Shredding Proteins: A Guide to Efficiently Cooking & Shredding Pork, Beef, and Chicken
4. Adjust time in last step as needed
Adjusting Shred Consistency The rule of thumb for adjusting the consistency of your shred, whether pork, beef, or chicken: • If the product shreds too fine, cut back the time on the last cooking step. • If the product shreds too coarse, add more time to the last cooking step.
Finer Shreds = Cook Longer Coarser Shreds = Cook Less
Methods to Efficiently Shred Proteins There are two main methods of shredding proteins:
Shred Hot (or Warm) The ideal method for shredding protein is do so when the protein is hot, typically right after it leaves the cook cycle. The connective tissue is still broken apart, the ideal condition for shredding, making the muscle fibers easy to pull apart.
A hand-pulled look is only possible when you shred hot.
You can shred warm as well, but the hotter the protein (or the closer to it having just been removed from the cook cycle), the easier it will be to shred.
Once protein is chilled, the product condenses, making it difficult to pull the muscle fibers apart to achieve a fine shred.
Benefits to shredding hot: • Muscle fibers are easier to shred • Shredding reduces temperature significantly, saving time and energy in the chill cycle • Fine shreds are only possible if you shred hot • It gives you a more hand-pulled look Shred Cold Shredding protein after it has been chilled produces a different, more coarse look to the shred. Chilling condenses the connective tissue in the protein, making it much more difficult to pull the muscle fibers apart and achieve a hand-pulled look. In fact, it is impossible for most processors to achieve a fine looking shred when the protein is chilled in advance. Shredding cold only produces a coarse, chunky style shred. Depending on the type of product, you may need to invest in some kind of flattener, such as a roller conveyor or meat press, to break the muscle fibers apart before trying to shred by hand or with a meat shredding machine.
Shredding cold only produces a coarse, chunky shred.
Even with a flattener, shredding cold will not produce a fine, hand-pulled looking shred.
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