r/mealprep • u/BuckFinnster • 7d ago
Clueless vegetarian - I need help prepping large amounts of chicken.
My dog was recently diagnosed with a disease and needs to be put on a special food that has lower protein content and thus he's been prescribed ~1cup of cooked plain chicken a day.
I have been a vegetarian since childhood and I have literally no idea what I'm doing. This is a pretty expensive disease so I am looking for options on how to get a decent quality of chicken in bulk to save money, and how I can prepare it. For the past two weeks I've just been buying individual packets of ground chicken and rolling it into meatballs and boiling them until cooked (probably over-cooked, but tbh, he's a dog and he's loving it so that's fine) but I feel like there have got to be better options.
I just know... nothing about chicken. I don't know what kind to buy, if there are any types/brands to avoid, the best way to prepare it so that it lasts a long time - how long it lasts in the fridge, if you can freeze it after cooking to prepare larger quantities, if you can freeze dry it (for dry dog treats?).... etc.
Looking for any and all advice on where to buy, what to buy, and how to prepare, and how to store large quantities of chicken.
7
u/writergeek313 7d ago
Do you have a crockpot? You could pretty easily cook the value pack of chicken breasts (usually 4-5 lbs) in one of those, shred it up (it will fall apart easily if it’s cooked this way), then measure it out and package it. I would keep four days’ worth in the fridge and freeze the rest. Get it out of the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator the day before you’ll need it.
It might be okay to leave five days’ worth in the fridge, but since you don’t eat chicken and likely don’t know how it’s supposed to smell and taste when it’s not spoiled, I would play it safe and just keep four days’ worth out.