Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
Updated July 10, 2024
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Total Time
- About 3 ½ hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 3 ½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
1½ cups tomato-based barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)
1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo (depending on heat tolerance), plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire or soy sauce
1½ teaspoons onion powder
1½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and black pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
23 grams carbs; 166 milligrams cholesterol; 338 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 7 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 1058 milligrams sodium; 43 grams protein; 18 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
In a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker, stir together 1 cup barbecue sauce, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, Worcestershire sauce and onion powder. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Cover and cook on low until the chicken shreds easily when pulled with a fork, 3 to 5 hours.
- Step 2
Working right in the slow cooker, use two forks to shred the meat into large, bite-size pieces. Stir in the remaining ½ cup barbecue sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Private Notes
Comments
To pressure cook in the Instant Pot, you need to add liquid to the recipe so the tomato-based BBQ sauce doesn't give you a burn error. Start with 1/2 cup of chicken broth then add all the ingredients other than the BBQ sauce and stir. Pour 1 cup of the BBQ sauce on top of the chicken and don't stir. Use poultry setting or 15 minutes HIGH. Natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release. Shred, saute on high (while stirring) to reduce excess liquid, then add the remaining BBQ sauce.
This is delicious! I used only chicken thighs since I thought the breasts might be tough. I used the included recipe for homemade barbecue sauce. To cut down on the amount of liquid left at the end, I put the cooked thighs in a bowl and put the sauce from the crockpot into a saucepan, boiled it until reduced by half (about 10-15 mins) and returned it to the shredded thighs. Perfect!
No, it's not 'healthier'. Individuals vary in what they need from their diets. For those looking to lose weight, breast meat is usually better. For those looking to gain weight and/or muslce mass, thighs are usually better. Some recent research suggests that thigh meat is better for elderly people, in terms of bioavailability of protein. So we cannot say that one type of chicken meat is healthier than another, as it depends on that given individual.
This is our July 4 at-home picnic supper. Made it yesterday in the slow cooker, knowing it would taste even better the next day, which proved to be true. Used breasts and thighs (not gonna get into that taffy-pull) and it was perfect — not dry at all. Enjoyed it with corn on the cob, pickles ( as many commenters suggested), crudités. So glad to have lots o’ leftovers — tacos, or over rice, or more sandwiches. Total keeper of a recipe! To drink: a fruity Zin, or Beaujolais, or beer!
Can anyone clarify the chipolte pepper and adobo sauce for me? I see they sell a can of peppers in adobo sauce. Do you use a can? Or a single pepper or two in adobo sauce? Just two tablespoons? Confused as I've never used them.
Sean- chipotle peppers are pretty spicy so maybe begin with a chile from the can and then remove 2 T of the sauce from the same can. If you are tolerant of hot spice, use 2 chiles. You can freeze the remaining chiles and sauce in a ziploc bag for later use.
@Sean don’t use the whole can, the top of your head will blow off! Use one pepper and a teaspoon or two of sauce. Then freeze the rest for future meals.
Very nice. White and dark meat worked well together. I did pour off the juices into a saucepan after cooking and reduce them by about half. I used my local store brand BBQ sauce which is thin, tomatoey and barely sweet. I found it by checking all the labels for the lowest sugar content.