In the early days of the internet, there was an overwhelming sense of optimism. The World Wide Web promised to be the great equalizer, an unfiltered, democratic space where knowledge could flow freely, connecting people across vast distances. In many ways, that dream came true. Yet, as the internet grew, so did its saturation with content, not all of it particularly valuable or insightful. Among the noise, it often feels like the most banal, shallow, or bizarre ideas rise to the top, especially when algorithms are involved.
One such example is the latest viral kitchen “hack” that made its rounds across TikTok and various food sites: the “rotisserie chicken deboning method.” In this hack, you place a whole, warm rotisserie chicken inside a plastic bag and simply press down to separate the meat from the bones. Supposedly, it’s a mess-free, quick, and genius way to save time. But after seeing the flood of influencers rave about how revolutionary it was, I couldn’t help but be skeptical. Would this really change my life—or just add another layer to the ever-growing pile of internet nonsense?
As much as I wanted to dismiss this hack out of hand, I realized I couldn’t truly judge it without testing it myself. After all, this is what we do at Serious Eats—we test things thoroughly, so we can separate the good ideas from the bad ones. So, armed with two rotisserie chickens and a healthy dose of doubt, I set out to see for myself if this viral method had any merit.
Method 1: Boning a Rotisserie Chicken in a Bag—A Disaster in the Making
The viral method seemed simple enough: place your hot rotisserie chicken inside a plastic freezer bag, seal it, and press down to release the meat from the bones. The idea is that this is a faster, cleaner way to debone a bird, but right from the start, I ran into issues.
First, there was the challenge of keeping the bag sealed. As soon as I began pressing down on the chicken, the bag popped open. Air was trapped inside, which made it impossible to keep the bag shut. Even after a few tries, the bag wouldn’t cooperate, and I ended up in a tug-of-war with a greasy chicken and a flimsy plastic bag. Not exactly the hassle-free solution I had been promised.
But let’s assume that I just had a bit of bad luck with the bag. As I continued pressing the chicken, the bones did come out, but at what cost? The chicken was completely mashed into a mushy mess, with pieces of skin and bone scattered all around. At no point did I have any clarity about what was happening inside the bag. Was it time to stop pressing? Was the chicken fully deboned? There was no way to tell until I reached into the bag and started sifting through the remnants of chicken parts.
And even after my best efforts to hunt down all the bones, there were still tiny fragments mixed in with the shredded meat. Later that evening, as I tried to enjoy the fruits of my labor, I had to spit out a few surprise bones that had gone undetected. All in all, it was a mess. I had a greasy bag, greasy hands, a chicken that was both over-smashed and under-deboned, and a sense of frustration. This method was neither fast, effective, nor particularly hygienic.
Method 2: The Old-Fashioned Way—Hands-On and Practical
With my second rotisserie chicken, I decided to take the more traditional approach: using my hands to carefully pull apart the meat from the bones. It was simple, direct, and far less complicated than the viral hack.
I started by removing the legs, separating the meat with a few quick pulls. The bones came out instantly, as they tend to do with rotisserie chicken. From there, I worked through the rest of the bird, pulling the breast meat, wings, and back sections apart. There was no mess, no guesswork, and no need to shuffle through a bag of mush. The meat came off in neat, manageable pieces, and the bones were easily identified and discarded.
This method was faster, cleaner, and required no additional cleanup beyond washing my hands twice. The shredded chicken was exactly as I wanted it, and I had full control over how much I shredded or chopped, depending on my needs.
The best part? There was no waste. No plastic bags to toss out, no bones hidden in the meat, and no extra effort spent fighting with a bag that wasn’t made for the job. It took me only 3 minutes and 10 seconds, and I was left with perfectly deboned chicken ready for whatever I planned to do with it.
Conclusion: Sometimes the Old Ways Are Still the Best
After comparing both methods, it’s clear that the smash-in-a-bag method falls short in every way. It’s messier, more frustrating, and ultimately wasteful. The traditional method, while not as flashy, is faster, more efficient, and yields far better results. And the beauty of the classic method is that it gives you more control over your chicken—whether you’re tearing it apart by hand or deciding how to shred it.
This whole experiment serves as a reminder that viral kitchen hacks often fail to live up to their promise. In the rush to grab attention and produce content that’s click-worthy, some ideas are presented as revolutionary when, in fact, they’re just the same old tricks dressed up in trendy packaging. The next time I see a viral cooking hack, I’ll probably skip it and return to what works. Because in the world of food—and, frankly, in most things—simple, tested methods often beat out the newest, flashiest idea every time.
And, perhaps most importantly, we shouldn’t be so quick to believe that every viral idea is truly “life-changing.” Sometimes, the greatest discoveries are the ones that come from sticking with what we know works, and learning from the inevitable failures along the way.
