Shred

To shred means to turn food into long, thin strips. How you do it depends on the food. You slice cabbage and lettuce very thinly with a knife, rub cheese and carrots on the coarse side of a grater, and pull tender cooked meat apart with two forks.

How to do it

Cabbage and lettuce:

1. Cut the head into quarters through the core and cut out the core.
2. Lay a quarter flat side down.
3. Slice across it as thinly as you can, 2 to 3 mm (about 1/8 inch).
4. Toss the strips to separate them.

A mandoline or the slicing disk of a food processor is faster for large amounts.

Cheese, carrots and potatoes: use the large holes of a box grater. See grate.

Cooked meat:

1. Braise or slow-cook a cut such as pork shoulder, beef chuck or chicken thighs until it is very tender.
2. Let it cool for a few minutes so you can handle it.
3. Hold the meat with one fork and pull it apart with another, following the grain. Clean hands or tongs work too.
4. Toss the shreds with some of the cooking liquid so they stay moist.

How to tell it is done

Cooked meat is ready to shred when a fork twists into it easily and the fibers fall apart with little effort. If you have to pull hard, cook it longer.

Common mistakes

• Shredding meat that is not cooked long enough. It stays tough and comes apart in chunks.
• Shredding cheese while it is warm. It clumps and smears. Use it cold.
• Cutting cabbage too thick for slaw. Thick strips stay tough and do not take up the dressing.
• Leaving shredded meat dry on a board. Mix it back into its juices.

In recipes

"Shredded cheese" means the coarse side of a grater, while "grated" usually means the fine side. "Shredded chicken" or "pulled pork" means cooked meat pulled apart into strings. Thin ribbons of leafy herbs are a chiffonade.