If you are a regular reader of my blog you might have noticed that I use the slow cooker regularly and often use it to make pulled meats. Mostly it's been pork, but since chicken was on sale last week decided to do a twist on the BBQ Pulled Chicken I made last summer. Being in Canada it only seemed fit to use some pure Canadian maple syrup for sweetness and you can't go wrong with booze in BBQ sauce.
Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken
2 1/2 lbs of chicken (I used 4 large boneless chicken breasts and 4 boneless chicken thighs)
1 cup of low sodium tomato sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup whiskey
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsp hickory liquid smoke
1 medium onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1. In a 6 quart slow cooker mix together all the ingredients, except the chicken. Add in chicken and cook on low for 5 hours.
2. When cook time is up, remove chicken pieces and shred with two forks. Return shredded meat to sauce and mix it all together. Serve on warmed multi-grain rolls with red onion and 3 year old cheddar.
This pulled chicken is delicious. You are hit with the heat of cayenne on your first bite, but it finishes with the sweetness of the maple syrup. It's very different from the other pulled meats I've made, mostly because I usually use chipotle peppers which give an underlying heat throughout. I like the way the heat comes first and the sweet finishes off, it's great on a sandwich and also good scrambled in with some eggs. The boy was a fan too, especially since he initially thought it was pork! It was my first time using liquid smoke and it definitely added a much need flavor element to this dish, making it taste more authentic and almost like summer.
This is a super easy slow cooker meal that you can set to cook when you leave for work and even if it turns down to warm for a few hours before you get home it just infuses the flavor in the meat that much more. Enjoy!
5 comments:
OMG, I'm looking for more slow cooker recipes. I have to try this one!
I adore pulled pork, but this looks really interesting. I also agree that a little booze never hurt any bbq sauce I ever met.
Domestic Diva - Let me know how it turns out!
Curious Domestic - It's almost as good as pulled pork and healthier which is always good! You should try my Chipotle Mango Pulled Pork it's one of my fave's on here!
Anything with both whiskey and maple syrup is bound to be delicious! Time to break out the slow cooker.
I made this for my graduation party... Fantastic! I just linked to you on my post.
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