‘Lightning speed’: Coles worker’s hack to shred roast chicken

A Coles deli worker has shared her simple yet effective method for shredding roast chooks – and it requires no special equipment.

A Coles deli worker has shared the “insider secret” staff use to shred roast chicken at “lightning speed” – and it doesn’t require any special equipment.

Ellie, a 22-year-old who regularly shares glimpses into her job at the supermarket giant, posted a video demonstrating her expert technique for quickly shredding chickens using only her hands.

Her viral TikTok explains that hand-shredding multiple hot roast chickens is a regular task at the store.

She explained that if Coles chickens aren’t sold by the end of the night, they are taken from the warmer to be shredded, chilled, and sold at the deli as cold meat.

Ellie pointed out that many people prefer to buy cold shredded chicken for salads or sandwiches but do not want to purchase a whole chicken.

The viral chicken shredding method

First, Ellie puts on two sets of gloves to protect her hands from the heat.

Then, she pulls the skin away from the chicken and discards it.

“And why is that? You want to release some of the heat (from the chicken) … and we don’t want the skin in our shredded chicken,” she said.

Next, she pulls the chicken apart with both hands, starting with the breasts and placing them on an empty tray.

She then takes one of the drumsticks and turns the chicken over to access the underside.

She lifts both chicken thighs simultaneously with her hands, showing how it “comes off really quickly”, before adding them to her tray.

“You don’t want any of the dark meat (for shredded chicken) though, so make sure you’re not getting any of that,” Ellie advised.

The staffer then explained that it’s Coles’ policy to get around 450 grams of meat from each chicken – implying that the breast and thigh alone were enough.

The next step is essential – ensuring no bones are left behind in the pile of chicken pieces.

She “mushes” the meat down, getting it into “every crevice of the tray”, which reveals any stray bones.

Once it’s bone-free, she moves on to the shredding, working systematically across the tray, “squishing” and “kneading” the chicken through her hands to pull it apart.

A Coles deli worker has shared a hack to shred roast chicken. Picture: TikTok: ellieinthedeli

“There you go, quick and easy,” she concluded after just a few moments of using this technique.

Holding up the tray of shredded chicken, she admits this method has made this her favourite part of her deli job.

The clip has now been viewed over 330,000 times, with fellow deli workers and everyday Aussies alike shocked that they had never tried this simple trick.

“Do I work at Coles? No. Did I watch the whole thing? Yeah,” one viewer admitted.

“Honestly the best thing I’ve ever learnt from working at Coles,” said another. “Comes in handy so much at home”.

“I feel very prepared for chicken shredding,” a third wrote.

Others were just shocked that the shredded chicken they saw at the deli was from leftover rotisserie chicken and claimed it was unjustifiably marked up.

Ellie replied, clarifying: “$12.50 roast chicken = approx. 450g shredded, which is approximately $27.8/kg. We sell the shredded chicken for $27/kg, but have to sell it within the day, so often discount it by about 7pm. But you do get the rest of the chicken with the rotisserie!”

She originally intended for the clip to help educate other Coles workers, but it quickly went viral. Picture: TikTok: ellieinthedeli

It comes after a $5 Kmart chicken shredder went viral in February for promising to make shredding cooked meat a breeze.

Meal preppers and protein enthusiasts declared the nifty device a “must-have,” as did parents who prepare their children’s lunch boxes.

It’s simple to use – just place the cooked chicken inside, put the lid on, and turn the handles from side to side to shred the meat.

The non-slip base keeps everything stable while the tool is in use, ensuring there’s no mess.

Originally published as ‘Lightning speed’: Coles worker’s hack to shred roast chicken