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
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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.
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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.
Loved this. Used a bottle of sweet n spicy BBQ sauce. Omitted the adobo. Unanimous family keeper.
I made the recipe as stated (including the home made bbq sauce) and was disappointed in the result. A good amount of sauce, but it was thin. Despite the decent amount of sauce and liquid in the slow cooker, the meat seemed dry. At serving we had to add more bbq sauce to each serving.
I made this four times, then gave up. I found the chicken didn't pick up much if any flavor during cooking, and the resulting watery sauce had to be reduced significantly. I now just poach thighs in salted water or broth, then shred it, then sauce it. It's easier, and just as good.