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From a zesty taco dinner to a hearty bowl of chicken and dumplings, shredded chicken is a versatile choice of protein. While it’s easy to make and add to any meal, it’s not always effortless to shred. Luckily, there is a simple trick to shredding chicken faster. How? Make sure it’s still warm.
When a chicken is cold, its muscle fibers tighten, making it infinitely harder to separate. So, the ideal way to shred chicken is to cook it, let it cool until it’s safe to handle, then shred it. (Start with this easy cooking method for effortless shredded chicken.) While some chefs might refrigerate chicken before shredding, this only makes the process more difficult. Still, if you didn’t have the time to shred immediately, here’s how to bring that cold chicken up to temperature so it can shred easily. Because your refrigerated chicken is already cooked, there’s no need to bring it up to a certain temperature before shredding.
One simple way to warm it up is by giving it a quick zap in the microwave to loosen up those muscle fibers, being careful not to make it too hot or it will burn your hands. The second easiest way to warm cold chicken is to leave it out on the counter until it loses some of its chill. This method takes patience but avoids the potential drawback of dryness that comes with reheating chicken. To abide by food safety standards, don’t leave your chicken out for more than two hours.
Tips for microwaving chicken for easier shredding
While bringing chicken to room temperature is the less fussy way to get chicken ready to shred, the microwave method is undeniably faster. Still, how do you avoid drying out your chicken during this stage? It starts by putting your chicken in a microwave-safe bowl, adding a teaspoon of water or chicken stock to the mix, and covering with a paper towel. Alternatively, you can also use a damp paper towel. From there, heat the covered chicken in 30-second intervals. Cook the chicken until it is just warm enough to shred without burning your hands.
This method steams the chicken while heating so it doesn’t dry out or toughen up. While this technique is faster than bringing chicken to room temperature, it does require a watchful eye to prevent dryness. Whatever method you use is up to you. Once that chicken is warm, effortlessly shred it using this KitchenAid attachment. Or, for those who find a manual method meditative, use forks, or try something like the Culinary Couture Meat Shredder Claws.
