I guess I’m on a quest for finding some unusual uses for blenders that some people might not think of so I’m going to offer some answers to this question: can you shred chicken in a blender?
After answering a very interesting question about whether we can whip egg whites in a blender, I guess it’s time to tackle another interesting query.
Thus, can you shred chicken in a blender? Why would you want to? Are there other better ways to shred our cooked chicken? Let’s talk about all this.
I would say that the reasons for wanting a kitchen appliance to do the shredding for us are various.
We get to skip doing some more work in the kitchen.
A blender/mixer can do the shredding in a few seconds.
The shredded chicken meat will be more finely shredded than when we do it by hand.
A blender doesn’t care that the meat is straight out of the pan but our hands certainly can’t touch that, etc.
Since we saw why we might want to try this thing, let’s see what else we need to know. By the way, we can also mince meat in a blender. By that, I mean raw meat not like our cooked chicken meat that needs shredding.
Can You Shred Chicken In A Blender? Technically, You Can
Why would we want to know if we can shred chicken in a blender? Because it can speed up things in the kitchen and save us more time to cook our dishes.
However, how do we go about achieving a shredded chicken in a blender? Do we like, just throw the cooked pieces of meat in the blender’s pitcher and turn on a button and that’s it?
Actually, that’s pretty much all we do.
You also can’t shred meat if all you have is an immersion hand blender. You’ll need a countertop blender for this to be possible.
However, I also have to admit that I’m more old-fashioned. I prefer shredding my chicken meat by hand, just as I prefer grinding spices in a mortar and pestle.
If it’s too hot, I’ll use two forks to take the chicken breasts apart.
I don’t have a big family to feed so it doesn’t take me too long but I can totally see why people would want some sort of help from a useful kitchen appliance.
The kitchen appliance can be either a blender or a food processor. Just like in many cases, we can use these two machines interchangeably.
Plus, as I found out during my time on YouTube, I discovered that there are some people who shred chicken using a stand mixer. You just have to love how inventive some people are.
Shredding Chicken in a Blender in 6 Steps
Let’s see how we can shred chicken in a blender in just a few seconds and a few steps.
1. Boil the chicken meat
Boil your chicken breast(s).
If you prefer thigh meat, you’ll have to either get boneless thigh chicken meat, debone the thigh at home before boiling it or remove the meat off the bones after you’ve boiled them.
You can add some spices to the water.
Or you can boil it plain. If you want the meat to absorb the flavor of the rest of the ingredients that you’re mixing the shredded chicken with.
2. Boil, steam or roast
I prefer boiled chicken meat because it’s soft and juicy and it works perfectly for shredding it in a blender or with a mixer. But you can also steam or roast it.
Steamed chicken meat can also be shredded in a blender, food processor or with a hand mixer because it’s basically the same thing as boiling it.
However, roasted chicken meat should be shredded by hand. My guess is that the meat doesn’t have the same moisture as the boiled or steam one so it won’t work as well in any of the kitchen appliances that I’ve mentioned. So stick to your hands or use two forks.
3. Let the meat rest
A blender will handle the chicken meat straight out of the pan. You can add it hot, too.
So, if you’re in a hurry do that.
If you’re not in a hurry, let the meat rest for a bit to allow the juices to settle into the meat for more flavor and for a tender meat.
4. Prepare the meat for the blender
You don’t have to cut it into small pieces. Just slice a chicken breast in two and that’s it. That’s the size we’re going for.
Shred one chicken breast at a time for the best and most consistent results.
5. I prefer the pulse function
If you’re nervous, use the pulse function. It gives you more control over how shredded you want the meat to be.
I prefer the pulse function when I’m doing things where I want to check the progress every few seconds and see how the bigger pieces at the top are shredded when their time comes, too.
Plus, the pulse function can prevent us from over-processing ingredients.
For the best results, we can also stir occasionally so that the shredded pieces are pretty equal in size. So, in this case, the pulse function is a winner for me.
6. Start on low and increase power
If you want to go straight for power, I recommend starting on low and increasing the speed as the chicken gets shredded.
I don’t recommend reaching top speed because you can turn it into a puree, especially if you have a powerful blender, like a Ninja or a Vitamix or models that consume 1,400 watts or more.
Use the tamper to push the meat down into the blades so that we get equally-sized pieces.
You might also have to turn it off and shake the pitcher a bit so that all the meat gets cut by the blades.
How to use a stand mixer to shred chicken
People absolutely love using a hand mixer to shred meat. It’s very easy and it only takes a few seconds. Frankly, the results are impressive.
And you can move the mixer blades around the bowl to get an uniform result. So, make sure to use a larger bowl for a chicken breast cut in two.
Shred one chicken breast at a time.
How to use a food processor shred chicken
A food processor has blades that can make puree of hard vegetables in seconds.
Thus, you have to be careful with all that power. Absolutely use it on the lowest setting.
Plus, it’s easier to make smaller quantities in the same processing session.
Also, the ingredients can be pushed up in the bowl. So, stop before you make a puree out of your meat and do the big pieces that remain by hand.
Or save all those untouched big pieces and shred them together at the end in the food processor.
How to cook shredded chicken
Now that we’ve seen all the ways in which we can shred the meat, including answering the question can you shred chicken in a blender, I guess we should talk about some ways to cook the chicken.
This recipe is inspired from wellplated.com. You can check out the entirety of the recipe there.
It’s actually one of the simplest you can make, it only requires 1 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
Place the breasts on the bottom of a pot, sprinkle the salt and black pepper over each and cover with 1 inch of water.
Place the pot on the stove, bring to a boil.
Then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 8 to 16 minutes. The breast shouldn’t be pink inside.
If you want a slightly more complex recipe, you can check this one here. I just prefer the first method.
Best recipes with shredded chicken
After you’ve shredded the chicken in a blender or maybe by hand or with a food processor or hand mixer, let’s see what you can do with it.
Tacos
You say shredded chicken, I say tacos. That’s just how my mind works.
You can make them with black beans, sour cream, avocado, cheese, pico de gallo, tomatoes, jalapenos, guacamole, etc.
Or you can add any ingredients you have in the fridge.
Stews
For me, during cold months, stews are one of my favorite comfort foods.
You can pretty much use whatever ingredients you have in the house: carrots, corn, potatoes, tomato sauce, bell peppers, capers, chickpeas, beans, peas, etc.
Vietnamese chicken salad
If you want to transform plain shredded chicken breast into a dish full of flavor but also absolutely refreshing, a salad is always the answer.
You are pretty much free to make whatever ingredient combinations you have in the fridge. That’s what is so amazing about salads, sandwiches, pizzas, etc.
For a Vietnamese chicken salad you can use shredded chicken, napa cabbage or green/red cabbage, red onion, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, scallions, fresh mint and cilantro, fresh chili or red pepper flakes and a hand of roasted peanuts.
Chicken noodle soup
Shredded chicken and chicken noodle soup are my best friends when it gets cold outside or when I’m feeling a bit down.
I think that answering the question can you shred chicken in a blender is especially important if you want to feed your chicken noodle soup to children because shredding a chicken in a blender can give you really tiny pieces to add to the soup and they’ll love it.
