Whether you ordered Zaycon Chicken and have 40 lbs. coming next week, or you found a deal on chicken breast somewhere else, pre-cooking and freezing chicken can be a great way to simplify future meal prep. Here’s how I plan to cook about half of my Zaycon chicken next week, shred it in seconds, and freeze it in meal-sized portions that will be ready for casseroles, tacos, chicken salad, quesadillas, soups, enchiladas, pot pies, and more! (Hmm…maybe I should have ordered more chicken! 😉 )
- First, boil your chicken breasts. Fill a large pot about 2/3 full with water, then put in as much chicken as you’d like to cook. The more chicken in the pot, the longer it’ll take to cook. Check on it after 20-30 minutes–when it’s done, it’ll easily pull apart with a fork, with no pink in the center. If it’s not quite done, let it cook for another 10 minutes and check again.
- Pull the chicken breasts out of the pot and allow them to cool for a few minutes, just enough so you’re able to work with them. Trim off any excess fat, then put the big chunks into the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer. Turn it on low to start breaking the chicken into smaller pieces, then crank it up to 4 or 6 to shred the chicken. You can shred a whole batch of chicken in less than 30 seconds!
(I first spotted this awesome tip on Fabulessly Frugal, and now I use it all the time!)
- Put the shredded chicken in quart-sized freezer bags. I try to estimate about 1 lb. per bag–it seems to be a good amount for most recipes for casseroles and soups
- Skim off the foam on the top of the cooking water, and you’ve got homemade chicken broth. Use it to make soup right away, or put it in freezer containers to save for another time. Defrosted broth + pre-cooked chicken + veggies and noodles = quick and easy homemade soup in the future!
What do you think of this tip for simplifying chicken prep? We’d love for you to Pin it and share it! What are your favorite recipes for using pre-cooked chicken? I’d love to start a list of more ideas in the comments–thanks!
