A Tiny Trick That Makes Shredding Meat So Much Easier

If, after meal prepping a big batch of chicken breasts or pork shoulder, your first instinct is to grab a couple of forks for shredding, listen up: I have a super-smart technique that’s about to save you a lot of time (and effort). The key to the quickest shredded meat? Your trusty ol’ electric mixer. It’s not just for baking.

The process couldn’t be easier: Transfer the cooked meat, sans sauce, to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (and the splatter guard, if you have one). Or, if you’re using a hand mixer, transfer the meat to any large bowl. If you’ve cooked the protein in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, you can even leave it in there and place your hand mixer directly into the vessel — but this will only work if what you’ve cooked isn’t too saucy. Then, let the mixer do its thing until the meat is finely shredded. That’s it!

We first came across this technique in an Instant Pot Facebook group, where a user shared this mesmerizing video. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones blown away by this technique: The video has been shared more than 1.2 million times!

This technique is especially helpful if you’re working with a large quantity of meat, because not only does it save you more time, but it also makes it worth it to potentially have to dirty an extra dish.

So, next time you make pulled meat — whether it’s slow cooker BBQ shredded chicken, slow cooker chicken tinga, salsa pulled chicken, Instant Pot barbacoa, the list goes on — try this quick and easy trick. We have a feeling you’ll love it as much as we do.