Looking to master your chicken cooking skills? In this video, Nicole 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.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00We cook chicken more than any other meat in the kitchen.
00:02So I've got 11 smart hacks from prepping and defrosting
00:06to cooking chicken that are gonna save you so much time
00:08and energy, plus might even blow your mind.
00:10I'm gonna use all different cuts of chicken
00:12throughout the video.
00:13I'm gonna start with a chicken tender.
00:15Now this hack went viral on TikTok a long time ago.
00:19I feel like chicken tenders are one of the more popular cuts
00:22in like everyday cooking,
00:24because they're just easy to use
00:26and they cook really quickly.
00:27You know that little mystery nubbin?
00:29You're like, what is that?
00:30That's just a tough little piece of cartilage.
00:33But when you cook it, it doesn't really go away.
00:35It's not gonna hurt you to eat it.
00:37But if you wanna remove it, here's the easiest way.
00:40Get a paper towel for easy grip.
00:42Take your paper towel just to hold the tendon in place.
00:46And then you're gonna take a fork and slide it
00:49between the meat and that little cartilage piece.
00:53And then we're gonna pull.
00:55Voila.
00:56No more chewy pieces in the chicken tender.
01:00These next two hacks involve thawing your chicken.
01:04The preferred way to thaw chicken, of course,
01:06is to just stick it in the fridge a day or two before
01:08from the freezer, but we don't always have that time.
01:10Second way is to run it under cold water.
01:13Again, don't always have the time.
01:16And it might not be in the right packaging for that.
01:18So this involves grabbing a skillet,
01:21cast iron skillet or any kind of metal skillet.
01:25Let's see how long this takes.
01:26This method works because a cast iron skillet
01:29is just naturally warmer in its surroundings
01:32versus a glass dish or a ceramic plate.
01:35So it's just going to thaw a lot faster
01:37sitting in this pan than it would on a plate.
01:39About an hour to an hour and a half, here's what you got.
01:44You can see how it's collected the moisture at the bottom.
01:48Look at that.
01:51That's a completely thawed out chicken breast.
01:54Definitely works in a pinch when you forgot
01:55to thaw it the night before.
01:56This next method kind of blows you.
01:59Take some other frozen chicken,
02:02this is just ground chicken,
02:04and place it between two metal surfaces,
02:07ideally like two skillets or two pots,
02:11and then watch the magic happen.
02:13Sort of the same science
02:14behind the cast iron skillet method.
02:15I wish we had like the real time clock
02:17because I'm not cheating this.
02:20It started frozen, I don't have any thawed
02:22to replace it with.
02:23Take a look at this, less than an hour,
02:26fully thawed and ready to cook.
02:28This is the one that really blew my mind.
02:31Love it.
02:31This next hack was a viral sensation on social media,
02:35shredding your chicken.
02:36I'm not talking about shredding the chicken
02:38in a plastic bag.
02:40I tried that one a while back and I was not a fan.
02:43And then you're just supposed to go to town.
02:46You have a greater chance of getting
02:47all these little bones mixed in.
02:49You could swallow that, but this one I am a fan of.
02:54The easiest, fastest, by far the fastest way
02:57to shred your chicken is with a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
03:02Take your chicken.
03:03This does work best when the chicken is still warm.
03:06Maybe get it into just like a couple big pieces.
03:10Whoa, that was fast.
03:12Five seconds less maybe.
03:15That's a good one.
03:17Chicken enchiladas, chicken salad,
03:20chicken casserole.
03:23It's just genius.
03:25This next one is a technique and a hack
03:27all in one.
03:28If you want that cozy roast chicken for dinner,
03:33but you don't have all the time,
03:35spatchcock your chicken.
03:36Spatchcocking your chicken is going to save you time
03:38about 30%.
03:39You can roast this whole chicken in under an hour
03:42when you spatchcock it.
03:43You take your whole chicken and flip it over,
03:46breast side down,
03:47and then you're gonna cut out this backbone.
03:49You can do it with a knife.
03:51I find the easiest way is with a pair of kitchen shears.
03:54Get it going down one side,
03:57flip it over,
03:59come up the other.
04:00No need to throw this away.
04:01You can keep it in the freezer for when you collect more,
04:04but either way, make stock out of this.
04:05It'll be delicious.
04:06You're gonna flip it over
04:09and then you want to pop this breastbone.
04:12So you're gonna just apply a bunch of pressure
04:14and press down.
04:16Just crack the breastbone.
04:18You can pull it apart,
04:19give it a little press,
04:22and then flatten it out.
04:23When you go to roast it,
04:25you want to tuck the wings under so they don't burn.
04:28Then you can take your spatchcock chicken,
04:30season it up,
04:32and roast it in less than an hour.
04:34Look at that beauty.
04:35Done in less than an hour.
04:38If you're not using a plastic bag to marinate your chicken,
04:41you're doing it wrong.
04:42This is the hack I use on a weekly basis in my house.
04:45Not only is it the best way,
04:47mess-free to marinate your chicken,
04:48because once you take it out to cook it,
04:51you can just toss the bag,
04:52but it also imparts the best flavor onto the meat
04:55because you have less air that can,
04:57you know, come between the chicken and the marinade.
05:00So I find the plastic bag
05:05is just the way to go when it comes to marinating meat.
05:07What I like to do is add my marinade first to the bag
05:09and then toss in my chicken.
05:11I usually just grab whatever condiments
05:12are sitting on my refrigerator door.
05:15Always like something salty,
05:17a little something sweet,
05:18a little tangy,
05:21and a little just flavorful, herbaceous.
05:24It's a great use for those leftover salad dresses.
05:26You can find lots of marinade recipes
05:28at allrecipes.com.
05:30Okay, mix up your marinade.
05:32No need for an extra bowl.
05:34And then throw in your chicken.
05:37Get all the air out.
05:43And give them a toss.
05:44You can create a bunch of different marinades
05:45and then just freeze them.
05:46That way they're ready when you are.
05:48So now when you're planning out your meals for the week,
05:50you've got your marinated chicken ready to go.
05:52You can just pop this in the fridge
05:53till you're ready to cook it.
05:54As the chicken thaws,
05:56the marinade also thaws
05:57and just has extra time to impart the most flavor.
06:01I love this technique.
06:02Hack number whatever number we're on
06:05is marinate your chicken in yogurt.
06:06This is going to deliver the most tender chicken.
06:09This is a great hack to use with chicken breasts
06:11because they don't have a ton of flavor
06:13and moisture on their own.
06:14So any help they can get is gonna be great.
06:16Using a yogurt marinade is gonna be ideal
06:18no matter how you cook the chicken,
06:20whether it be on a grill, in a skillet, or in the oven.
06:23Genius.
06:24I love this next hack.
06:25I've been using it in my kids' lunches.
06:28I'm gonna show you why it's so smart.
06:30My kids are anti-sandwich right now in their lunchbox.
06:33So I've been trying other things.
06:35Their favorite right now, the chicken nugget.
06:38So I pop these in the air fryer, get them extra crispy.
06:41Nobody likes a soggy nugget.
06:43So add a little paper towel to the kid's thermos.
06:47A paper towel will absorb any extra moisture.
06:49They might not be perfect,
06:50but they're a whole lot less soggy this way.
06:54This next hack takes the humble drumstick
06:56and makes it something special.
06:58Grilling season is upon us,
07:00and the drumstick happens to be the most affordable thing
07:02you can throw onto the grill,
07:03but it's not always everyone's favorite,
07:05but I'm gonna show you how it can be.
07:07Butterflying the chicken breast
07:08exposes a lot more of the flesh.
07:10So when it hits the grill or the air fryer,
07:14it gives you a lot more crispy bits,
07:15thus the best flavor ever.
07:16You can butterfly it on more than one side.
07:18The more you do it, the more chances for crispy bits.
07:22Now you've created a lot more nooks and crannies
07:23for the marinade.
07:30That's a chicken drumstick with a lot of flavor.
07:33See, a lot more surface area to get caramelized
07:36and a lot more nooks and crannies for the sauce to drip in.
07:40It's just smart.
07:43Mm, that's delicious.
07:48This next hack is more of a technique,
07:49but it's something you need to know
07:51because when you cook that chicken,
07:52a lot of times half of it is dried out
07:54and the other half is cooked perfectly.
07:56That's because you're not pounding your chicken.
07:59Chicken breasts are the star of this show.
08:02It always has a fatter end and a skinnier end.
08:06You want to match those.
08:07You want it to be more of an even playing field.
08:09That way it cooks evenly.
08:11So to do that, you just simply take some parchment
08:14or plastic, place it over the fatter end
08:17and pound it till it's uniform in thickness.
08:19You can do it with a small pan or skillet or a meat mallet.
08:22Now it's one uniform thickness.
08:25This chicken is gonna cook perfectly.
08:27And for my final trick,
08:28this involves cutting your chicken in precise slices.
08:33This is ideal for fajitas or stir fry,
08:36something where you want like quick cooking chicken
08:39and maybe you thought about it last minute.
08:41When your chicken's mostly frozen,
08:42it's a lot easier to cut those paper thin slices
08:44versus when it's just thawed.
08:46It's also really easy to get small dice of your chicken
08:50if you don't want slices.
08:51Iced chicken is also ideal for casseroles
08:54or stir fries as well.
08:55This is just a great way to cook frozen chicken
08:57if you want to get a meal on the table in no time.
08:59You can cook it straight from frozen just like this.
09:02There you have it.
09:03If you want to save some time and energy this week
09:05when you pull out that pack of chicken,
09:06try one of these hacks and let me know what you think.
09:09Because I'm just damn smart.