again. They work great a second and third time

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by WebRover

The chicken cooks ok in the bag. I've done one or two of the recipes they had online. However, I think the chicken is tastier on the George Foreman grill or in a greaseless pan.

I know this is off topic; I apologize. But...

How do you get good, moist chicken from the Foreman? When I use mine, either the chicken gets all dry (if it's a thin-sliced chicken breast) or the outside burns by the time it's cooked through (if it's a thicker chicken breast) I've been buying the pre-cooked chicken breast strips for salads and wraps lately because I can never seem to cook a nice moist piece of chicken myself, but I need to stop buying the pre-coked ones to avoid the insane amount of sodium.

[murphmitch]

I marinate mine in something like Italian dressing. They come out very moist.

[zeffryn]

Jillybean - cute name, btw.

Anyway, whenever I'm cooking chicken on the Foreman, I usually pound it so it is all equal thickness - maybe 1/2". It cooks quick, usually 5-7 minutes. Check it often to make sure it isn't overcooked. It will be dry if it overcooks. Also, you could try some of the injectable marinades. They are supposed to keep things more moist. Hope this helps.

Also, if you have an outdoor grill -- grill up a bunch of chicken and slice it up. Freeze some and put some in the fridge to use during the week. You could also bake a whole chicken or individual chicken breasts when you have some time and do the same.

[ShannanA]

Originally Posted by NemesisClaws

While it is no doubt very easy and convienent, (I've used the Birdeye's bags before), I'll just stick with my steamer tray in a pan on the stove. Frankly, it's just cheaper for me to do so.

Yeah and no nasty (probably cancer causing) chemicals leeching into your food. I try not to use plastic whenever possible.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by murphmitch

I marinate mine in something like Italian dressing. They come out very moist.

ha, it must be my grill (Foreman style, not outdoor grill). When I marinate something and then try to cook it on the Foreman, the marinade burns almost immediately. Probably because I like sweet marinades, and the sugar is probably the first thing to burn. Although I haven't been marinating in anything lately since I tried to cut out sugar, so maybe my homemade sauces/marinades made with Splenda would work better. We don't have an outdoor grill--with my coordination and culinary skills (read: lack thereof), I'd melt the siding or burn the deck in no time

I'll just stick with baking, which I hate to do because it takes longer and uses a lot more energy to heat a whole oven instead of a small appliance. I'll just suck it up and deal

Shannan, if I avoided everything with chemicals or said to cause cancer, I would have to live on water and, umm, air, and even those would still have to be filtered about a million times to remove all chemicals

[zeffryn]

Originally Posted by ShannanA

Yeah and no nasty (probably cancer causing) chemicals leeching into your food. I try not to use plastic whenever possible.

From what I understand, most of these bags (I don't know about all of them) are made from #4LDPE, a polypropylene based plastic. While it doesn't promise that nothing bad will come from it, it has a much lower risk than polyethylene plastics which are much cheaper and much more widely used. #3 polyethylene plastic is one of the most dangerous and most widely used plastics.

To further reduce the risk of leaching, I wouldn't include any form of grease or fat in the bag when you're steaming, as the fat can reach higher temperatures than the food can and promote leaching if there is any leaching to be done.

[WebRover]

Originally Posted by jillybean720;2141822
[COLOR=indigo

How do you get good, moist chicken from the Foreman? [/color]

I usually marinade (even just long enough for the grill to heat up) in balsamic vinegar with just a little olive oil. I, too, have had bad experiences with other marinades that just burned on the grill. The idea of flattening the chicken breast is good, but I'm usually cooking extras to be sliced up and used cold on future salads and don't have the room.

[Schmoodle]

Jilly, just thought I'd throw in here that I discovered the secret of moist chicken breasts on the outdoor grill (don't have a Foreman) last summer - brining. You just soak the chicken in a mild salt water solution, then drain and dry and throw on the grill. It comes out amazingly moist and works great on pork also. You can google it and there are all kinds of methods, but some call for sugar, which of course we wouldn't use. Salt water is all it takes. And it does make the meat mildly salty so you adjust how much seasoning you add after. My grilled chicken breasts always used to come out so dry and tough, so I was really happy to discover this method. Now I'll buy a huge pkg of chicken breasts, brine and grill it all, and use it for salads and things or throw it into the freezer.
This works great whether you are grilling, sauteing, or baking.

[zenor77]

Originally Posted by ShannanA

Yeah and no nasty (probably cancer causing) chemicals leeching into your food. I try not to use plastic whenever possible.

Ditto!

I know it is a different type of plastic, but I don't think any plastics are completely safe for cooking. Heat speeds up the process of the plastic breaking down. I rarely microwave anyway, but if I do it's in ceramic or glass. Better safe then sorry!

[Ruthxxx]

Me too.

I think we've answered the original question so I'll close this for now. PM me if it needs to be reopened.