Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken By Ali Slagle Published July 2, 2024

Yield: 8 servings

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

PREPARATION

1. In a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker, stir together 1 cup barbecue sauce, chipotle chiles, adobe 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.

1. 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. Serve on buns with coleslaw.

This hands-off path to pulled chicken results in a juicy, saucy tangle of meat for a crowd. The combination of boneless chicken thighs and breasts creates a mix of feathery and hearty shreds, while cooking the meat slowly in barbecue sauce ensures it won’t dry out. To emulate some of the smoke and savoriness created by cooking meat over smoldering coals, chipotle chiles in adobo, Worcestershire sauce and onion powder are also added. Serve the pulled chicken between buns with pickles and slaw, or make a barbecue chicken pizza; leftovers keep well for a few days in the fridge.