I’m going to show you how to cook flavourful shredded chicken three different ways; on the stove, in the slow cooker and in the Instant Pot. Plus, how to shred it two ways.
3large / 4 small chicken breastswill make around 400 g / 14.11 oz cooked chicken
600mlhot water with 1 stock cube / bouillon
½teaspoondried oregano or thyme
½teaspoonpaprika
Salt & pepper to taste
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Instructions
PREP THE CHICKEN
Place your chicken breasts at the bottom of a wide saucepan, trying not to overlap them if possible. Sprinkle over the paprika, salt & pepper and the oregano/thyme and then pour the stock into a gap in the pot.
ON THE STOVE
Bring to a boil over a high heat, then turn the heat down to a low, cover and simmer. Smaller breasts will take around 10-15 minutes and large around 15-18.
SLOW COOKER
It’s ok if just the very top of the breasts are poking out of the liquid. If more than that, you can add in a little more hot water. Cover and cook on high for 2 ½ - 3 ½ hours, medium for 3 ½ -4 hours or low for 6 hours. All slow cookers are different, yours may take longer but test at these times. In my slow cooker, small breasts take 2 hours max on high where as large take 2 hrs 15.
INSTANT POT
Close the lid, set to Sealing and then Pressure Cook on high for 10 minutes. Natural Release for 5 minutes, then Quick Release.
CHECKING THE CHICKEN IS DONE
Test by making a cut in the centre of the thickest part, it should be white and no pink juices coming out. Alternatively, use a meat thermometer to check the thickest part, it should be no lower than 65ºc / 149ºf (over 75ºc / 167ºf for boned chicken).
RESTING THE CHICKEN
Remove the breasts from the pan and rest on a chopping board for 10 minutes, so the juices have time to be reabsorbed.
TO SHRED WITH FORKS
Place the chicken breasts vertically facing you on the chopping board. Then all you are going to do is pull the chicken apart, working from the bottom up until you have shredded it into chunks.
TO SHRED WITH AN ELECTRIC WHISK
To shred your chicken this way, you’ll need to put the breasts into a large mixing bowl and with your electric whisk on the lowest speed setting, start breaking them up. If your chicken is tender it will be very quick to do. If your chicken has been overcooked and gone dry it will be too hard to shred this way.
Notes
STORAGE
Cool the chicken down as quickly as possible and then store in zip-lock bags or air tight containers for up to 3 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer.
Baby & Toddler
BABY LEDPick out shred of chicken that are wide enough to palm - no more than finger width size. If you have shredded chicken n a meal with a sauce then you should give them the thinest pieces of shredded chicken you can find. SPOON FEDAdd some shredded chicken to your stick blender pot or food chopper along with some warm boiled water or low salt chicken stock to make chicken purée. You can add in some salad vegetables (cucumber, tomato and avocado work great) and yogurt to make them a chicken salad. You can thin it down with some cold water if needed. Blend or chop to the right consistency for their stage and age: 6 months - smooth purée, 7-9 months - finely chopped, 10-12 months - a chunkier chop, but with no large lumps.
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