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.
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