Hawaiian Instant Pot Shredded Chicken - AIP, paleo

Bacon fat, pineapple, and coconut milk turn into one sauce in this pot, and none of it apologizes for being rich. AIP food gets accused of being thin and virtuous. This is the rebuttal: a shredded chicken dinner that tastes like a luau and asks the Instant Pot to do the actual work while you do something else with your evening.

Chicken keeps your selenium intake steady, and selenium is one of the pieces your thyroid needs to turn T4 into T3, the version of the hormone your cells can actually run on. In Hashimoto's, that conversion step is often the weak link, so restocking it through an ordinary dinner is worth paying attention to.

Find bacon from a farm that lets its pigs actually be pigs outdoors, rooting around, no metal crate in sight, cured without sugar or nitrates if you can manage it. That kind of sourcing costs something. It is also part of what you are actually paying for. Shred the chicken through that sauce, spoon it over cauliflower rice or a few slices of plantain, and let the whole thing look like something you actually chose to make.

Ingredients

• 4 bacon slices, chopped
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 cup diced pineapple, fresh or canned (no added sugar if canned)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup bone broth
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

Set the Instant Pot to the saute function. Add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the bacon is lightly crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and set it aside. Leave the rendered fat in the pot.

Season the chicken breasts with the salt. Place them in the pot with the pineapple, coconut milk, and bone broth. Stir briefly to combine the liquids.

Secure the lid and set the valve to sealing. Cook on High pressure for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully switch the valve to quick release for any remaining pressure.

Remove the chicken breasts and place them on a cutting board. Shred with two forks. Use an immersion blender (or transfer to a stand blender) to blend the remaining liquid and pineapple in the pot until smooth and saucy.

Return the shredded chicken and reserved bacon to the pot. Stir everything through the sauce. Taste and adjust salt. Serve over cauliflower rice or with plantain slices.

Slow cooker variation

Saute the bacon in a pan on the stovetop and set aside. Place the chicken breasts, pineapple, coconut milk, bone broth, and salt in the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 3 to 4 hours until the chicken pulls apart easily. Shred the chicken, blend the sauce as above, stir in the bacon, and serve.

*Adapted from lichenpaleolovingaip.com*