Keeping the Chicken Taco Meat Moist

Moist chicken is best for soft tacos because it would soak through and break a hard shell.

Lean chicken meat for tacos is more likely to dry out before serving, especially if your are using a dry cooking method and not serving the meat immediately. Fat in meat contributes to moisture and flavor. For chicken tacos, you need to use another means to keep the meat moist. Poaching the chicken before using it adds moisture to the meat. The final amount of juiciness in the meat will also be determined by how you choose to keep the meat warm until serving. Knowing a few techniques will keep your chicken taco meat moist.

Things You'll Need

• Bone-in chicken breast or thighs
• 5 cups chicken broth
• Saucepan
• 2 forks
• Taco seasonings
• Slow cooker

Instructions

1. Heat over medium heat the chicken breast and chicken broth in a saucepan.

2. Reduce the heat to medium low once the mixture boils.

3. Simmer the chicken for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Let the chicken cool in the broth for 15 minutes to absorb more of the cooking liquid which will help it to stay moist.

4. Shred the chicken meat with two forks. Insert the forks into the meat and pull them apart to naturally pull the chicken into thin strands.

5. Reserve 2 cups of the chicken broth initially used for cooking and discard the remaining 4 cups.

6. Combine the shredded chicken with the taco seasonings in a slow cooker until the chicken has been coated.

7. Pour the reserved chicken broth over the chicken and cover. The liquid over the chicken in the covered slow cooker will keep the chicken moist, and the low heat and cover will prevent the moisture from evaporating.

8. Warm the chicken over low heat in the slow cooker until ready to serve with the tacos.

References

• "Light Basics Cookbook: The Only Cookbook You'll Ever Need If You Want to Cook Healthy"; Martha Rose Shulman; 1999
• "Tacos"; Mark Miller, et al.; 2009