Getting chicken off the bone can be a tedious and messy process As a busy home cook, I’m always looking for shortcuts to make weeknight dinners easier Recently, a viral TikTok hack promising to debone a rotisserie chicken in just 60 seconds caught my attention. Could this be the easiest chicken deboning method ever? I tested it out in my kitchen to find out.
Understanding the Viral Chicken Deboning Hack
This clever hack simply involves placing a warm rotisserie chicken in a gallon-sized zip top bag, sealing it, and massaging the chicken through the plastic to separate the meat from the bones. The steam from the hot chicken helps loosen the meat. Then you can easily pull clean chicken pieces out of the bag, leaving behind a neat pile of bones.
The method gained viral fame on TikTok, with numerous home cooks demonstrating the speedy technique. Videos showed impressed users pulling large chunks of boneless chicken out of bags in mere seconds. The mess-free simplicity of the approach made it intriguing. As a busy mom who buys rotisserie chickens weekly for quick dinners, I was eager to test this shortcut.
Putting the Hack to the Test in My Kitchen
To evaluate if this viral hack truly delivered on its promises, I picked up two fresh rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. I tried the bag method on the first one and broke down the second chicken using my usual by-hand technique. Here’s how it went:
The Viral Bag Method
I started by placing my first whole hot chicken in a gallon zip top bag and sealing it. Then I vigorously massaged the bird through the plastic. Just like the TikTok videos showed, large pieces of meat easily detached from the bones after about a minute of forceful rubbing.
Next, I opened the bag and was able to quickly pull out slippery bones, skin, and cartilage, leaving behind boneless shredded chicken still in big juicy chunks. There was minimal mess, just some chicken juices inside the bag. The total time was around 5 minutes from start to finish.
My Regular By-Hand Method
For the second chicken, I used my normal process of pulling off legs and wings, then slicing off each breast half and removing other meat pieces with a knife. I tossed bones into one bowl and meat in another. This more tedious approach took about 10 minutes total.
Comparing the Results
The viral bag method delivered on its promises. It was faster, cleaner, and yielded chicken just as nicely shredded as my usual hand method. I did need to spend a little extra time fishing out small bones that broke apart in the massage process, but it was still quicker overall.
The only downside was having a greasy plastic bag to discard after. But the time and mess reduction were worth it. I decided that while the classic by-hand method certainly works, the bag shortcut is my new go-to for speedy rotisserie chicken deboning!
Tips for Trying the Viral Chicken Hack
If you want to test out this clever rotisserie chicken deboning method, here are some tips:
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Use a warm, freshly cooked chicken – the heat helps loosen the meat from bones.
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Start by removing the skin – this leads to “cleaner” shredded chicken.
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Massage vigorously until meat easily falls off bones.
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Watch for tiny bone fragments when removing meat.
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Save bones to make stock later.
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Portion shredded chicken into freezer bags for future meals.
Why This Shortcut Is so Handy
As a busy home cook, I’m constantly seeking ways to get dinner on the table faster. While I don’t mind putting in extra time on weekends, quick weeknight meals are essential. Having shredded rotisserie chicken ready to go in the fridge or freezer makes throwing together all sorts of dishes a breeze.
From tacos, casseroles, soups, and sandwiches, the versatile shredded chicken works great in a wide range of recipes. I like to prep a few Costco rotisserie chickens using this method and portion out the meat. Then I have ready-to-use chicken for enchiladas, chicken salad, pasta bakes, and more throughout the month.
The bag-method requires minimal work for maximum payoff. No messy cutting boards or knives to clean up afterwards either. I can quickly massage a couple chickens while catching up on emails or folding laundry nearby.
More Shortcuts for Easy Weeknight Chicken
In addition to shredding rotisserie chicken, there are other handy shortcuts for getting weeknight chicken dinners on the table fast:
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Buy pre-cut chicken parts – breasts, thighs, drumsticks, etc. eliminate the need to break down a whole bird.
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Use a slow cooker – toss in chicken parts + ingredients in the morning for shredded chicken ready by dinner.
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Make a big batch of poached chicken – then use for salads, sandwiches, wraps all week.
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Prep marinated raw chicken and veggies on weekends – ready for fast stir-fries or sheet pan meals on busy nights.
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Double recipes and freeze half – cook once, eat twice for chicken casseroles, soups, etc.
This viral rotisserie chicken deboning method lives up to its promises and is my new go-to for fast and easy shredded chicken. The gallon bag hack is speedy, neat, and lets me quickly prep chicken for versatile weeknight meals my family loves. I’m so glad I tested this clever shortcut – it’s a total game changer that has become a regular time-saver in my kitchen. What easy chicken deboning tricks do you rely on for getting dinner ready fast? I’d love to hear any other handy tips!
I Tried the Viral Chicken-Boning Hack and It Has Not Changed My Life One Bit
Though I questioned my sanity for even bothering to test this out, I bought two rotisserie chickens, one for the method in question and the other to do what I knew would be the better way. Can you guess which method was better?
Method 1: Boning Rotisserie Chicken in a Bag
What It Is: This hack purports to be the best way to shred and bone a rotisserie chicken. It involves placing a warm rotisserie chicken in a gallon zipper-lock freezer bag, sealing the bag, and then pressing down all over the bird to separate the meat from the bones. In videos on social media, this is followed by people reaching into the bag of flattened poultry and pulling out bones in wide-eyed amazement, exclaiming that this method is much easier, quicker, and mess-free than any other.
Heres how it went:
- After sliding a chicken into the bag, I realized I needed to wash my hands before I could seal the zipper lock. Note: This purportedly easy method requires an extra hand-washing step because you probably dont want to touch the outside of the zipper-lock bag with hands that have just been holding a greasy bird.
- I then began to press down. The bag immediately popped open as my pressing forced air out of it. Even after trying to push out the air and resealing, my bag popped open a second time, at which point I gave up trying to keep the bag closed and just did the best I could to mash the bird while preventing it from spilling out onto the counter. Note: The bag popped open because of air trapped inside it, which means that you not only have to put a chicken in the bag, but you also have to fiddle with pressing out excess air around the uneven topography (and hollow cavity) of a whole chicken. This is not difficult to do, but it is a small but annoying detail that proponents of the method fail to note. Perhaps the fact that the bag popped open twice was somehow a personal failing of mine, though I suspect I wont be the only person who finds it difficult to keep the bag sealed while mashing the bird.
- As I pressed on the chicken, the bones did indeed come out easily, but I was left with a question: How, through the mess of chicken mash, skin, and bone, could I tell if Id pressed enough? Note: There is nothing impressive about the bones coming free easily—rotisserie chicken is cooked until well done and the bones are always on the verge of falling out. This sloppy method also makes it hard to know what is happening in the bag of squashed chicken, raising the risk that your chicken is going to get over-smushed in the effort to fully debone the bird. Smushed chicken is of very limited utility.
- Once I was fairly sure Id pressed enough, I then had to fish out all the bones. But in the process of smashing the bones out of the chicken, Id also rearranged the birds skeleton, distributing its pieces throughout the mash. Ribs and vertebrae that were once in order were now scattered and buried in a pile of chicken mush.Note: Mashing the bones out of the chicken in this way is disorganized and leads to the additional need to sift through the bag afterwards in the hopes that you find all the bones. I struggled to find one of my birds needle-like fibulae that was once reliably located in the drumstick, and, upon eating my smushed chicken meat later that night, discovered I had missed several more small bones and had to spit them out onto my plate.
- When I was finished, I was left with a zipper-lock bag that was too greasy to be easily washed and reused, equally greasy bone-searching hands, an unappealing mash of chicken in an inconsistent array of shred sizes, and lingering bone fragments that I had to hope wouldnt choke me or my kids.
Total Time: 5 minutes 30 seconds from bag stuffing through to giving up on bone hunting, and as it turns out, I shouldnt have given up when I did because there were still tiny bones mixed into the mashed chicken.
Best way to de-bone a rotisserie chicken. Quick way to de-bone a rotisserie chicken.
FAQ
How to quickly debone a chicken?
To debone a chicken quickly, start by separating the legs and wings from the body. Then, carefully cut along the bone and separate the meat from the bone using a sharp knife. For the breast, slice along the breastbone and separate the meat from the ribs. Finally, remove the back and any remaining cartilage.
How to make your chicken fall off the bone?
Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a flameproof 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Bake until the chicken is super moist and falling off the bone, about 2 hours.
Is it easier to debone chicken hot or cold?
3) It is much easier to debone a hot chicken than one that has been refrigerated. The skin doesn’t come off the chicken easily once it has been refrigerated. It is also more difficult to pick out the gristle, tendons and fat if the chicken has been refrigerated.
How do you separate chicken from bones?
Seal the bag, then simply press down on, or “massage,” the chicken through the bag to effortlessly separate the meat from the bones. At first, it feels silly—like you’re giving the chicken a deep tissue massage. But the meat immediately starts breaking off into big shreds and chunks.
How do you cut a chicken backbone?
1. Lay the chicken breast-side down with its legs towards you. Locate the backbone running straight down the middle. 2. Begin cutting along one side of the backbone down the entire length of the chicken. Do the same on the other side to fully remove the backbone. 3. Make a 1/2” slit through the cartilage in front of the keel bone. 4.
How do you remove chicken from a chicken bag?
Remove as much air from the bag as possible and seal tightly. Use your hands to push on the bag, breaking apart the chicken. Flip the bag over a couple of times to ensure you are getting all sides of the chicken. The bones will pop out quickly and easily. Stop once you have the chicken broken down as you’d like it.
How do you remove a breast from a chicken?
Once you cut the breast open, remove the carcass by gently parting the breast meat from it using a sharp knife. Go around the carcass and make sure the chicken is intact and you don’t accidentally cut the meat all the way to the skin. Note: Do not remove the carcass completely. Leave half of its body connected to the meat. 3.
How do you debone a whole chicken?
Our video walks you through how to debone a whole chicken step by step. 1. Lay the chicken breast-side down with its legs towards you. Locate the backbone running straight down the middle. 2. Begin cutting along one side of the backbone down the entire length of the chicken. Do the same on the other side to fully remove the backbone.
Does chicken fall off the bone in a slow cooker?
In a slow cooker, the chicken will often literally fall off the bone. Pay close attention and remove the chicken before bones begin to float away to the bottom of the cooker to prevent a choking hazard. Making succulent, fall-off-the-bone chicken requires neither formal cooking experience nor a lot of time in the kitchen.