Years ago, a friend gave me a recipe for chicken enchiladas.  Prior to this, I hadn’t found a way to bake chicken without it getting super dry or tasting bland.  To be fair, I hadn’t been cooking for long but it seems to me that this should have been in Cooking 101.  Embedded in the enchilada recipe was a way to bake chicken which could then be easily shredded.  I’ve been using this method ever since.  It’s so easy!  Even better?  It comes out perfectly.  Every.  Single.  Time.  We’ve referenced this chicken preparation in so many posts we figured it was worthy of its own post.

BEFORE

AFTER

SHREDDED

• 1 – 1.5 lbs chicken
• Cumin
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Arrange chicken in a glass pan.
• Sprinkle with cumin and freshly ground sea salt and pepper.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake for 60 minutes or until cooked through.

Post-cooking preparation

• As whole chicken breasts, simply drain off the fat.  I use old glass salsa, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, etc jars as my fat receptacles.  Just screw the top on and stick it in the freezer.  Then toss it when it’s full!  Serve the breasts or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
• You can also slice the chicken breasts after draining off the fat.  It’s easier to slice it after it comes out of the oven (let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes or so) versus after it’s been sitting in the refrigerator for hours.  You could argue that it dries out but I’ve found that if you use it within a few days and you store it in an air tight container, it doesn’t get dry.
• If you’ll be shredding the chicken, I do it within 5 minutes of taking it out of the oven.  Drain the fat then use two forks to shred the chicken.  Store in an air tight container.

Uses

• Use the shredded chicken in tostadas, tacos, sopes, or nachos.  You can even add some taco seasoning!
• Use the sliced or shredded chicken in a caprese salad or any other salad for that matter!
• Use the shredded chicken for open-faced California sandwiches.
• Use the shredded chicken for BBQ chicken pita pizzas – take 1 and take 2!
• Use the shredded chicken in rice bowls.
• Serve the chicken breast with broccoli and brown rice.
• Use the sliced chicken in a sammie.

Variations

Instead of cumin, salt and pepper, I’ve used:

• JR Watkins Poultry Seasoning
• Dried onion
• Dried garlic
• Salt and pepper