Monday, November 21, 2011

Kitchen Tip

Do you know that the very fastest way to shred cooked chicken is in your KitchenAid Mixer?  I used to hate spending all that time shredding chicken with two forks or cutting into cubes for recipes and soup.  Now I just throw my chicken into the mixer and voila!  I keep tons of roasted, shredded chicken in the freezer, and it is a lifesaver.  Seriously.

(I am thinking that you may have some leftover turkey that you'll want to use up later this week.  This tip would absolutely work for that turkey breast as well.)

Here's my exact method:

Preheat your oven to 450.  Place your chicken breasts on sheet pan with olive oil and good amount of salt.  Don't crowd them too much, or they'll steam, not roast.  I usually can fit five or six on one pan.  Roast them at 450 for about 35-40 minutes.  (You can do this with chicken that you've boiled too I suppose.  I just think roasting tastes the best!)  Let cool to room temp.

Post-cooking,  Not looking that delish, but they are.

Put several whole chicken breasts in your mixer with the paddle attachment (I have the professional size mixer, and I can safely do five breasts at a time without overflow), and mix on the lowest speed until the chicken breaks up.  As the chicken shreds itself, I turn the mixer up a little bit to get it as shredded as I'd like.  Put the shredded chicken into containers and use immediately in any recipe that calls for cooked chicken, or freeze.

Awful picture, but you get the idea.  Just toss them in there.

I use this chicken for an untold number of things, including easy lunches, chicken salad, quesadillas, enchiladas, casseroles, soup, tacos, fajitas, pasta dishes....the list goes on and on.  Basically, having shredded chicken in the freezer means you can throw together a real meal in less time than it takes to cook a frozen pizza.  Hallelujah!

Finished product.  Amazing, no?!


Go visit Tammy's Recipes for a link-up of Kitchen Tips every Tuesday!  (And some really good tried and true recipes as well).

6 comments:

  1. Oooh, I love this tip! Would a hand mixer work, or only a stand mixer? :)

    I added the link to Kitchen Tip Tuesdays -- would you mind adding a link back in this post? Thanks! :)

    Tammy

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  2. Shannon@ChickensinMyKitchenFebruary 7, 2012 at 11:37 AM

    I'm not sure if a hand-mixer would work or not, but you could try it.  Just hold on tight!  (And I did edit to add a link back.  Sorry I didn't do that initially!)

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  3. Oh, no problem. :)

    I bet a food processor would work really great too! Right now I have a hand mixer and a very small "mini chopper" food processor thingy... so I may try the hand mixer! :)

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  4. Shannon@ChickensinMyKitchenFebruary 8, 2012 at 7:54 AM

    Come back and report on how it goes!

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  5. Now, if only I had a Kitchen Aid! LOL! Still dreaming on that one :)

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  6. Shannon@ChickensinMyKitchenFebruary 8, 2012 at 11:41 AM

    I've seen some on Craigslist.  Or you could try Kohls when you have a 30% coupon.  I think those are the best chance to get a good deal!  Good luck!  It really is worth it.  I use mine more than once a day, everyday.

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