This Brilliant TikTok Trick Makes Prepping Chicken a Breeze

updated Feb 24, 2021
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
Credit: Joe Lingeman

Most of my go-to meals involve chicken: chicken curry, chicken on top of a salad, one-sheet chicken with veggies in the oven. (You get the idea.) But as often as I make these meals, I’ll admit that I’ve never put much effort into “cleaning up” my chicken breasts. I buy them, I dice them, I cook them — and if I notice that the chicken breast has a weird section while I’m eating it, I just cut it off. I didn’t think there was any other way — until recently.

A couple of days ago I came across this eye-opening TikTok tip, which shows how to easily remove tendons from chicken breasts without any special chef skills. According to the video, which has amassed more than 600,000 likes, all you have to do is slide the tendon inside the prongs of a fork and pull. Could it really be that easy?

Here’s the key to success with this trick: Since the tendon can be pretty slippery, you’ll need something to help you get a strong grip. The TikTok creator suggests using a paper towel to hold on to the tendon as you pull it out from the meat. 

Credit: Joe Lingeman

I Tried the TikTok Trick for Removing a Chicken Tendon

I’m glad I had four chicken breasts to try it on, because getting the hang of it wasn’t super easy. The first two times I tried, the top of the tendon fell off the breast because I didn’t have a strong-enough grip on the actual breast when I pulled. By the third breast, I held on to the top part of the tendon while firmly gripping the chicken, then gently pulled it out while pressing the fork into the breast. Yay — it worked, and easily! 

My tendon sections in the last two breasts weren’t as lengthy as the one in the TikTok video, but those few inches meant my family got to enjoy more chicken curry, without having to unnecessarily throw away tough sections of meat. I’m excited to keep this hack in my back pocket for next time I whip up a chicken-based entrée — which, honestly, could be as soon as tomorrow.