This is how to boil meat until 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.
This is how to boil meat of all kinds perfectly. Great way to make shredded chicken, beef, pork or other proteins. Serve with a sauce or plain for dinner as a nutritious meal. Meat boiled is very versatile and can be cooked from frozen too.
Boiled Frozen Chicken
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.
Add frozen chicken into room temperature water and allow it to sit in the water as it heats up. For fresh or defrosted chicken, first bring the water or broth to a boil over high heat. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to low, add meat and cover the pot with a lid.
How Long to Boil Chicken
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.
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
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 Beef
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.
Boiled Pork
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.
How to Boil Lamb
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 temperature should I boil meat at?
In water on the stove you should bring the water to a continuous boil first, unless using frozen meat. Add pieces and bring to a boil again. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer the meat until it is cooked through to a safe internal temperature.
What should I do with the broth from boiled meat?
The broth that you cook the meat in can be used to make soup, stew, or gravy. Use it immediately after pouring thru a fine sieve or allow to cool, scrape fat off of the top, can and save even longer.
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 Meat in 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.
This is the best way to boil in a sauce, read our Instant Pot pork shoulder to make that!! 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;
Boiled Meat Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stock pot
Ingredients
- 4-6 pieces chicken, boneless skinless breasts are best
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled, cut
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 18-12 c broth, or water with boullion cubes, enough to fill pot 3/4 way full
Instructions
- Fill pot 1/2-3/4 of the way full, enough to be able to cover meat you are going to add + 2" above that.
- Add all other ingredients other than meat. Put on stove over medium high heat until it reaches a continuous rolling boil that doesn't boil over. Use tongs to add meat into boiling water.
- Turn heat down to medium but keeping a low continuous boil. Once it reaches a boil again after adding meat cook for about 12 minutes (for boneless skinless medium breasts) or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and tender enough to shred with 2 forks.
- ** chicken legs = 20 minutes, boneless skinless chicken thighs = 10 min., bone-in chicken thighs = 15 minutes, and chicken thighs frozen = 30-35
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to do With Boiling Beef
A few more unusual cuts that do need to be boiled would be how to cook 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!
FAQ
1. Use a large pot so that the meat has plenty of room to cook.
2. You can add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to the water to help tenderize the meat.
3. Season the cooking liquid with salt, pepper, and other herbs and spices to taste.
4. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface of the water as the meat cooks.
5. Do not overcook proteins or they may become tough.
Timing depends on whether you are boiling beef, pork, chicken or fish. It ranges from 12 minutes for boneless skinless breasts to 30 minutes for thicker cuts like roasts.
Yes and no. You aren’t going to technically submerge into liquid with a pressure cooker. Rather you’d steam it to tender with water or broth under y,our trivet. Placing the meat on top and liquid in the pot will do the same thing vs. boiled on the stovetop.
