Instant Pot Shredded Chicken | IP Chicken Breast and Thighs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do chicken thighs and breasts take the same time to cook? ›

First, chicken breasts cook faster than thighs and are easier to overcook. For example, if a recipe suggests cooking thighs for 30 minutes, the breasts may only take 20. The best way to avoid under or overcooking your chicken breasts is to test them with a meat thermometer.

Why is my Instant Pot shredded chicken rubbery? Rubbery Instant Pot shredded chicken is usually the result of overcooking the meat.

Chicken thighs are much more forgiving than breasts.

While all cuts of chicken are fair game for the Instant Pot, thighs are the most forgiving. Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry.

Dark meat, such as chicken thighs or legs, will take longer to cook, because they have a higher fat content and density.

Most cooks know that fat is flavor, and that is the main reason why thighs are better than breasts. Chicken thighs are a fattier cut of meat, which means they're going to have a more intense, rich flavor than the white meat breasts.

Unlike the other most common cut of chicken (breasts), thighs are extremely forgiving when it comes to cook times. If you let 'em cook for several minutes after they've reached 165°F, don't sweat it — you'll still have juicy, succulent chicken and nobody will have to know that they may have been slightly overcooked.

Overcooking might play a role in your chicken's tire-like texture. Leaving chicken in a pan, oven, or grill for just a little too long can suck the moisture right out and leave you with a dry, rubbery bird. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.

If your cooked chicken has turned out tough, there are a few strategies to make it more tender: Reheat with Moisture: Place the tough chicken in an oven-safe dish, add some chicken broth or water, cover it with foil, and reheat it in the oven at a low temperature. This helps introduce moisture to the chicken.

As previously mentioned, the chicken loses moisture (and fat) as the cooking time increases, resulting in a rubbery texture. You can't go back and re-make the chicken, but the good news is there are ways to fix it. You'll need to add more liquid and fat back to help the chicken become more tender and enjoyable.

Oddly enough, it can be really challenging to get the right texture when cooking boneless chicken breasts. They cook quickly in the Instant Pot, but if you don't cook them long enough they get a weird, rubber-like texture that's nearly impossible to chew, and if you cook them too long, their texture gets dry.

How to cook chicken thighs vs breasts? ›

Breast meat needs to be cooked to 145 degrees. Thigh meat needs to be cooked to 160–165 degrees. Don't fall prey to the idea to just over cook everything. If you want to learn to cook food that is delicious as well as safe to eat, USE A THERMOMETER.

By placing cooking liquid in the bottom of the pressure cooker and placing the chicken in the steamer basket above the liquid, you are guaranteed tender, moist chicken every time. However, you can also use the cooker to make a sauce and cook your chicken submerged in flavour.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 30 minutes.

While the breast is very low in fat, chicken thighs are higher in fat, and in cooking, fat equals flavor. It also means the thighs are more tender and less likely to dry out than chicken breasts—in other words, they are very easy to cook and very difficult to ruin.

Chicken breast and Chicken thighs differ in the nutritional value. If you compare the nutrition in both parts of the chicken, chicken breasts are a healthier option. They are low in calories, high in protein, low in fats and saturated fats but high in good cholesterol.

Bone-in thighs take longer than chicken breasts. Chicken breasts will cook the quickest of all, so you won't undercook it. You might make it dry out a bit but not much if it's in a sauce-based meal.

Chicken breasts have a tendency to dry out more quickly than a chicken thigh so the cook time will be shorter. Here are some simple cooking time guidelines: Bone-in skin-on chicken breasts: bake at 375°F for just about 45 minutes. Boneless skinless chicken breasts: bake at 375°F for just about 20 minutes.

Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks:

They take longer to cook than breast meat, about 25 to 30 minutes on the grill.

The breast doesn't exactly cook faster; it's just usually done sooner. The goal is usually 165. My guess would be that you didn't get the thickest part of the thigh; it can take some poking around to find it.