Don't Throw Out Overcooked Chicken: Here's What A Pro Chef Does To Salvage It

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Overcooking a chicken can happen to the best of us, but not all hope is lost. Instead of throwing it out, find a preparation that can salvage it. We reached out to chef Abbie Gellman, MS, RD, CDN about her favorite ways to use overdone chicken. According to chef Gellman, "If an animal protein is overcooked, it ends up dry in both taste and texture. To cover that up and still be able to use it, incorporating it into a dish that has moisture is key." Soup or stews are the first ideas that come to mind when rescuing dried-out chicken. But drowning it in hot liquid isn't the only way to introduce moisture. If you want a cool, light recipe, chef Gellman suggests chicken salad. "For chicken salad, that would also be considered a "wet" or "moist" dish since it would typically incorporate mayonnaise and/or plain yogurt," she says.

Chef Gellman uses Greek yogurt and Dijon mustard in her chicken salad recipe, which not only bring moisture and creaminess to rehydrate dried-out, shredded chicken, but also bring tangy and spicy complements to enhance the chicken's savoriness. She also suggests using ingredients like chopped celery and diced apples for a crunchy and fresh contrast. You can try our recipe for apple pecan chicken salad or crisp and creamy chicken salad, both of which follow chef Gellman's recommendations.

While chicken salad, soups, and stews offer a wide variety of recipes to rescue dried chicken, the list doesn't end there. Instead of shredding the chicken and blending it into a chicken salad, you can swap the mayo and mustard for your favorite barbecue sauce recipe or bottled barbecue sauce. You could make a pulled barbecue chicken sandwich, or use the shredded meat and sauce as a hearty baked potato filler. Blend shredded chicken with this San Marcos chipotle salsa and some sauteed onions is a quick way to make chicken tinga to fill some enchiladas or enjoy over tostadas. If you want to maintain the structural integrity of a whole bird or even boneless breasts, a reverse marinade will get juices flowing back into dried-out flavorless chicken.

Of course, there are also ways to prevent the meat from drying in the first place. For instance, you can marinate it before cooking. Brining whole chicken in a flavor-infused salt solution is a way to ensure that moisture enters the chicken, and a wet brine gives you the opportunity to introduce herbs, spices, and aromatic infusions. A meat thermometer like this one from Alpha Grillers is another preventative measure. The internal temperature of a perfectly cooked chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and a thermometer helps you pinpoint the exact moment to take the chicken out of the oven.