I have a love/hate relationship with chicken. I love that there are so many ways to prepare this protein. I love that it’s lean and heart-healthy. I especially love that everyone in my family is a fan of chicken, which makes dinner time that much easier. But there’s one huge drawback to preparing chicken – handling the raw meat.
What is it about raw chicken specifically that is just so icky to deal with? Not that I’m excited to handle raw beef or pork, but for some reason, it’s chicken that sends me over the edge.
For starters, the slimy texture of raw chicken is a bit much for me to take sometimes. Mostly, however, I think it’s the frustration that comes with trying to trim away the fat and cut out those tough, chewy tendons. Sure, you could leave them in and cook the chicken as is, but who wants to bite into gristle and tendons for dinner? That’s one sure way to lose your appetite.
Luckily, there are some innovative people who came up with a chicken preparation hack that takes care of this problem once and for all. TikTok user, RaisingCrazies, demonstrates her amazing kitchen hack in a video on TikTok that has been viewed over 4 million times!
All you need for this easy tendon-removal method is a paper towel and a fork. That’s it. No special gadget or equipment required here. First, grab the white tendon with your paper towel and hold it up. The tendon is usually located on the narrow end of the chicken breast.
Once in place, simply wedge the fork right up against where you’re holding the tendon and the meat connected to the tendon. Pull the fork down and watch as the meat falls away from the tendon in one swift motion! Don’t worry – the chicken stays fully intact, minus the tendon, of course, as opposed to when you try cutting the tendon out.
It really is that easy. I’m kicking myself for never trying this before! It’s not something I could ever come up with on my own, but now that I know about it, I can’t imagine any other way to prepare chicken breasts! Thank you, oh wise TikTok user, for showing us the way!
Here are a few bonus chicken preparation hacks! If you’ve ever had to cut up thin strips of chicken, then you’ll know the pain of trying to get the meat to stop sliding around long enough to make a clean cut. And as for getting nice and even sizes? Not a chance. However, by freezing your chicken first, you can make precise, evenly-spaced cuts. And since you’re cutting the chicken so thin, it shouldn’t affect your cooking time too much to use the frozen strips as is.
Another tip is for shredding chicken. Whether you’ve cooked chicken breasts in the slow cooker and need to shred it for the rest of the meal or you picked up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to use in your meal, this trick is sure to be a game-changer! Simply put your cooked chicken in a large bowl and shred it with your hand mixer. Amazing!
One last tip – how to remove bones from chicken wings. I love me some chicken wings. BBQ, spicy mayo, sweet honey glaze, I don’t discriminate. It’s annoying to nibble around the bones though, no matter how good the sauce is! Did you know you can just grab one end of the bone, twist it, and slide it right out? Make sure to get both bones before chowing down!