Raw Chicken Can Be Difficult To Slice, But There's An Easy Fix

Slippery and moist, raw chicken is challenging to slice for multiple reasons. In addition to jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of your fingertips, the visual and textural outcome of the protein risks becoming compromised. As impossible an endeavor as it may seem, a solution does exist to simplify the process, and it's a chicken cooking hack you'll wish you knew sooner. Safely cutting breasts, thighs, and the like into sleek slices is simply a matter of tossing the chicken into the freezer to chill.

To be clear, letting meat reach room temperature guarantees a uniformly cooked result. Although we do advise adhering to this tip, should you need to cut chicken into slender butterflied filets or razor-thin slices, chilling the raw meat beforehand is a must. Since uncooked chicken (even when kept in the fridge) has a soft and malleable texture, achieving clean and uniform cuts can be tricky, as the meat is likely to tear and potentially even slip from your grip. By allowing fresh chicken to freeze briefly, you encourage the protein to firm up and remain intact when sliced, leading to better-looking results.

As for how long chicken should rest in the freezer, we recommend chilling it for about 30 minutes to help the meat set and stiffen slightly. Depending on the size and cut, however, there is some leeway when it comes to exact times. Just be aware that anything beyond an hour may prompt chicken to become frozen solid, complicating slicing once more.

Along with chilling, there are other tricks worth employing to make slicing chicken a breeze, including never using a dull knife. A sharp knife — preferably a chef's knife, but even a boning knife will do — will slice through tough fibers effortlessly and keep the meat in one piece, improving its visual and textural appeal. What's more, sharp knives lower the probability of dangerous mishaps. On the topic of tools, it's also wise to work with a sturdy cutting board. Whether you opt for a wooden or plastic board is up to you, but just be sure that it's cleaned properly and won't wobble.

Before taking a knife to chilled meat, determine whether the chicken has any bones. If so, removing them can make carving evenly sized slices easier. Should the meat have skin, placing the chicken with its skin facing the cutting board or removing the chicken skin entirely can also maximize stability and streamline slicing. Additionally, always cut the semi-firm meat against the grain, as this can limit resistance, resulting in the best possible aesthetics and texture once cooked.

While letting raw chicken firm up in the freezer is essential for cutting paper-thin sheets for schnitzel, or effectively julienning slim slices for a savory chicken and vegetable stir-fry, the reality is that chilling proves useful in any chicken recipe, no matter whether you need to julienne, chop, or mince. Seriously streamlining the slicing process, briefly chilling chicken in the freezer is a game-changer!