BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches | hello, sweetie!
After a nice, long day of swimming & gardening, the last thing I want to do in the summer heat is stand in the kitchen fixing dinner while watching the family splash around in the pool. I love any reason to take out the slow cooker...especially when it's THIS tasty! I use the following method for cooking and shredding the chicken in so many dishes (tacos & enchiladas, chicken lasagna, soup, etc.), but I think this is the easiest dinner I have in my repertoire.
slow cooked BBQ chicken sandwiches | hello, sweetie!
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- enough broth or water to cover the chicken
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 1 celery stalk, cut into thirds (optional)
- 1 carrot, quartered (optional)
- 1 bottle (approximately 14 ounces) of your favorite BBQ sauce (or homemade recipe)
Directions:
Place the chicken in a slow cooker or crockpot and cover the chicken by one inch with either water or broth. I use water but add chicken paste. Add the vegetables if you're using them; they add to the flavor but aren't necessary. Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and pull apart/ shred with two forks. Keep about a cup of the cooking liquid set aside and discard the rest, along with the vegetables. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and add to it about a third of the reserved liquid. You want the chicken to be moist but not soupy. Stir, continuing to add more liquid if needed. then add the bottle of sauce. Once incorporated, cover and keep on low heat until it's warmed through (about enough time to warm up some beans, corn or slice pineapple like I did). Serve on toasted hamburger buns or rolls. Also tastes great with coleslaw on it!