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I have a recipe where I cut chicken breasts into 0.5" cubes and cook them on a medium low gas flame for 15-20 minutes in a stew. When I cook the chicken, it comes out a bit tough and chewy. So I was curious if people had tips on how to properly stew chicken. Specifically, how do you get your chicken cooked so it "falls apart" nicely and doesn't taste--to put it bluntly--rubbery.
Thanks.
Rumtscho pretty much summed it up in his comment above: You can't really stew chicken breasts (at least not from the young chickens that are found in most supermarkets). The reason is that what makes a meat "fall apart" tender is its fat and collagen content. Collagen is connective tissue that is usually found in muscles that do a lot of work for the animal. When collagen cooks in a moist environment at a low temperature for a long time (i.e., a stew), it converts into gelatin, which is soft (causing the meat to fall apart) and is interpreted by the mouth to be moist and delicious.
The problem is that the breasts don't do much work on today's factory farmed chickens. Even if you were able to find an old rooster that has lived long enough to build up some collagen, there still wouldn't be much in its breasts.
Legs and thighs, on the other hand, do have a bit more collagen and could benefit from a short stew.
Whenever I want (shredded) chicken breast for soup or tacos, I put skinless tenders in the crock pot with broth and salsa (Trader Joe's Authentica is my favorite). Then I pull it apart with forks, and it's super tender.
For chicken breast meat being added to a stew, I prefer to cook the chicken breasts separately in the oven, then cut or cube the meat and add it to the finished stew to warm, just before serving.
Alternately, if the breasts are skinless and boneless you could poach them in white wine (I almost typed “whine” there). Heat enough wine to cover the chicken in a large skillet. You’ll want it to just barely simmer. Add the chicken breasts and cook until the internal temperature is 160°F (sorry I can’t give you a time, I don’t do this by the clock.)
If you want the chicken to cook mostly in be stew, so it absorbs he flavors, sear the breasts, but don’t cook them through. Then shred or cube them and add it to the the stew. I’ve had great success with this method in my recipe for chicken piquante.
