Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
I’m going to be honest, I don’t really love chicken. I don’t know why and I can’t put my finger on it, but I can only eat so much plain jane chicken. However, when incorporated into a recipe with flavor, I can eat it all day long. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that most recipes with meat require you to cook it separately before hand, adding yet another step to dinner prep.
Freezing pre-cooked meat is a fantastic way to shorten your time in the kitchen! This slow cooker shredded chicken is the best way I’ve personally found for handling pre-cooked chicken. Plus it’s simple and fairly quick so you can get on with your other business while it does its thing!
It’s so easy I almost feel guilty for making a whole post about it! But I use this chicken in so many recipes, and since I have to cook it at least once to make dinner, I might as well double, or even quadruple the batch so I have some ready for next time! I put 2-4 pounds of chicken tenders in the crockpot. I add just enough broth to cover the chicken, salt and pepper, and one bay leaf for each pound. Then I set it to LOW and cook for 3-4 hours.
Once it’s done it’s nearly falling apart on it’s own. I’ve seen people recommend using a hand mixer, and you can do that, but you’ll also have to wash another bowl plus the mixer head. Too much work. I like a simple wire whisk. It’s a nice way to work out aggression if your kids have been driving you crazy too! I just kinda stab and twist to break it up. After it’s nice and shredded, I turn off the slow cooker and let it sit for another 30 minutes to hour to soak up any broth that still left. At this point, I divide it into sandwich size ziploc bags, because it seems to hold about a pound perfectly, and it’s small for storing.
When you’re ready to use your chicken, just place in the refrigerator a day in advance to thaw. If you’re using this chicken in a soup you can add it as is. If you’re using in a recipe that needs more dry, you can strain off and squeeze out the remainder of the juice before using.
