Friday, May 6, 2011

Fall Apart Chicken

Today at work we had a potluck and in honor of Cinco De Mayo we had "Mexican" food. I signed up to bring meat and so I decided to bring shredded chicken. Everyone loved the chicken and wanted the recipe, so I decided to post it here. This recipe is painfully easy and the results are fall apart, tender chicken breast. This recipe can easily be modified for any types of marinades, seasonings, or anything else you would like in the chicken. I like this shredded chicken recipe for a variety of dishes. Everything from casseroles to nachos! I think you will like this recipe too.

Shredded Chicken With Taco Seasoning

Boneless Chicken Breasts (today I used about 3.5 lbs. of chicken, but you can use more or less depending on how many people you are feeding and if you want leftovers)
Taco Seasoning of choice – 1 packet per pound, plus one extra
Water

Put the chicken in the crock pot, dump the taco seasoning on top (reserve the extra packet), add enough water until the chicken is covered.
Cook on low for 8-12 hours, until chicken is cooked through. Strain the liquid off into a bowl or another pot as you will need it.
Stab a fork in the chicken and shred it until desired consistency. The chicken will be so tender, it will take about two minutes to shred the chicken.
Add the extra taco seasoning and add some of the taco liquid back into the chicken until the chicken is well covered and is to a desired look and taste.
Serve as desired – refrigerate leftovers, if any.

Tips: If you want a little sweeter chicken flavor (like they have at Bajio or CafĂ© Rio), add a few teaspoons of honey to the crock pot before cooking. If you want it a little spicier, add some chili powder, cayenne pepper, or hot sauce before cooking as well. This chicken also refrigerates well for up to two weeks. I use it in everything – tacos, burritos, salads, quesadillas, and nachos and anything else that sounds good.

You can also omit the taco seasoning and just cook the chicken and water in the crock pot for shredded chicken for other recipes, but if you do leave out the taco seasoning, make sure you salt and pepper the chicken so the flavor of the chicken is enhanced.