precooking chicken

esheepie

I am trying to precook chicken breasts for approx 2 weeks of use, but I have never pre-made food before so I don't know where to start. I thought of baking the chicken, cutting it up, and put what I am not using in the freezer, but I am not so sure... Everyone talks about using the crock pot, but I haven't replaced my crock pot yet, so I'm pretty much stuck.

botch74

I bought a pressure cooker this year. Makes quick work cooking up chicken breast. I keep what I'm going to use this week in the fridge, and freeze what I'm going to use next week. Use Ziploc bags and get as much air out as you can before freezing and they'll be good for a couple of weeks.

williams969

I precook my chicken all the time, just like you are thinking of doing. I crock pot them or grill them outside, but baking works great, too. I typically cook them unseasoned (or just a bit of salt/pepper/olive oil) and season or sauce them when I make my meals.

Fridge for what I'll use in the next 2-3 days, and freeze the rest in 2-3 day amounts. Easy, peasy.

AnnaVee84

I do food prep one day a week and have found it easy to marinate all the meats overnight or for a few hours and then store them in the freezer, separated by servings in containers - that way I can just defrost in the fridge a single serving every morning before I leave for work, and it's ready to be cooked by dinner time. In small containers, I store 1 serving of meat. In larger containers, if you wrap the meat individually in saran wrap, then you can take one piece out at a time. I've found this to be the easiest for me - cause then I can chose a meat for a different day and not just have beef or chicken for x number of days in a row!

Sometimes I will also cook all specific meat I buy at Costco in a big batch like salmon and veggies, turkey/beef taco or chicken stir fry or pasta-n-meat but it generally won't last more than 3-4 days. I also don't like to eat leftovers for more than 4 days, I start to get sick of the same meals haha.

But it's up to your schedule and what your likes are concerning fresh foods or left overs! Having a slow cooker really takes a lot of the prep out of cooking and makes life easier, you could easily cook 6 chicken breasts in like 10 minutes of preparation and not have to think twice about it!

Calliope610

I pre-cook chicken breasts about 2-3x/months, depending on how much chicken I'm eating.

I buy bone-in chicken breasts when they are on sale ($1.00-$1.29/lb), rinse them off, pat dry and season with my favorite seasonings. I put the breasts in a large cast iron dutch oven and refrigerate overnight. That helps "marinate" the seasonings into the chicken meat.

I bake/roast the chicken breasts in the oven for about 1hr @ 350degrees. The breasts stay nice and moist (the weight of the cast iron lid keeps the moisture in the dutch oven). Once the breasts are cool to touch, I package them individually in freezer ziplock bags. I also keep the juices from the cooked chicken. I use the chicken stock when sauteing and stir-frying veggies and to make soups/stews in the winter.

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mockchoc

Anything with chicken shouldn't be kept for 3 days or absolutely 4 maximum just to be safe .. my thoughts. Freeze otherwise then defrost properly and don't eat til heated till hot.

RodaRose

I am trying to precook chicken breasts for approx 2 weeks of use, but I have never pre-made food before so I don't know where to start. I thought of baking the chicken, cutting it up, and put what I am not using in the freezer, but I am not so sure... Everyone talks about using the crock pot, but I haven't replaced my crock pot yet, so I'm pretty much stuck.

This is perfect. Crock pot chicken has a different fast and texture. Stick with what you are familiar with. If you want you can weigh the chick and label the freezer bags.

Snip8241

I buy the big packages of boneless skinless breasts. I fillet them, put a small amount of olive oil on them and grill them. If we aren't going to eat all of them I will freeze in individual bags. They come in handy for lunches and snacks.
Also, we make kabobs with onions and peppers and grill them before storing and/or freezing.
I have read that if meat has been frozen, you should not refreeze it after cooking. I have never had a problem with that.

frankiesgirl21

i precook all the time. In fact I have 3lbs to throw on the grill tonight. keep a couple days worth in the fridge and freeze the rest. It turns out perfect all the time. I season with Mrx. Dash for flavor.... yum.... can't wait for dinner tonight! And grilling some asparagus on the grill too!

endermako

I precook every sunday. I bake them and prepare them just like I was eating them that night. And then I freeze them in individual baggies. I do this with salmon and my pork loin too.

sdouglas0728

If I'm feeling really lazy, I'll buy a bag of precooked chicken strips to put on my salads. >.<

esheepie

I buy the big packages of boneless skinless breasts. I fillet them, put a small amount of olive oil on them and grill them. If we aren't going to eat all of them I will freeze in individual bags. They come in handy for lunches and snacks.
Also, we make kabobs with onions and peppers and grill them before storing and/or freezing.
I have read that if meat has been frozen, you should not refreeze it after cooking. I have never had a problem with that.

I heard about the refreezing part, too, which is why I was concerned. I would probably eat it up to four days and the fifth day is when I plan on "treating" myself to something not made by me. I'm not a great cook, either, but I'm learning for the sake of my health. I may look into this.

esheepie

When I'm willing to spend the extra cash, I'll do just that. It doesn't sound like a bad idea!

BeginningAgainMay14

I like to poach chicken breasts that I plan on keeping for a few days because I think it keeps them moister.

I just put chicken broth in a pot with dried basil, pepper, and a splash of white wine, then add the chicken, bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until cooked through. It's super juicy.

Also the broth is super delicious after doing this, so I'll often dice up one of the breasts, add some carrots and noodles if I want them, and make soup.

HeidiCooksSupper

We probably have suppers with "pre-cooked" chicken more often than raw. So easy to just pull it out of the freezer.

Here's some easy instructions from my hobby cooking blog:

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2010/06/08/flavorful-chicken-for-quick-meals/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/05/10-pounds-of-chicken-legs-59¢lb/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/13/pulled-pork-pulled-chicken-at-the-same-time/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/11/05/chicken-rice-base-a-pre-cooking-shortcut/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/16/chicken-leg-quarters-true-or-false-economy/

ElvenToad

This is what I do and have been doing it for a few months now. Hubby and I eat chicken everyday, its so versatile.. can throw it in burritos, salads, pitas, rice, by itself, whatever! I buy a 3lb package of boneless skinless chicken breasts and cook them all at once. I line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, add the breasts, use the back of a spoon to coat them very lightly in olive oil, then a tiny (teeny tiny) bit of salt, lots of pepper, and some mrs. dash seasoning. Bake at 375 for about 37 minutes and they come out perfect. Tender and juicy. A very important step is when you pull them out of the oven let them sit on the counter for at least 20 minutes before cutting into them.

I then cut each breast up into small pieces and throw all of it into one large gallon sized food storage baggie. Throw it in the fridge. One hour of food prep and we have chicken for all our meals for the week. When its time for lunch or dinner I just pull out the baggie and weigh out how many oz I want. It never lasts longer than a week because we eat chicken so much but even after a full 6 days in the fridge the chicken keeps and I've never had a problem with it going bad or gotten sick or anything like that.

If you are just cooking for yourself I would just divide up the package and cook half, and freeze the other half until you run out. I wouldn't try to make 2 weeks worth at a time since it might go bad.

I used to be lazy and just buy the precooked frozen chicken strips like others have said but its much cheaper to buy fresh chicken breasts and cook them yourself and they taste much better too!

esheepie

We probably have suppers with "pre-cooked" chicken more often than raw. So easy to just pull it out of the freezer.

Here's some easy instructions from my hobby cooking blog:

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2010/06/08/flavorful-chicken-for-quick-meals/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/05/10-pounds-of-chicken-legs-59¢lb/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/13/pulled-pork-pulled-chicken-at-the-same-time/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/11/05/chicken-rice-base-a-pre-cooking-shortcut/

http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/16/chicken-leg-quarters-true-or-false-economy/

i am definitely going to use this! thank you!