11 Chicken Hacks You Need to Know | Allrecipes
Looking to master your chicken cooking skills? Join Nicole as she shares 11 clever chicken hacks that will make meal prep easier, faster, and more delicious. From perfectly shredding chicken in seconds to foolproof thawing methods, these tips will transform your kitchen routine.
Nicole walks you through each helpful technique, including:
* Removing cartilage from chicken tenders with a fork for cleaner prep
* Thawing chicken quickly using a cast iron skillet or metal pots
* Shredding chicken effortlessly with a hand mixer
* Spatchcocking chicken for faster, more even cooking
* Marinating chicken in yogurt for extra-juicy results
* Freezing chicken before slicing for precise cuts
Whether you’re whipping up weeknight dinners, prepping meals in advance, or packing school lunches, these time-saving tips will help you cook chicken like a pro!
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
0:15 – Removing Cartilage from Chicken Tenders
1:12 – Thawing Chicken with a Cast Iron Skillet
2:19 – Thawing Chicken with Metal Pots
3:02 – Shredding Chicken with a Hand Mixer
4:07 – Spatchcocking Chicken for Even Cooking
6:47 – Marinating Chicken in Yogurt
7:43 – Cooking the Perfect Drumsticks
9:05 – Pounding Chicken for Uniform Thickness
10:12 – Cutting Chicken Precisely by Freezing It
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I always wash the bag after use and use it again til they aren't any good to use again.
take a few courses at the health department about chicken handling.
Watch a few videos on YouTube maybe.
1. Rinse your chicken (unless you don’t trust your tap water)
2. Thaw in airtight container (bacteria grows fast)
3. Vacuum sealers are common tools in modern kitchens (bacteria!)
Some may contest rinsing chicken in water, but the health department recommends against it because people are careless. They splash & spray when they do it sometimes, which can lead to contamination. Just be careful. Duh! 🥴
I absolutely love Allrecipes and Nicole! That being said – sooooo many ads. I understand people need to make money and everything but jeeze.
I just learned 2 months ago to use my stand mixer to shred my chicken. Wow does that save time and you can do it while the chicken is hot.
Great ideas
Love you. You do what I do you use items I use just to get through it.
For de thawing I throw some in a bowl of water and it doesn't tale long. FYI chicken should always be rinsed before preparing!
Pro tip for defrosting:
Use an aluminum or copper pan. Aluminum and copper are much better for heat transfer and will be more effective for equalizing the temperature. To improve that further, aim a fan at the opposite side of the aluminum pan as this is effectively what is used for computers. You should be able to cut your thaw time to 1/3 from iron equivalent.
Yum! From plastic to plastic🤌🏼🫤
Which is better, yogurt or buttermilk?
I love the thawing in the cast iron pan hack, but can I safely leave my chicken in that pan at room temp for 60 – 90 minutes while it thaws?
The yoghurt hack is magic. It breaks down the proteins in the chicken and tenderises it. Win, win, win
I use the skillet method for thawing chicken too. I also have an alumin(i)um plate that works in a similar way.
Great hack for removing the sinew from the tenders. I use a similar method for de-skinning chicken drumsticks. Slide the skin from the drumstick down to the knuckle, then use a piece of kitchen towel to pull the skin off over the knuckle, again, simplicity is the key, thanks Nicole
That wasn’t new when it was on TikTok. My father showed me how to do that over 30 years ago. He’s no longer here…the internet didn’t even exist yet so, there’s that. What seems new isn’t really.
Handling chicken with jelwelry on is so gross….imagine stuff getting into your bracelet or wristwatch band…yuck!!!
The plastic bag though
yuck…you leave the feathers on ?
I'm a bit confused about the handling of all the raw chicken in this video. Is salmonella not a concern at all?
The cast iron and two pot methods work better for thawing because metal conducts heat better than air. It's not inherently warmer.
Shredded chicken is gross unless its in a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich. Chunks are better, not stringy and dry!
You are precious. Love watching your videos.
Put the chicken in a ziplock bag and leave it in a pot of water thaws quickly.
Thanks for all the tips!
I am a subscriber and love your videos, but was wondering, why you have multiple stoves.
Ok seriously, if you have a sous vide device, put it in the water, set the machine for 70 degrees and walk away. It’s thawed in no time. You’re welcome
Do you wash your chicken before cooking it
That butterfly chicken bit almost made me spill my tea! 😂
There are a lot of cooking "hacks" on YouTube… but this gal is by far the best. Smart, professional… and no nonsense. Oh… and she's easy on the eyes…
Ha ha, your just mind-blowing………………All good info
Wow two
Stoves in her kitchen thats nice
Nicole, what do you marinate the drum sticks in? How long do you grill them for?
Would the hack for ground chicken work for ground beef as well?
should we be not touching raw chicken and then a bunch of other things??
No time to run it under cold water….. but 60-90 minutes sitting in a cast iron pan is faster? Dunno about that bro.
Loved this video. Thank you for sharing
Thank you for the hacks!
Love the Yogurt marinade!!👌😋😋😋
The Fastest way I thaw chicken, or another meat (after I've portioned it in Ziplock bags, of course) is stick it in room temp. water. It will thaw in like 20 min. the most, not an hour? My dumb EX-boyfriend taught me this🤔cos he lived in a small RV on a Ranch where he worked at?
I use a plastic or glass storage container to marinade, I don't like throwing the plastic bags in the trash and want to re-use.
So great tips and free!
Chicken CPR lol – but with no intention of bringing it back!