The Viral Chicken Shredding Hack People Are Calling Genius

The internet age has improved our cooking lives in a variety of ways. There are comprehensive and creative YouTube cooking channels, improved access to a wealth of specialty ingredients, and online cooking classes offered by MasterClass and America's Test Kitchen. But one of the most surprising implications of the internet on our cooking lives has got to be the dominance of the social media platform TikTok, where home cooks all over the globe share tips, tricks, and hacks for achieving excellence in the kitchen.

Some of these videos have gone super viral, such as a method for creating a four-layer griddled quesadilla, and a suggestion for adding a creamy mayo-based sauce to instant ramen. For those of us who love utilizing shredded chicken in dishes such as Italian ribollita soup and chicken casserole, there's a TikTok video tip for easily shredding the cooked poultry that you'll want to keep in mind the next time you have to pull apart a heap of chicken for a recipe.

Have you ever used a hand or stand mixer to quickly and easily shred cooked chicken for use in dishes such as pozole, tacos, or BBQ chicken? We shared this tip back in 2014, explaining how transferring poached or baked boneless chicken breasts or thighs into a stand mixing bowl, then paddling the meat on medium speed results in perfect shredded chicken in under a minute. But there's a more recent TikTok video that shares the method, and it's generating quite the buzz on the 'net.

In July of 2021, the account @raising.wildlings uploaded a video sharing this nifty hack. The hack shows how to use a hand mixer to shred chicken. The hand mixer is placed inside the Instant Pot where some cooked chicken breasts are waiting. In just a few seconds, whole breasts shred into a fluffy pile of pulled chicken, ready for use in any number of recipes. The best part is you won't burn your hands trying to pull the chicken apart. "Honestly the best life hack of my adult life," the user captions at the start of the video.

TikTok users appear to agree. "Okay, this is actually GENIUS," commented @renatosayshi. "Wow. Game changer," added @meredithmckernan. We're inclined to agree. Just make sure to use warm chicken to get the best shredding effect.