Shredded Roast Chicken

Update: you can also cook this chicken at 425 for a shorter time period - just don't let it dry out. Lately I've been seasoning it with Paula Deen's house seasoning, which is four parts salt, 1 part black pepper, and 1 part garlic powder.

The chicken in the picture doesn't look incredibly appetizing, but believe me when I tell you it is delicious. Every couple of weeks I buy some split chicken breasts (bone-in, with skin) and roast them for salads, tacos, soup, sandwiches, casseroles - there are so many uses. I used to poach chicken breast (and I do sometimes still for chicken salad), but I find this method to be the most flavorful. It's also easy, healthy, and frugal: you can often find split chicken breasts on sale for about $.99 - $1.50 per pound. In this picture I have five pounds, which yields about 8-9 cups of shredded chicken.

This technique is the one Ina Garten uses. You'll notice the skin is not appetizing - it will be discarded, of course, but you don't want to brown it too much so the chicken dries out.

Shredded Roast Chicken

5 pounds split chicken breasts
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray or rub chicken with a little bit of olive oil. Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken. Place chicken on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, not touching. Roast for 40-50 minutes (depending on size), until breasts are cooked through. When cool, discard skin and shred chicken. Freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions for future use. You can also save the browned bits on the pan and the bones to make great stock.