Easy Carnivore Diet Snack Recipe: Shredded Chicken

This recipe will show you how to make a tasty carnivore snack from just three basic ingredients: shredded chicken.

I must admit that chicken is not my favorite, I rarely eat chicken these days because I can’t afford pasture-raised chickens. While chicken wings and drumsticks taste alright, chicken breasts, especially the boneless, skinless ones are just dry and bland full stop.

But I guarantee you this recipe will turn those tasteless chicken breasts into a healthy flavorsome snack.

As I mentioned in a previous post, beef would be the best for this type of snack because its nutritional profile is better than pork or chicken, especially if they are from factory farms.

Chickens are probably raised the worst amongst farmed animals. They are mostly raised indoors in large sheds at a high density of around 20,000 to 30,000 birds per shed, fed grains and oilseed meals for fast unnatural growth, and given drugs to control parasites and low-dose antibiotics to prevent or treat diseases.^[1]

Please don’t be fooled by the ‘free-range’ label. Free-range just means the chickens have some access to the outdoors, their diet is mostly the same as caged chickens.

In 1925, it took 16 weeks to raise a chicken to 2.5 pounds (1.1 kg). Today, chickens weigh double that in just 6 weeks.

As a direct result of how they are raised, factory-farmed chickens are high in polyunsaturated fats which have been linked to various health problems.^[2]

As can be seen in the table below,^[3] chicken fat has the highest level of polyunsaturated fats of 21% and a whopping omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of 19.5, whereas beef fat has only 4% polyunsaturated fat and an omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of 1.4. For your information, our ancestors are thought to have consumed omega 6 and omega 3 in the ratio of approximately 1:1 only.^[4]

So if you can’t afford pasture-raised chickens, please eat chicken meat sparingly and stay with lean cuts.

Because this snack recipe uses lean chicken which is mostly just proteins so you won’t have to worry about the high omega 6 in chicken.

If you like beef or pork better, here is a recipe for shredded beef and here is a recipe for shredded pork.

Ingredients

1. 700 grams of lean chicken. Skinless breasts are the best
2. 3 tbs fish sauce. If you don’t have or don’t like fish sauce, substitute with 3 tbs of soy sauce or 2 tsp of salt
3. 1 cup bone broth or use water if you don’t have bone broth handy (see here for an easy bone broth recipe and many practical tips)
4. Other optional seasonings:
   • 1 tbs honey or sugar
   • 1 tsp garlic powder or 12 cloves of fresh garlic
   • 1 tsp onion powder or 6 cloves of shallots
   • a pinch of pepper

If you are going through the elimination process to identify trouble foods, it’s best to stay with a strict carnivore version where you just use chicken, salt, and bone broth. A thick bone broth will be sufficient to give your shredded chicken a depth of flavor.

If you’ve finished the elimination process and know you are okay with a little bit of seasonings, you can definitely add the above plant-based seasonings for added flavor.

Instructions

1. Cut along the meat grain of the chicken breasts into pieces of 4-centimeter width
2. Add the fish sauce and optional seasonings, mix well and leave to marinate for 1 hour
3. Transfer to pan, add bone broth, bring to boil then simmer for 40 minutes
4. Drain but keep the remaining sauce
5. Shred the chicken pieces with your hands into large pieces. Unlike pork or beef, chicken breasts are very easy to shred with hands
6. Return to pan, add the sauce, on medium heat, stirring and tossing regularly till the shredded pieces are dry to the touch. The drier it is, the longer you can keep it
7. Let the shredded chicken cool completely before transfer to a glass jar.

The snack is good in the fridge for a week and up to 6 months in the freezer.

The total prep time is about 1.5 hours.

This is what I started with: chicken, salt, fish sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar. Mix all ingredients and leave it to marinate for 1 hour

Add bone broth, simmer then drain the juice:

Shred the chicken pieces with your hands:

Use a mortar and pestle if you like to turn them into chicken floss (recommended if making for little ones):

Return to pan with any remaining juice and cook till dry:

This is the final product:

Disclaimer: The information in this post is for reference purposes only and not intended to constitute or replace professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified medical professional before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.