Here in the UK, supermarket chicken and other meat cuts are infused with water to bulk them up prior to sale.
So, when frying or browning the meat, I often end up half boiling it from all the water that comes out and I end up having to spoon the excess water out of the pan (along with a lot of flavour) so I'm able to carry on with the stir-fry/browning.
Aside from simply buying more expensive (water free) meat or smothering in salt, is there any way of getting rid of this water before cooking?
Best Answer
You can salt the chicken a few hours or a day in advance of cooking it (you don't need a lot of salt, just whatever you'd normally use to properly season it), and store it uncovered in the refrigerator on a small rack over a plate. The salt will draw moisture to the surface of the meat, and leaving it open to the fridge will allow some evaporation to occur. This is sometimes called "dry-brining". That should help but I don't think it will ever get the meat to the point it would be if the water had never been added in the first place.
Another thing to consider is the type of pan you're cooking in. A frying pan with short, flared sides will allow more evaporation to occur during cooking than a pan with taller, straight sides. Also, don't crowd the pan: make sure that there is empty space around each piece of chicken to allow as much evaporation as possible.