4 ms·

What is woody chicken?

testfoobar 4y ago
It is really three conditions - spaghetti meat, woody chicken and white striping - all the result of chickens having been bred for rapid growth and size. Taste, texture and flavor are negatively affected. This site explains them with some pictures: https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/woody-breast-myopathy-and-white-striping https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/woody-breast-myopath... This is how I identify them: 1. Spaghetti Meat: Raw chicken breast fibers look like spaghetti strands. The top of the breast will look uniform. It is when I've cut into the breast that the spaghetti strands will become apparent. These breasts get boiled and fed to my dog. 2. Woody Breast: This is chicken breast that is tough in texture. Even when cooked, it feels raw or "crunchy". To me, this is really off-putting. I sometimes try to salvage raw breasts by cutting more off (also for my dog). But the taste is so off-putting that I don't care for them. 3. White Striping: You can see this before buying the breast - you'll see white lines across the breast. These breasts can be okay. But often woody breast and white striping coincide. I will cook the breasts if they only have white striping.
- hnbear 4y ago
  So glad you posted this. I’d noticed the weird texture associated with more heavily striped meat when cooking, but had no idea what it was, and wasn’t sure if I was even correct in noticing it. I’ve sent food in restaurants/fast food places back with that texture because it tasted or feels raw. Now I know what to avoid at home.
  - testfoobar 4y ago
    Yeah - the texture is just off. I thought I was undercooking my chicken or that my tastebuds had changed. Lots of discussion of woody chicken on reddit. This reddit thread references a couple of additional items here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/vzuul8/what_are_woody_chicken_breasts/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/vzuul8/what_are_wo... https://zootecnicainternational.com/featured/understanding-the-woody-breast-syndrome-and-other-myopathies-in-modern-broiler-chickens/ https://zootecnicainternational.com/featured/understanding-t... https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/76893 https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/76893
    - hnbear 4y ago
      The crunchy raw asparagus texture is incredibly off putting. I’m glad you’ve given me some pointers to detect it, and I know it’s not my cooking either. Next I hope the industry stops making it in the first place.
- iab 4y ago
  This turned me vegetarian

It is really three conditions - spaghetti meat, woody chicken and white striping - all the result of chickens having been bred for rapid growth and size. Taste, texture and flavor are negatively affected. This site explains them with some pictures: https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/woody-breast-myopathy-and-white-striping https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/woody-breast-myopath... This is how I identify them: 1. Spaghetti Meat: Raw chicken breast fibers look like spaghetti strands. The top of the breast will look uniform. It is when I've cut into the breast that the spaghetti strands will become apparent. These breasts get boiled and fed to my dog. 2. Woody Breast: This is chicken breast that is tough in texture. Even when cooked, it feels raw or "crunchy". To me, this is really off-putting. I sometimes try to salvage raw breasts by cutting more off (also for my dog). But the taste is so off-putting that I don't care for them. 3. White Striping: You can see this before buying the breast - you'll see white lines across the breast. These breasts can be okay. But often woody breast and white striping coincide. I will cook the breasts if they only have white striping.

hnbear 4y ago
So glad you posted this. I’d noticed the weird texture associated with more heavily striped meat when cooking, but had no idea what it was, and wasn’t sure if I was even correct in noticing it. I’ve sent food in restaurants/fast food places back with that texture because it tasted or feels raw. Now I know what to avoid at home.
- testfoobar 4y ago
  Yeah - the texture is just off. I thought I was undercooking my chicken or that my tastebuds had changed. Lots of discussion of woody chicken on reddit. This reddit thread references a couple of additional items here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/vzuul8/what_are_woody_chicken_breasts/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/vzuul8/what_are_wo... https://zootecnicainternational.com/featured/understanding-the-woody-breast-syndrome-and-other-myopathies-in-modern-broiler-chickens/ https://zootecnicainternational.com/featured/understanding-t... https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/76893 https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/76893
  - hnbear 4y ago
    The crunchy raw asparagus texture is incredibly off putting. I’m glad you’ve given me some pointers to detect it, and I know it’s not my cooking either. Next I hope the industry stops making it in the first place.
iab 4y ago
This turned me vegetarian