Most of the time you read about people doing this and they cook the chicken on the bone. That is definitely a cheaper way of doing it because chicken on the bone is a lot cheaper than boneless skinless chicken breasts. But, let me be honest with you, I HATE to pick meat off a bone. Seriously. Hate it. Gross. On the occasion where I buy a rotisserie chicken from the local store (geez those things are good!) I have my husband pick the meat off for me. He only does it because he loves me and knows how much I hate it.
So I decided to make the chicken with my boneless skinless chicken breasts. I bought a pack of 6 (though now I know to go ahead and get about 12 since I still had plenty of room in my crockpot).
Place the chicken in the crockpot like so:
Add 1/2 a cup of water.
Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
After 8 hours remove chicken from the crockpot. It will start to fall apart when you pick it up. I got one piece out a time because I decided to freeze mine by the piece. If I want to make a lunch for just me I can get just one out, if I need more for a recipe I can take out as many as needed.
Use a fork to shred the chicken. It shouldn't take but a minute... like so:
You have a couple of different options on how to freeze the chicken. You can use an airtight container. I used normal sandwich baggies and then wrapped that with my precious Press N Seal.
Don't forget to write what is inside and the date you made it. Like so:
Now you have you some yummy, juicy shredded chicken. You can use it for tacos, casseroles, spaghetti (our meal for tomorrow night so stay tuned!), salads, sandwiches, etc.
Thanks and hope you enjoy!!
While I agree with you that messing with the bones are a bit messy and a pain in the butt, there are some points in favor for going with meat on the bone. For one thing, meat cooked on the bone is going to be significantly more moist, tender, and flavorful. Chefs know this. That's why many throw extra bones in when cooking meat. Bones contain collagen, that lip smacking waxy substance that makes meat taste so good. Also, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are by far the most expensive cut of chicken you can buy. Stores consistently carry large packages of leg and thigh quarters for as low as $ .44 a lb. Yes, you have to peel the skin off before throwing in the crockpot and debone after cooking, but the savings alone are worth it to me. When you compare that price to $ 2.00 a lb for the boneless skinless breast meat, simply because it was cleaned and processed further, I am willing to spend a little time with a knife.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Jess. My kids totally agree with you about the chicken tasting a bit better. They love a chicken leg! And I definitely know my route is the more expensive way. I heard somewhere that on a stand up mixer you can put chicken on the bone in it and use a special attachment that will take a lot of the chicken off for you. I'm trying to find someone who has done it to see if it really works. Know anything about that?
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