From chicken leg quarters to shredded chicken

I have some chicken dishes I plan on making soon. In order to make these dishes I usually make the chicken in advance. I found that buying leg quarters is one of the cheapest ways to buy chicken. We bought ten pound bags for around $4 each. I freeze the bag until I need it, then when I'm ready I let it thaw if I have time, if not, I just start the cooking process from frozen. This process is very simple, just time consuming and your hands will get covered in chicken. I really enjoy the shredded texture the chicken is when this is all said and done, it gives the meals I use it in a more "homemade" feel.


I start with my 10 pound bag of chicken and a very large pot. This can be done in smaller batches if needed.

Fill with water and chicken, then boil.

Chicken will all fit into pan as it thaws and breaks apart. This is a rather long and boring part... *twiddling thumbs*

By time it has reached a boil the chicken will usually have broken apart, sometimes I help it a little by pushing on it with a cooking spoon. Also, I had too much water in my pot by time it was boiling so I did remove about 2 quarts of water.

After about an hour the water is finally boiling. I now put it from High to Medium and let it continue to cook for about 10 minutes, then I will temp it. If it is not 165*F I will continue to check it every few minutes. Often I just wait until it his 180*F so that it stays hot while I shred it.

I temp every piece as I take it out of the pot just to be sure it's thoroughly cooked. 

I have 2 bowls ready along with my largest cutting board setting on a towel so it doesn't slide on the counter. One bowl is for the good meat and the other is for bones and scrap.

I skin the piece of chicken first, then I pull the meat apart from the bone. I use a fork and knife mostly for this part. Once off the bone I usually use my hands to make sure there are not any hard pieces in the good meat. This can be difficult because of the temperature of the chicken, only touch the chicken briefly to avoid burns.

This is what is left after the meat is pulled from the bone:

I use a smaller bowl for putting the good meat into once there is a good amount in the large bowl so that the large bowl can stay in the fridge during this time consuming process of separating the meat from the bone. The separating process took me about 2 hours by myself today. Usually my husband helps me with this after the kids are in bed and it takes under an hour.


In the end, both bowls were filled, the smaller one with chicken and the larger one with scraps.

I then take the chicken and separate it into sandwich zipper bags and label, then place in the freezer until needed. I believe one baggie is between 1 and 2 pounds. Although it looks like chunks in the pictures, it will become shredded when it is cooked again. This batch made 4 sandwich zipper bags.

This is one of my favorite freezer foods as it saves a ton of time later because this is already precooked.

I did not add any seasonings so that it will blend perfectly with any recipe.

Enjoy.