Make Ahead Shredded Chicken Breast Food

HOW TO COOK SHREDDED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a large pot, then season them lightly with salt and pepper. The amounts in the recipe are just a suggestion, so don't feel pressured to measure. Give each breast a nice sprinkle. If you are cooking a lot of chicken breasts, you can overlap them slightly. If you have a lot of overlap, use a larger pot.
• Cover the chicken with 1 inch of water.
• Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer or is no longer pink in the center, about 8 to 16 minutes, depending upon the size and number of chicken breasts that you are poaching. A 10-ounce chicken breast will need to simmer for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the chicken from water and let rest until cool enough to handle. Dice, slice, or shred as desired.

MAKE-AHEAD SHREDDED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil; spray with cooking spray. Trim excess fat from chicken breasts. Loosen skin without removing from breasts. In bowl mix garlic salt, lemon pepper and basil; sprinkle or rub onto breast meat.
• Replace skin over breasts; brush with oil. Place in foil-lined pan.
• Bake uncovered 45-55 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (at least 165°).
• Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes.
• Remove skin from the chicken, then separate the meat from the bones.
• Shred chicken with 2 forks and cool completely.
• Divide chicken by 1-, 2- or 3-cup quantities into freeze-safe resealable bags or containers. Label and freeze up to 2 months.