How to Boil Meat Perfectly

How to boil meat to tender is here. Boiled chicken, pork, beef, organ meat, bone marrow, or oxtail on the stove or in a pressure cooker are explained in depth here.

Ever wondered; Can you boil frozen chicken? We answer that right here in depth! The answer is yes, and it doesn’t make much of a difference in the timing either. That is right, you can cook from right out of the freezer to tender in about 30 minutes depending on how large they are.

Most of the time you would have fresh but could also defrost chicken in microwave if you didn’t want to start off rock hard. Thawed is always better to start with if at all possible. Then some tips from there would be;

How to Boil Chicken

1. Add frozen chicken into room temperature water and allow it to sit in the water as it heats up.
2. For fresh or defrosted chicken, first bring the water or broth to a boil over high heat.
3. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to low, add meat and cover the pot with a lid.
4. Boil chicken legs for about 20 minutes or until they come to temp. Boiled chicken thighs depend on whether they are bone-in.
   • Boil thighs for 10 min. for boneless thawed
   • 15 minutes for thawed bone-in
   • 30-35 for frozen
5. Check the internal temperature of the chicken using a meat thermometer. It should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165° F to ensure it is fully cooked and safe to eat.

Once cooked, remove it from the pot using tongs or a slotted spoon and let it cool for a few minutes before cutting or shredding it as needed.

The length of time it takes to achieve boiled meat until tender depends on the cut and type of meat you are cooking and the method. Boiled fish is the fastest. Some tougher cuts of meat require longer cooking times to break down the connective tissue. Other cuts of meat may only require a short time to cook.

How Long to Boil Meat Until Tender

1. Boiling Beef: Tougher cuts of beef such as chuck, brisket, cow tongue or round, can take several hours to become tender.
   • For best results, simmer the beef in a covered pot with enough water or broth to cover the meat completely for 2-4 hours.
   • Exact timing will depend on the size and thickness of your piece.
2. Boiling Pork: Similar to beef, tougher cuts of pork, such as shoulder or pork butt, may take several hours to tender. This can be cut down tremendously if you use a pressure cooker in a sauce like we linked here above.
   • Simmer the pork in a covered pot with enough liquid to cover the meat completely for 2-3 hours. Pork loin or tenderloin can be boiled for a shorter period of time, about 20-30 minutes, to become tender.
3. Boiling Chicken: Boiled chicken breasts can cook for a shorter period of time, about 30-40 minutes, to become tender. Simmer the chicken in a covered pot with enough water or broth to cover the chicken completely.
   • Boiling a whole chicken will take a bit longer but a great option to make soup or fall off the bone meat for tacos.
   • Make sure to cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F to ensure it is fully cooked and safe to eat.
4. Boiling Lamb: Tougher cuts of lamb, such as shank or shoulder, may take several hours to become tender. Simmer the lamb in a covered pot with enough water or broth to cover the meat completely for 2-3 hours.

Keep in mind that the exact cooking time will vary depending on the size, thickness, type of protein and how vigorously bubbling your water is.

What to do With Boiling Beef

A few more unusual cuts that do need to be boiled would be ox tails which we love!! and OH my we have made a bunch of great meals with these. Once the meat has been submerged and heated in the water for 5-6 hours it is fork tender. Then will be able to pull away from the bone easily. Then you can make stews out of it, oxtail pho broth uses the liquid for the meal itself even!

Boiling Organ Meat

Then we will move on to how to cook organ meat. That is a whole other animal, figuratively and literally, than “regular” pieces. This is by far the best way to cook the inners and it will take some time. Since they start our rather tough, you want a low and slow time in hot boiling water seasoned well. We have instructions for;

• Boiling turkey necks makes the meat tender to pull off and make gravy out of it.
• You definitely need to boil chicken gizzards for a while in order to make them edible.
• Boiled bone marrow in a pressure cooker or pot comes out amazing and doesn’t take long.

If you haven’t thought about cooking these “extra pieces” because it has been confusing as to what to do, I hope this helps. When seasoned and cooked correctly until fork tender they are wonderful to bread and bake, or make into a stew or soup.

Boiling Food in an Instant Pot

A great example of how this work amazingly well would be to cook a frozen roast in Instant Pot to fall apart delicious. Another plus to using this high pressure steaming method is that you don’t lose nutrients as you would if cooking it for 2-3 times as long in liquid. Because of this you maintain the flavor too, and it will have a better overall texture.

Same goes when you want to boil frozen chicken in Instant Pot. You are actually steaming it. With the amount of steam that is produced though in such a small area, it is essentially the same outcome, minus the long cook time.

How to Boil Pork

This is the best way to cook pork shoulder for sure!! Using your favorite sauce instead of broth gives your meat way more flavor. And can be shredded in about 1 hour flat!! If you are going to use the stovetop I would suggest to use large cuts. Expect for it to shred when done too, not sliced. You would need to;

1. Place the pork shoulder, or other cut, in a large pot or Dutch oven.
2. Add enough water, beef stock or chicken broth to cover the piece completely.
3. Add salt and pepper to the pot for seasoning.
4. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat.
5. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid.
6. Let the meat simmer for 2-3 hours if using bone-in or 1-2 hours if using boneless pork shoulder.
   • The exact cooking time will depend on the size, cut and thickness.
7. Check the internal temperature using a meat thermometer to ensure it has reached 145 degrees to and safe to eat.
8. Once cooked, remove it from the pot using tongs or a slotted spoon. Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting or shredding it as needed.

Boiled Meat Recipes

Note: Boiling pork can also be done with other flavorings and seasonings. Minced garlic, onion, or bay leaves, to add more flavor to the meat. Once cooked, you can also use it in various recipes, such as pulled pork sliders, carnitas, or stir fry.