Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

First I have to mention that I noticed that nobody has posted here for over a year! I am missing sharing recipes with all of you, and I know of a couple that I'm hoping someone will post soon... In the meantime...

Andy and Laurel's family were in town, so we had a great cousins gathering. I made this pulled chicken recipe that I also made for Alayna's first birthday party, and was reminded why I like it--super flavorful. If you make it the crock-pot way, you get that great grilled flavor, but also that nice moist texture from the crock pot. I also like that it's possible to do the whole thing in advance, in stages, and just heat it up in the crock pot the day you want to use it. Pulled this from the pages of Cooking Light.

I tripled the recipe this weekend, with no problems. Froze leftovers to use on baked potatoes, bbq chicken pizza, bbq chicken tacos, etc.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken:

2 T dark brown sugar (I used a little less)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground chipotle chili pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used boneless breasts, but cut them into thirds so the rub would cover more of the meat).

(This makes a great rub for just grilling any time, too.)

Sauce:

2 tsp canola oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 T dark brown sugar (I used a little less)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1 cup ketchup

2 T cider vinegar

1 T molasses

(Makes a great BBQ sauce on its own.)

These are the original instructions, then I'll list the way I did it in the crock pot, which I think turned out much better, and much easier...

1) Combine the first 7 ingredients to make the rub. Coat chicken in rub and grill.

2) Meanwhile make the sauce. Saute onions in oil 5 min. or until tender. Stir in the brown sugar and the next 5 ingredients (through pepper); cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and molasses, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

3) Shred the chicken with two forks. (I found it very difficult to shred chicken off the grill, versus quite easily shredding the crock pot chicken.)

4) Stir the chicken into the warm sauce.

Serve on buns of your choice. I've used wheat buns, and/or Hawaiian rolls. Add pickles, and sliced red onions.

Crock Pot Method:

1) Make the BBQ sauce as described above, and set aside. (Or make it in advance and put in the fridge until you're ready to use it.)

2) Coat the chicken with the rub.

3) Sear the chicken on the grill so that both sides have nice grill lines, but do not cook through. Put the chicken into the crock pot.

4) Cover the chicken with all of the prepared BBQ sauce. (I actually added a little water here, afraid it might not be enough liquid. I think it would have been fine either way, though.)

5) Cook on high for 5 hours.

6) Remove the pieces of chicken with a slotted spoon, and shred with two forks.

7) Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and stir to incorporate it into the sauce.

8) Keep on warm setting until ready to serve.

You can also do all of these steps a day in advance, then put the crock pot insert into the fridge. The next day, return the insert to the crock pot, and cook on low a few hours to reheat the meat. I added a little water when I did this, which worked well.

Serve on rolls with pickles and red onion.