Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
Updated July 11, 2024
- Total Time
- About 3 ½ hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 3 ½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 1½ cups tomato-based barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 to 2chipotle chiles in adobo (depending on heat tolerance), plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 2tablespoons 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)
338 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1058 milligrams sodium
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
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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!
I'm curious how even the comment section on a cooking site could devolve into name calling. What exactly have we become as a community? And I also respect myself as well as my my fellow readers!
I have been doing something like this for years, but I appreciate the additional ingredients that improve the flavor (Worcestershire, onion powder and chipotle in adobo). It works great with a pork roast or beef roast for pulled pork or beef. A great recipe for a family dinner with great leftovers.
I made this as written. It is delicious. So good. I had bone in skin on thighs so skinned them but cooked them with the bones. When shredded the meat came always easily I used 2 chipotle peppers The flavor is amazing
Made this twice with thighs, and it was wonderful. Then made it with breasts, and it was awful (stopped at 1:30, 160-165°, dry and rubbery). I knew better than to try breasts :(
OP here. In retrospect, I may have gotten a "woody breast". There's no reason why a breast cooked to 165° should have been impossible to chew, as this was. It was like knawing on a chunk of rubber. Regardless, my experience with breasts has been so poor that I'm just going to stick with thighs for everything.