Why Canned Chicken Is A Mistake When It Comes To Casseroles

Canned chicken is a convenient way to whip up chicken salad or soup without having to bother with prepping a whole chicken. However, it's not nearly as versatile as what it (literally) says on the tin. Certain recipes, like a warm casserole, will be far better when you avoid the canned stuff and opt for fresh. The reason all lies in the texture of canned chicken, which can be very mushy and mealy.

You see, while the canning process makes the chicken much more shelf-stable, the protein structure of the chicken gets altered in the process. The result is the chicken becoming so tender that you can easily pull each piece apart with a fork.

This is obviously a big no-no for recipes like Italian chicken casseroles where a satisfying bite can make or break the dish. As such, as tempting as the thought of just popping a can from the pantry to get a meal is, your palate will thank you for going the extra mile and making that casserole with fresh chicken.

To understand why canned chicken has such a strange texture, it helps to know how it's made. In the factory, the chicken is cooked and then packed into cans. In order to kill all of the germs and microorganisms that can ruin the food while it's in storage, the can is heat-treated until it's sterile. This is where the problem comes in: the high heat involved will turn it mushy and ruin the "eating quality" of the meat, too, according to Lawrie's Meat Science journal.

Fresh chicken, on the other hand, maintains its natural texture. When cooked properly, it remains firm with just the right amount of tenderness — perfect for tossing into your favorite casserole.

The differences don't just stop at texture, though. Canned chicken can affect the very flavor of your casserole, as well. Because it sits for months on end in canning juice, the meat is filled with water. When you add the waterlogged chicken into your casserole, all this extra juice can dilute the flavors of the dish. No matter how many spices or flavorful ingredients you add, your casserole will still end up lackluster with canned chicken.

Fresh chicken is hard to beat for casseroles. Besides allowing you to control the texture of the final product, you'll also have more freedom in the seasoning, too. Whether it's zesty salsa to something more vibrant like hot sauce to make a Buffalo chicken casserole, feel free to play around.

However, if you want something more convenient and don't want to go through all the steps to prep and season the chicken, you can buy pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, instead. The famous Costco $4.99 rotisserie chicken will work much better than the canned stuff in a casserole. While there'll be some work involved to cut it into smaller pieces that'd fit in the casserole, it's still faster than prepping fresh chicken from scratch. Plus, you get that delicious rotisserie flavor as a bonus.

Now, let's say you already cracked open a can of chicken when you read this ... the good news is that canned chicken will last for a fair bit of time even when opened. Put it in the fridge right away and it should last for up to a week. That's plenty of time to figure out what to do with it. There's no shortage of ideas here, from quesadillas to enchiladas — just not casseroles!