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How to best handle some leftover grilled chicken

803 views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  chrislehrer 
#1 ·
I marinated a chicken, cut into pieces, in lemon, lime, and mexican spices and grilled it two days ago.  I now have some leftovers that I am using for tacos but it seems a little dry.  What is the best way to make good use of this meat?
 
#2 ·
I can't stand re-heated chicken. It develops a particular taste that isn't present in freshly cooked chicken. 

So my suggestion would be chicken sandwiches. 

Easy? 

Slice chicken really thin, get your favorite fresh bread, focaccia, baguette, pullman, whatev', some mayo or mustard or a combo of both, sliced gherkins on top, done. 

Fancy?

Melt-caramelize some onions into an onion jam and spread that on top of the chicken instead of the gherkins. 
 
#3 · (Edited)
So FF you are the man, but I'm committed to tacos since I have used this chicken in the past for tacos and they were great and I have the sides and fixens.  maybe I should have approached it more flexibly, idk.  The chicken isn't rubbery at all, just a little dry.   So what is the best way to add moisture?  I could fire them up with lots of oil and go for greasy, add some chicken stock and hope for the best, or just heat them up with a good amount of salsa, which it the way I'm leaning ...  The family is home, but they just went for a little long board ride so I have a few minutes :)  
 
#5 ·
Yeah, like chefbuba says.

Or shred or cube and crisp in some hot oil: "crispy chicken taco "

Or shred and use it cold inside the taco

I generally eat my left over chicken cold, as is. It is about the only meat that I like when it is cold (except for ham of course)
 
#6 ·
I marinated a chicken, cut into pieces, in lemon, lime, and mexican spices and grilled it two days ago. I now have some leftovers that I am using for tacos but it seems a little dry. What is the best way to make good use of this meat?
You should know that the lemon and lime juices "chemically cooked" the chicken even before you put it on the grill.

The longer you allow the meat to soak in the juices the more the fibers in the meat break down.

Casserole anyone?
 
#7 ·
I'm a big fan of adding fat for moisture. I'd reheat the chicken with some oil but I also would add a sauce to the tacos, sour cream and avocado and let the chicken nestle within those textures because in my book dry chicken doesn't go down easily otherwise.
 
#8 ·
Think chicken salad. What does that add? Fat, egg, seasonings. You need fat and seasoning; egg is nice but unnecessary. So now think about where you get fat and seasonings in a taco. Cheese, avocado, lard; salsas, herbs. I suggest mixing your chicken, diced, with avocado thinned with a dab of jar mayo, then stir in minced herbs: cilantro of course, but also basil, oregano, epazote, etc. Once it's like a dry chicken salad in texture, you're ready to add other taco fixings as necessary or desired.


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