How To Make Shredded Chicken
Jump To Recipe
How to Make Shredded Chicken
If you’re reading this article, you are probably already familiar with pulled pork. That is, pork, usually pork shoulder, that’s cooked for hours and hours at a low temperature until super tender and flavorful.
But are you familiar with pulled chicken? Pulled chicken, also known as shredded chicken, can be used in the same way as pulled pork, but it has a lighter flavor and cooks up in a fraction of the time. The meat is then shredded to use for sandwiches or any number of other dishes, including tacos, nachos, pizza, and more.
While there is no single way to make pulled chicken, there are some guidelines for making it tender and tasty. Keep reading to learn how to make shredded chicken and to learn an ingenious way to shred the smoked chicken fast and evenly.
How to Make Shredded Chicken Step-by-Step
First off, shredded chicken is chicken that’s been cooked until tender and then pulled apart into skinless, boneless pieces. While there are different ways you can cook a chicken to make pulled chicken, from poaching it in a flavorful liquid to heating it in a slow cooker, we think smoking is best for pulled chicken. (What do you expect? We’re Traeger.) With smoking, you not only get the benefit of gentle low-heat cooking, which keeps the meat is tender and juicy, but you get the added benefit of wood-fired flavor with our top-of-the-line wood pellets.
But because chicken, even a whole chicken, is nowhere near as dense as a pork butt, you can enjoy your pulled chicken in less than 2 hours, compared to the 8 to 10 hours needed for pulled pork. And bonus, pulled chicken has fewer calories and less sodium and saturated fat than pulled pork.
Best Chicken to Use
While you can smoke a whole chicken, or one that has been spatchcocked, smoking chicken pieces has two benefits: the smaller pieces will cook more quickly, and if cooking both light and dark meat you can more easily cook them to their optimum temperatures, taking them off the grill as they reach it.
Speaking of light and dark meat, if you had to pick one, go with juicy chicken thighs. However, we’re partial to a mix of breast meat and thigh meat.
For best results, use bone-in skin-on chicken. Even though the skin gets discarded, it prevents the meat from drying out as it cooks.
To Brine or Not to Brine?
Since chicken is such a lean meat, a brine, essentially a soak in salted water, can help ensure it turns out nice and juicy and flavorful throughout. And if you are brining chicken pieces, they won’t need a long soak. (For more on brining, look here.) That said, because you’re cooking low and slow and skin on, brining is not so crucial.
Season with a Flavorful Rub
Seasoning pulled chicken is crucial, especially if you forgo brining it. To make it really easy (and delicious) choose a Traeger Rub, such as Pork & Poultry or Fin & Feather. You can also create your own, just be sure there’s a decent amount of salt in it. You can use a binder, such as mustard but the spices will adhere pretty well without one. Just be sure to rub your spices under the skin as well as on it and be sure to coat the underside of the pieces as well.
How Long to Smoke a Chicken for Pulling
For delicious wood-fired flavor, you want to start the chicken over low heat, usually around 225°F and with Super Smoke, if available. For the strongest smoke flavor, choose a hearty pellet like hickory or mesquite. For a milder flavor, go with cherry or apple.
Smoke the chicken for about an hour to infuse it with flavor. At this point you can continue to smoke it, or you can increase the temperature to finish faster while still staying juicy. If you raise the temp to 350°F to finish, your pulled chicken will take about 1½ hours to cook total. If you would like to smoke a whole chicken, it will take about 3 hours.
Cook the Chicken to a Higher Temperature
Though it’s safe to eat chicken once it’s internal temperature is past 165°F, it will shred more easily if cooked a bit beyond that. For breasts, take them off the grill at about 175°F. But for thighs, you want to go as high as 190°F and even 195°F. That may sound high, but don’t worry, the thighs can handle that temp and will be perfectly tender and easy to shred.
A leave-in meat thermometer, such as MEATER® makes it easy to know when the chicken should come off the grill. Since you will be cooking breasts as well as thighs, consider using more than one probe, such as found in the MEATER Block.
How to Shred Chicken
Let the chicken rest for at least twenty minutes (and up to an hour) in order to allow the heat and juices to redistribute. If you pull right away, your chicken will taste dry. But you do want it to still be warm when shredding.
Collect the juice. As the chicken rests, flavorful juice will collect on the baking sheet. Carefully pour this into a fat separator. That way you can add some juice back to the shredded chicken to make it extra moist and delicious.
Before shredding, pull off and discard the skin (or eat some if it looks tempting). Remove the bones and discard (or use to make some smoky chicken stock).
Traditionally, the meat is shredded using two forks or your fingers. However, there’s a neat way to shred the chicken fast and evenly. Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the chicken meat to the bowl, and beat on medium speed until shredded to your liking, 30 seconds to 1 minute. This is an especially handy trick if you have a lot of chicken to pull. (It also works great for shredding pork.) Return some of the defatted juice to the chicken, if you like, to keep it extra moist and add even more flavor.
How to Use Shredded Chicken in Recipes
As mentioned earlier, pulled chicken can sub for pulled pork in just about any recipe for calling for the former, such as the pulled pork recipes featured here.
To make pulled chicken sandwiches, toss the meat with your favorite BBQ sauce, such as Traeger ‘Que, Sweet & Heat, or Texas Spicy. Serve it on soft hamburger buns with coleslaw (such as this delicious slaw flavored with a hint of pickle).
You can also sub some pulled chicken for the chicken called for in this pizza, these tacos, or these enchiladas. Plus, it makes the best chicken salad ever.
Make a Big Batch and Freeze It
Shredded chicken will last a few days covered and refrigerated, but like pulled pork it freezes really well. Make a big batch then portion into smaller sizes and freeze so you always have some tender delicious chicken on hand to use in countless recipes.
Smoked Pulled Chicken
by Traeger Kitchen
Prep Time
10 Min
Cook Time
1 Hr
30 Min
Serves
6
Pellets
Signature Pellet Blend
Pulled chicken (aka shredded chicken) is as versatile as pulled pork, maybe even more so. Toss smoked pulled chicken with your favorite Traeger BBQ sauce and serve it with slaw for a classic sandwich. Or use it to make chicken salad, tacos, chili, nachos, burritos, and more. A stand mixer makes the shredding quick and easy.
Ingredients
Chicken
| 2 Tablespoon | brown sugar |
| 1 Tablespoon | smoked paprika |
| 1 Tablespoon | paprika |
| 2 Teaspoon | garlic powder |
| 2 Teaspoon | kosher salt, plus more as needed |
| 1 1/2 Teaspoon | freshly ground black pepper |
| 2 | bone-in skin-on split chicken breasts with rib meat |
| 4 | bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs |
Sandwiches
| Traeger BBQ Sauce or your favorite BBQ sauce | |
| Hamburger buns or rolls | |
| Coleslaw | |
| Dill pickle chips |
1
Combine the brown sugar and the spices. Place the chicken pieces on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Gently lift off the skin on the breasts and thighs without pulling it off and rub a good amount of the spice mix over the meat. Replace and smooth the skin. Sprinkle the remaining spice rub on the bottom of the chicken pieces. Then turn the chicken skin side up and season lightly with additional salt. Let sit at room temperature while the Traeger heats.
2
Preheat the Traeger with the lid closed to 225°F; this will take about 15 minutes. Use Super Smoke if available.
3
Insert a leave-in meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thickest breast avoiding bone. Smoke the chicken until the internal temperature is around 145°F, about 1 hour. (The chicken is not done at this point.)
4
Increase the heat to 350°F and cook until the chicken is fork-tender with an internal temperature between 175°F and 180°F for the breast and between 190°F and 195°F for the thighs. (This is higher than usual but helps guarantee the meat will be tender.) This will take another 20 to 25 minutes; the time will vary depending on the size of your chicken pieces, the weather, and your grill.
5
Let the chicken rest until cool enough to handle but still very warm, about 20 minutes. Carefully pour most of the juice on the baking sheet into a fat separator. Remove and discard the chicken skin. For a fast and easy way to shred the chicken, place chunks of the meat in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until shredded to your liking, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Alternatively, shred the chicken meat with your hands. Return some of the reserved juices to the chicken if you like and toss. Season smoked pulled chicken to taste with salt.
6
Serve the chicken right away or portion and cover and refrigerate or freeze as you like. The chicken will keep a few days in the fridge and up to 2 months frozen. For pulled chicken sandwiches, toss the warm chicken meat with your favorite Traeger BBQ sauce and serve on soft burger buns topped with your favorite slaw and pickles if you like. Enjoy!
