Do you love the convenience of pre-cooked frozen chicken products like the Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Strips? We do, but there’s a few problems. One, you don’t really know what’s in them. Sure, you can read the label, but unless you’re a chemist, it may not tell you much. Second, they are outrageously expensive! I checked the price today and a 22 ounce bag runs about $8.69 around here.
The solution: Make your own!
It’s really quite simple and I made approximately 64 oz of grilled and ready chicken strips for $10. I usually plan on making a batch when I’m grilling anyway… kill two birds with one stone. Our Wal-mart sells boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.97/lb. This was a 4-1/2 lb pack and I figure I had about a half pound of waste (I trim all the fat and tendons off.)
You can go as basic as salt and pepper for your seasoning or you can grab an all-purpose poultry seasoning. We really enjoy the McCormick’s Grill Mates Chicken Rub. After you clean your chicken breasts up, give them a liberal rub down with your seasoning of choice and get them on the grill.
Once you’ve grilled your chicken to an internal temp of 165 degrees, you can cover it loosely and pop it in the fridge to cool. You want to be able to handle it without tearing it apart.
Once your chicken has cooled, use a nice sharp knife to cut it into strips. Then you get to the thicker portion of the breasts, you may want to split those in half to make strips rather than rounds. Using either a cutting board or a sheet pan, cover it with a sheet of wax paper and arrange your chicken strips so that they are in a single layer and not touching each other (if possible).
Pop the chicken in the freezer, uncovered, for about an hour. This isn’t long enough for the chicken to freeze through, but the outside of the chicken will freeze solid enough that you can place the strips in a freezer bag for storage without the chicken freezing into one giant clump.
When you want to use your chicken, grab out how ever much you need and heat it on a plate in the microwave for about 1:30 (time varies depending on your microwave) and you’re ready to go! Just as convenient and SO MUCH CHEAPER! Plus, you know exactly what’s in it.
This is one of my favorite grocery hacks, what’s yours?
Love this idea! My mom always used to do the freezer trick with homemade hamburgers, steaks, & pork chops (bought them in bulk & froze them individually).
We here are all about eating healthier and you are so correct on the frozen chicken from those companies. They add chicken broth and other ingredients. Like you, we make our own from chicken we get from the store or farmers market or butcher. Stock up on baggies and make our own nuggets. We have gotten rid of all processed, boxed, can good and sugar.
Great post!
Thank you for stopping by and your comment on the dragonfly. I used Canon T3i and the 18-135mm IS zoom lens.
God keep you all safe and COOL!
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by my blog. We were at Emerald Isle NC, so you are right about the east coast.
This is a great idea! I’ve been buying in bulk for awhile not but never thought to do this, but I will be now.
I just BBQ my entire bag of chicken breasts the other day. We ate some, and then I freeze the rest for the next meal.
Good money saver! We use tons of these.
I’ve been meaning to do this and you just inspired me to get it done! I agree about the store bought strips–I won’t have anything to do with them. And don’t get me started on Tyson!
Thanks for the kick in the pants!
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