How to Boil and Shred Chicken

Place 6 chicken thighs in a large pot. Add 1 large yellow onion peeled and cut into 4, 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed, ½ tsp ground black pepper, cilantro stems from a bunch of cilantro and a tsp of coarse salt. Cover the chicken with water, about an inch above the chicken. Put a lid on and bring this to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes partially covered. During cooking, skim off any foam on top and discard.

After 45 minutes, remove the chicken pieces from the liquid and set aside. Drain the liquid and you have a flavorful broth. Let this cool and refrigerate it. There will be a very thin layer of fat on top that you can easily remove with a spoon. You can use this broth to make rice, soups, stews, anything that calls for broth. From the one pot, you get two things, shredded chicken and broth. Two forks work well to shred the chicken. I use this chicken in sandwiches, wraps, salads, meat pies, really any recipe that uses cooked chicken. Freeze the broth so you can pull it out whenever you need it.