Food Prep/13 # Chicken Breast

riceflourde

I took advantage of a $1.50/lb sale. I now have 13 pounds of chicken breast.
My plan is to boil, shred, and then freeze it in small portions.
Will the quality be OK with the freezing and reheating? I do not want to ruin it.
Do you have any tips if you have done this before?

alyssa0061

I would freeze it raw and thaw it when I'm ready to cook a few days to a weeks worth.

jemhh

alyssa0061 wrote: »

I would freeze it raw and thaw it when I'm ready to cook a few days to a weeks worth.

Same here.

I freeze meat all the time without problems. Just be sure to split it up into smaller portions rather than one giant block.

maxit

Seems a shame to just boil 13# of chicken. I usually them individually and take out two at a time to fix for dinner - if you are home weekends, or something, you can cook chicken breast from frozen in about 50 min and it will be tender and lovely

Bearbo27

alyssa0061 wrote: »

I would freeze it raw and thaw it when I'm ready to cook a few days to a weeks worth.

This^^
I freeze my meat raw in smaller portions and then cook it up when needed. You could cook a few chicken breasts at a time and use them over a few days. I personally wouldn't freeze a ton of cooked chicken and then reheat as I think it would be very dry.

TeaBea

I like freezing meal sized packages in zip-lock freezer bags. I can put raw chicken breast in a bag then add different marinades to each. Then when I take the package out of the freezer the meat marinates as it thaws. It's ready to throw on the grill.

Crock pot chicken freezes well. Throw a bunch of chicken breasts in the crock pot with a jar of salsa and a package of taco seasoning. Cook on high 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Then shred the chicken with a couple of forks. This is great for tacos, taco salads, burritos, etc.

Grilled chicken thaws fine for salads. Chop up & eat cold. Re-heating grilled chicken can be a little dry.

macgurlnet

If you want to have the shredded chicken, go ahead and cook up some right away.

I would freeze most of it raw, though, and thaw and cook various ways over time

~Lyssa

lorrpb

riceflourde wrote: »

I took advantage of a $1.50/lb sale. I now have 13 pounds of chicken breast.
My plan is to boil, shred, and then freeze it in small portions.
Will the quality be OK with the freezing and reheating? I do not want to ruin it.
Do you have any tips if you have done this before?

Yes, it should freeze and reheat just fine, if this is your preferred method of prep. This will give you lots of ready to go meals!

alyssa0061

TeaBea wrote: »

I like freezing meal sized packages in zip-lock freezer bags. I can put raw chicken breast in a bag then add different marinades to each. Then when I take the package out of the freezer the meat marinates as it thaws. It's ready to throw on the grill.

I do this a well. I weigh the raw chicken and write the weight right on the bag before I freeze it.

riceflourde

What a wonderful community! Thank you for all of the advice! I'm going to copy down the recipe ideas like the taco chicken!

I need to have it cooked before because I do not have the energy to cook or stir fry and then clean up after being out. Even a crock pot takes too much effort to clean up. I can put together a salad but I need to have the meat prepared. I keep a lot of canned fruit at home (I rinse it) and I usually have heads of lettuce and baby carrots. If I can keep meat ready I can make a salad or sandwich without a lot of effort. Trying to avoid Little Cesar, $10/lb lunch meat, or Burger King values.

AnvilHead

I often BBQ 10-15 lbs. of chicken (and other meats) in my smoker, then we portion it out, seal it in freezer bags and freeze it. It keeps fine and is just as delicious when we defrost/reheat it.

jennybearlv

I freeze shredded chicken all the time. I buy the two pack whole chickens from Costco, smoke them, shred them, then use my vacuum sealer, weigh and label, and toss them in the freezer. Freezer bags or plastic containers work okay too, but seem to get freezer burn after a month or so. I do the same thing with pork. Saves a ton of money and time. I let the chicken thaw in the fridge overnight, then use cold, heat on the stove with a little stock, or put the vacuum bag in boiled water for ten minutes. It's probably easier to heat in a microwave if you have one.

riceflourde

I did the boil -shred - freeze and last night I used low sodium stock to reheat in the microwave and it turned out great! Thank you everyone!

Lounmoun

riceflourde wrote: »

I took advantage of a $1.50/lb sale. I now have 13 pounds of chicken breast.
My plan is to boil, shred, and then freeze it in small portions.
Will the quality be OK with the freezing and reheating? I do not want to ruin it.
Do you have any tips if you have done this before?

I often freeze cooked chicken, pork, beef or turkey to use later. It will be fine.
I add it directly to recipes like soup or casseroles frozen, let it thaw in the refrigerator, reheat it on medium low to medium heat in a pan on the stove. (I don't have a microwave) Adding a small amount of liquid/sauce sometimes during reheating.
You might look at freezer meals/cooking. There are lots of sites that have information and recipes on that. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/freezer-cooking/

red99ryder

I had the slow cooker Crack chicken the other day .. Yum yum

Good luck