Add kick to lean poultry by simmering it in a tangy sauce until it's tender enough to shred, then serve it on buns for flavorful sandwiches. You can also use the chicken filling in tacos or in a salad with blue cheese dressing.
Browning the dark meat first means you'll use less oil and cut back on fat. Use a potato masher to shred the cooked chicken in the slow cooker. Or, transfer chicken to a large plate, pull apart with two forks, then return to sauce.
Everyday Food, January/February 2011
- Prep Time 25 minutes
- Total Time 4 hours, 25 minutes
-
Yield Serves 8
Add to Shopping List
Ingredients
-
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
-
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
-
Coarse salt and ground pepper
-
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
-
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
-
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
-
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
-
1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
-
1/4 cup hot-pepper sauce, such as Frank's
-
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
-
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
-
1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
-
8 hamburger buns
Directions
-
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken thighs, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring once, until meat is golden brown, 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a slow cooker, leaving as much oil behind as possible. Repeat with chicken breasts.
-
To skillet, add onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook over medium, stirring constantly, until onion is translucent, 6 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to slow cooker.
-
To slow cooker, add crushed tomatoes, hot-pepper sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, and molasses; stir to combine. Cover and cook on high until chicken is very tender, 4 hours. Shred chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on buns.
Cook's Note
Use a potato masher to shred the cooked chicken in the slow cooker. Or, transfer chicken to a large plate, pull apart with 2 forks, then return to sauce.
This recipe was so-so as followed,but the end result was fantastic!When I got home and opened my crock-pot, I was rather disappointed. It tasted like chicken and tomatoes. Which would have been fine if thats what I wanted. So I strained all of the chicken. Melted butter,added the chicken, added Franks to taste then just for kicks threw some blue cheese. Next time we make these I will do the butter and Franks in the crock-pot so I won't have to alter it at the end.The end result was supper yummy!
I don't have a slow cooker, has anyone done this in the oven?
This is a keeper, really, really good, made the recipe exactly as-is....
This is a keeper, really, really good, made the recipe exactly as-is....
I doubled the recipe (I need to get a smaller CP), and used mostly chicken breasts since they were on sale and I only had two thighs in the freezer. It was really good! I used Tapatio hot sauce (it was less expensive than our usual Iguana Sauce), and it was not bland at all! Definitely on the fiery side! Other than cutting back on the hot sauce/using a different kind, I don't think I'd change anything.
My husband and I both love this recipe, and I've made it several times already. It is great just the way it is, and does not need any adjustments. Spicy, delicious, and easy to make! This one is a keeper.
I've made this several times now. I think it is better if a) you use all chicken thighs and b) you double or even triple the amount of hot sauce - 1/4 cup is fairly bland.