Shredded chicken

This recipe makes a lot of chicken, about 12 cups after shredding It can easily be scaled down by half if the total amount of chicken will be more than fits your needs.

Prep time: 5-10 minutes before, 20-40 minutes after including cooling time Cook time: 45-55 minutes

Description

A flavorful, easy-to-eat option that can feature in sandwiches, wraps, over rice, in tacos, in soup (watch for this in next week’s newsletter!), or even on its own, this chicken is flexible enough to serve in many roles and is great to keep on hand. Shown above as a sandwich, this could work hot or cold at lunch or dinner. The cooking method, acid in the tomatoes, and shredding all come together to create a fairly soft texture, which can be helpful if chewing is painful. Serving as a sandwich is also a good option for anyone who prefers an option not requiring utensils, which can be especially helpful with dementia^[1] or arthritis^[2].

Tips and substitutions to know in advance

• If you have a favorite spice blend like a seasoning salt, that is a good option in place of mixing your own
• Barbecue sauce has a similar flavor to the tomato paste & Worcestershire sauce mixture and can be a good substitute

Ingredients

• 1 family pack of chicken breast (about 5 lbs)
• 1 can of tomato paste
• ½ c Worcestershire sauce
  Easily substitute your favorite barbecue sauce, about 1 ¼ c
• 1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground sage
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp pepper
• Optional: 1 Tbsp brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
• Optional: ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• Optional: pickled jalapeño slices

Process

Bake chicken:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Mix spices, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl
2. Season both sides of the chicken Place chicken in baking pan(s), bottom side up. Season this side well. Flip chicken over, season this side well
3. Mix tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, sugar if using
4. Spread mixture over top of chicken If using pickled jalapeño slices, place these on top of the chicken before adding mixture, one line of pickled jalapeño slices down the middle of each chicken breast
5. Spread diced tomatoes around base of chicken along with juice
6. Add tight fitting lid or tinfoil tightly secured over pan
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
8. Allow to cool in pans until cool enough to shred

Shred chicken:

1. If hand shredding, allow chicken to cool enough to comfortably handle
2. Gloves (latex or nitrile) are a good way to protect your hands while hand shredding. If your pan has cooled enough, consider shredding right in the pan rather than using another dish. If the pan is too warm for this to be a good option, shred chicken on a plate or in a bowl and return chicken to the pan after shredding to allow absorption of juices created during cooking
3. If shredding with forks, allow chicken to cool enough to shred
4. If your pan has cooled enough, consider shredding right in the pan rather than using another dish. If the pan is too warm for this to be good option, shred on a large plate or a cutting board that can catch juices and return chicken to the pan after shredding to allow absorption of juices created during cooking
5. If shredding with a mixer, allow 10 minutes cooling time
6. Use the paddle attachment for your stand mixer or hand mixer for best results. Add two chicken breasts to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, one on ether side with space for the paddle attachment in the middle. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on its lowest speed and shred chicken until all chicken has been shredded. Return shredded chicken to the pan to reabsorb juices created during cooking and repeat this process for the rest of your chicken breasts
   This can cause the mixer to wobble or the bowl to move a lot. Plan to stabilize your mixer or bowl while shredding chicken
7. Serve shredded chicken however you prefer — as a sandwich, over rice, on top of a salad, however you like!

Notes for storage and reworking later

• This freezes very well — freezing in portions of 1-3 cups allows for easy thawing in the refrigerator for future use
• For a different flavor experience, try a sweet and spicy sandwich option adding a spicy pepper jam or jelly
• Try using this chicken on top of a salad

Citations:

1. Ciliz, Ozlem; Tulek, Zeliha; Hanagasi, Hasmet; Bilgic, Basar; Gurvit, I. Hakan. Eating Difficulties and Relationship With Nutritional Status Among Patients With Dementia. Journal of Nursing Research 31(1):p e260, February 2023. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000538
2. McDonald SS, Levine D, Richards J, Aguilar L. 2016. Effectiveness of adaptive silverware on range of motion of the hand. PeerJ 4:e1667 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1667